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“The
most important things in providing accommodation are
location, location and location” says Mrs Janet Rouse, a
retired provider of accommodation in Oxfordshire. But if a
location isn’t right now, that doesn’t mean that it can’t be
perfect in the future. In Britain today, work is happening
on the ground which may influence the success of any pub,
hotel, restaurant or Bed and Breakfast.
Traditionally in this country, food and accommodation
providers have set up at strategic points along any type of
travel corridor, whether it be stagecoach route, canal, road
or rail. There is however, one method of travel which is
seeing a revival, - and that is travel by two feet. Walking
in Britain continues to grow as a popular pastime and as a
result there is a resurgence in long distance walking. But
how does this affect food and accommodation providers?
In England and Wales the Countryside Agency promotes the
long distance routes, or National Trails as they are known.
In Scotland it is Scottish Natural Heritage who have this
responsibility. Both organisations are responsible for
promoting these routes and also any new routes. Between now
and 2004, three routes will either be officially created or
designated with the National Trail status, providing over
620 kilometres for walkers to tackle. More importantly,
that’s 620 kilometres of walkers demanding food and
accommodation.
National Trails are the crème de la crème of footpaths.
These are the routes that are well maintained, have official
guidebooks written and produced for them and therefore
receive the most walkers. There are other types of long
distance footpaths that shouldn’t be overlooked.
Recreational Routes can vary in length from twenty miles to
several hundred, but they won’t receive their funding from
the Countryside Agency. Instead they may be funded,
maintained and publicised by County Councils, local walking
groups, individuals or a partnership of these.
Essentially, for the food and accommodation provider, it is
necessary to establish where your nearest long distance path
is and clarify whether it is a National Trail or a
Recreational Route. Both the Countryside Agency and the
Ramblers Association will be able to provide some
information. But it isn’t necessary to be located directly
on the path of one of these routes. Other business factors
such as competition and other markets can influence how
suitable your location is. Sometimes, by offering a new
service, you’ll open yourself up to this market.
I contacted several accommodation providers who were all
located across the country, but near to, in various degrees,
a long distance footpath. Mrs Campbell’s Guest House is
situated directly on the Pennine Way National Trail and the
St Cuthbert’s Way Regional Route and she attributes 90% of
her business to users of those paths. Whereas the
Slidehouse, which sits within 10 metres of the South West
Coast Path, Britain’s longest National Trail, would only
attribute 10% of their business to path users.
Peter and Tricia Gilardi’s Bed and Breakfast establishment
is about half a mile from the Southern Upland Way, a route
which traverses the breadth of the sparsely populated
Scottish Borders. It is a National Trail, and is probably
one of the quieter routes, yet over several years the
Gilardi’s believe that between 10% and 15% of their business
is path related. In Oxfordshire, Mrs Rouse’s Bed and
Breakfast lies some two and a half miles away from the
Thames Path, one of the newest National Trails. Despite
this distance, she can still attribute 5% of her visitors to
the users of the path.
If this is a market that you haven’t tried to attract
before, or your find yourself located to one of the newer
Trails to be launched in the future, it may be necessary to
offer additional services. Mrs Campbell provides a
collection and drop off service for walkers on the path.
Peter and Tricia Gilardi offer washing and drying
facilities, luggage transfer to the next night’s
accommodation and packed lunches. If there are no food
outlets between yourself and the next night’s accommodation
on the path, a packed lunch service is almost vital.
Isolated accommodation providers can also expect to find a
high demand for evening meals, but don’t scrimp on the
servings! Walkers tackling between ten and up to twenty
miles in a day look forward to a good breakfast to set
themselves up for the day, and a hearty meal to warm
themselves up at the end of the day.
Promotion plays a key role once the National Trail or
Regional Route has been identified. Some of the popular
National Trails have their own Associations, run by local
people to promote the path. The South West Coast Path
Association produces an annual guide giving brief route
descriptions and then contact details of accommodation
providers and some food outlets. The Tourist Boards
occasionally provide leaflets listing these details when a
route enters their area. And don’t forget to consider
advertising in the walking magazines that can be found on
the newsagents shelf. The Ramblers Association produce a
yearbook which is provided free to members and on sale
elsewhere which contains information about accommodation
along some of the routes. One publisher, Stilwell’s,
produce a National Trail Companion listing Bed and
Breakfasts and Pubs along forty six long distance paths in
Britain. And these days it’s not possible to overlook the
Internet. If you don’t have your own website, try and get
your details listed on any of the National Trail websites
that exist.
What benefits can be achieved with this extra work in
attracting this type of market? “The Southern Upland Way
was there before we purchased this house, but without it our
turnover would be probably 8% lower” commented Peter
Gilardi, continuing “a good percentage of our walkers are
here at times when there is little vehicular passing trade”.
Foot and Mouth disease has had an impact on the walking
fraternity and accommodation providers. Mrs Rouse used to
provide accommodation in Oxfordshire but closed when Foot
and Mouth became widespread. She has since taken the
decision to retire altogether. This also demonstrates the
impact walkers can have on a business and hope is just over
the next stile. The Ramblers Association claimed in
November 2001 that 92% of paths on England were open and
most in Wales and Scotland, but still encouraged walkers to
check with the relevant Local Authority for clarification.
In response, the Countryside Agency is calling for sustained
action to bring tourists back into rural areas.
In light of this information what advice would one
accommodation provider pass to another interested in the
walking market? Mrs Campbell suggested “Imagine that you
are the walker. Welcome them with a smile and a hot drink
and congratulate them if they are finishing. If you don’t
want dirty boots, soggy socks etc, don’t do B&B, and provide
baths as well as showers”. The proprietors of the
Slidehouse warned about advertising though. “Don’t spend
any money on advertising due to almost weekly requests to
appear in various publications wanting anything from £30 to
£300 for a single entry”.
Routes which will appear in the near future, or be
designated with National Trail status are:-
·
The Cotswold Way in 2004
·
The Hadrian’s Wall Path in the Summer of 2002
·
The Pennine Bridleway completely opened by 2003
·
The Great Glen Way in 2002
·
An extension to the Speyside Way was officially opened in
2000.
Finally, when asked what advice she would give,
Mrs Rouse replied “Embrace it!”, and you can’t say
fairer than that!
Further
Information
www.countryside.gov.uk
Scottish
Natural Heritage
12 Hope Terrace
Edinburgh
EH9 2AS
www.snh.org.uk
The
Ramblers Association
1-5 Wordsworth Road
London
SW8 2XX
Stilwell
Publishing Ltd
59 Charlotte Road
Shoreditch
London
EC2A 3QW
www.stilwell.co.uk |
