Berwick reaps benefits from England/Scotland debate



IAN SMITH a Berwick Advertiser (the townee cousin of the Berwickshire) reporter writes in the latest edition:

BERWICK is preparing for a surge in tourism interest as a direct result of the mass media coverage it has received over the past few days.

Television crews have beamed pictures of Berwick all over the world since the town hit the headlines in a debate over whether it should be English or Scottish.

Hundreds of newspaper column inches and hours of radio air time have also been devoted to an issue which has really caught the public's imagination.

The fact that Berwick has been bathed in glorious spring sunshine, showcasing the River Tweed and Elizabethan Ramparts at their best, has made it a marketing dream for tourism bosses.

Giles Ingram, executive director of Northumberland Tourism, said: "The amount of prime time television coverage and other media interest has been absolutely fantastic — you just can't buy it.

"We really want to try and spin it out as long as we can so we are now looking at ideas to help keep Berwick in the spotlight and maximise the benefit."

They are already working with BGB Communications, a London-based travel and tourism agency with key media contacts, to build on the publicity already generated.

"Berwick is an absolutely key part of our tourism offer but we know it has not realised its full potential.

"It's a historic town that ought to be attracting more visitors so this sort of publicity is great for us," admitted Mr Ingram.

Berwick Borough Council has been inundated with media inquiries from as far afield as the United States, Canada, Australia and even Russia*.

"There has been a huge amount of interest from the media," said a council spokesman. "We've had requests from broadcasters all over the world, including a Russian news agency.

"Closer to home we've had all the national press, television and radio interested as well as the regional and Scottish media while a production company has been in touch about doing a documentary on Berwick.

"There's no doubt that with all the sunny weather we've enjoyed recently it has helped to show the town in an extremely positive light."


I am not too sure about all the sunny weather we have been having recently-sunny yes.
Weather yes; but hardly conducive to sightseeing this latest Tourist Mecca. I took a friend on the standard visitor trail: Coffee and cake at Doolally's and then a walk around the Elizabethan walls (finished 1588 just missing the Spanish Armada, apparently) Cake good but once on the walls the horizontal wind and low eye dazzling sun made beating the bounds very hazardous especially as the top of the walls are exposed to the gale and the drop to the moat below is sheer and sometimes terminal; we have lost the odd visitor too busy reading the blurb about the Berwick Artist WS Lowry (well he did a couple of paintings here) to notice (no pun intended) where his feet were (all victims have been male they say) -a gust of wind and Bob's your bereaved uncle.

I am sure the city fathers wil be thinking of many eye catching slogans to attract new folk as visitors cashing in on the recent publicity but perhaps they should avoid

See Berwick and Die

* Why 'even Russia'? I am sure the phones have been humming with anxious Russians asking for assurance that they are no longer at war with Berwick

(The image is of a section of Berwick's wall-fall off that you remain very fell)

Labels: Berwick, Berwick's Walls, War with Russia

  ¶ 9:48 AM