This is Somerset -- Tourism businesses breathed a huge sigh of relief across the West Country yesterday, as gorgeous sunshine sent the mercury soaring and holidaymakers running for the hills and beaches. It marks a remarkable contrast to 12 months ago, when Tewkesbury Abbey was encircled by flood waters, and fields across Somerset reflected little but gloom. But, a year on, some holidaymakers are so glad of the chance to get away that they are staying on – and the domestic tourist industry has been given a big boost by Tourism Minister Hugh Robertson. Jonathan Jones, whose family runs Minehead and Exmoor Camping and Caravan Park said: "The weather is ideal and people are happy to be here and they are staying on longer." The Badminton Horse Trials were on track to record their busiest day ever, as its world-famous cross-country contest took place for the first time in two years, after the waterlogged fields forced its cancellation last year. And in Bristol, the city's 10km road race was resplendent in colour, as 10,000 runners completed the fifth annual race taking in landmarks such as the harbour, Avon Gorge and ss Great Britain. This year's overall race winner was 31-year-old Dave Webb, from Shrewsbury, with a time of 30min 5s, with the first woman being professional athlete Gemma Steel, 27, who lives in Whitwick in Leicestershire and was running for Charnwood Athletic Club, with a time of 32min 15s. Also running yesterday were thousands of people on the in the 3km, 5km and 10km Glastonbury Road Run. Up the road in Cheltenham, thousands descended on the town for its world-famous jazz festival, with the likes of Dionne Warwick and Georgie Fame – as well as the many fringe events – keeping the crowds entertained late into the evening. And at historical sites in Somerset and Wiltshire, swords and battle lines were drawn for a taste of medieval life. At Dunster Castle, the Taunton Garrison Living History Group recreated the turbulent period of the English Civil War, and the castle's famous seige. At Old Sarum, there was not even the excuse of a real Wars of the Rose battle on site to get the Medieval Seige Society out in force with a powerful demonstration of another seige, and weapons, including a mighty trebuchet. History of a slightly more idiosyncratic type was the focus at Randwick in Gloucestershire yesterday, with Wap cheeses roled anti-clockwise aroudn the church of St John the Baptist, in a medieval tradition supposed to ward off evil spirits. Elsewhere, thousands headed to Weymouth beach for the popular kite festival and the Somerset coast saw plenty of visitors. The kite festival and martial events at Dunster and Old Sarum continue today, with early fog predicted to burn away, leaving temperatures to approach 20°C. The tourism minister has urged Britons to follow his lead by holidaying in the Westcountry as the weak pound pushes up the price of foreign holidays. The change in the fortunes of sterling, down 5 per cent so far this year on top of steady declines since 2008, means holidaymakers are receiving less foreign currency to the pound. Speaking to the Western Daily Press, Hugh Robertson, Tourism Minister, said eschewing the continent for British holiday hotspots "helps everyone" in terms of boosting the flagging economy. He added an extension to domestic tourism body VisitEngland's taxpayer-funded Holidays at Home campaign would also pay dividends for the region. But the Conservative minister ruled out a VAT cut for the tourism industry – called for to boost the sector and bring Britain in line with France. He said: "Tourism is one of the key drivers of the South West economy, self-evidently. "One of the great opportunities for the South West is at a time when the pound is weak compared to the euro and some other currencies abroad – and air passenger duty is quite high – is to encourage more and more people to spend their holidays at home. "And as someone who is in the process of booking a holiday in Devon for the summer holidays, and whose is wife is perusing the websites, it hasn't escaped my notice that there is quite a lot of spare capacity in the South West at the moment. "And I would very much encourage people to spend some money at home. That helps everybody."
Reported by This is 4 days ago.
This is Somerset -- Tourism businesses breathed a huge sigh of relief across the West Country yesterday, as gorgeous sunshine sent the mercury soaring and holidaymakers running for the hills and beaches. It marks a remarkable contrast to 12 months ago, when Tewkesbury Abbey was encircled by flood waters, and fields across Somerset reflected little but gloom. But, a year on, some holidaymakers are so glad of the chance to get away that they are staying on – and the domestic tourist industry has been given a big boost by Tourism Minister Hugh Robertson. Jonathan Jones, whose family runs Minehead and Exmoor Camping and Caravan Park said: "The weather is ideal and people are happy to be here and they are staying on longer." The Badminton Horse Trials were on track to record their busiest day ever, as its world-famous cross-country contest took place for the first time in two years, after the waterlogged fields forced its cancellation last year. And in Bristol, the city's 10km road race was resplendent in colour, as 10,000 runners completed the fifth annual race taking in landmarks such as the harbour, Avon Gorge and ss Great Britain. This year's overall race winner was 31-year-old Dave Webb, from Shrewsbury, with a time of 30min 5s, with the first woman being professional athlete Gemma Steel, 27, who lives in Whitwick in Leicestershire and was running for Charnwood Athletic Club, with a time of 32min 15s. Also running yesterday were thousands of people on the in the 3km, 5km and 10km Glastonbury Road Run. Up the road in Cheltenham, thousands descended on the town for its world-famous jazz festival, with the likes of Dionne Warwick and Georgie Fame – as well as the many fringe events – keeping the crowds entertained late into the evening. And at historical sites in Somerset and Wiltshire, swords and battle lines were drawn for a taste of medieval life. At Dunster Castle, the Taunton Garrison Living History Group recreated the turbulent period of the English Civil War, and the castle's famous seige. At Old Sarum, there was not even the excuse of a real Wars of the Rose battle on site to get the Medieval Seige Society out in force with a powerful demonstration of another seige, and weapons, including a mighty trebuchet. History of a slightly more idiosyncratic type was the focus at Randwick in Gloucestershire yesterday, with Wap cheeses roled anti-clockwise aroudn the church of St John the Baptist, in a medieval tradition supposed to ward off evil spirits. Elsewhere, thousands headed to Weymouth beach for the popular kite festival and the Somerset coast saw plenty of visitors. The kite festival and martial events at Dunster and Old Sarum continue today, with early fog predicted to burn away, leaving temperatures to approach 20°C. The tourism minister has urged Britons to follow his lead by holidaying in the Westcountry as the weak pound pushes up the price of foreign holidays. The change in the fortunes of sterling, down 5 per cent so far this year on top of steady declines since 2008, means holidaymakers are receiving less foreign currency to the pound. Speaking to the Western Daily Press, Hugh Robertson, Tourism Minister, said eschewing the continent for British holiday hotspots "helps everyone" in terms of boosting the flagging economy. He added an extension to domestic tourism body VisitEngland's taxpayer-funded Holidays at Home campaign would also pay dividends for the region. But the Conservative minister ruled out a VAT cut for the tourism industry – called for to boost the sector and bring Britain in line with France. He said: "Tourism is one of the key drivers of the South West economy, self-evidently. "One of the great opportunities for the South West is at a time when the pound is weak compared to the euro and some other currencies abroad – and air passenger duty is quite high – is to encourage more and more people to spend their holidays at home. "And as someone who is in the process of booking a holiday in Devon for the summer holidays, and whose is wife is perusing the websites, it hasn't escaped my notice that there is quite a lot of spare capacity in the South West at the moment. "And I would very much encourage people to spend some money at home. That helps everybody."
Reported by This is 4 days ago.