This much-loved long distance walking trail has been given a new lease of life thanks to a collaborative project between local councils, groups and volunteers across the County.

A celebratory event was organised to thank all those involved, to help promote the trail and share materials for local businesses and residents to use and enjoy.

Three guest speakers including Dot Walford, (retired Blue Badge Tour Guide), Martyn Smith, (volunteer for the Somerset Rights of Way team), and Rachael Whaites (SSDC’s Countryside Manager) spoke about different aspects of the trail. Each speaker had so much knowledge and such passion it was very interesting to listen to them.

The evening was also an opportunity to see some of the artefacts held at the South Somerset Heritage Collection such as a Yeovil brick, which would have been transported from Langport to Bridgwater and flax, hemp, rope and twine which were produced along with sail cloth, at mills along the River Parrett.

A wide selection of material has been produced, including a beautiful promotional film featuring Somerset’s Kitty Macfarlane’s song Man Friendship, which captivated the audience and perfectly illustrates the landscape’s wild and natural beauty.

All the material, including route descriptions, are free to share on your own website and social channels and can be accessed at www.visitsouthsomerset.com/listings/walking/the-river-parrett-trail.htm.

Please get in touch if you need more information or printed copies of the DL promotional leaflet.

The South Somerset Visitor Information Centre was delighted to scoop the GOLD award for Visitor Information Service of the Year for the second year running in The Bristol, Bath and Somerset Tourism Awards 2021-2022 recently and went on to win Silver at the South West Tourism Excellence Awards. Well done team!

There is an exciting opportunity to advertise on two large digital screens, one facing inside and the other facing the busy onsite cafe courtyard at the South Somerset Visitor Information Centre.

Please email if you are interested in this unique adverting opportunity.

The VisitSouthSomerset website continues to perform well, with user numbers increasing every month. We are now attracting more than 8,000 new users every month, so this is a fantastic opportunity for local tourism and hospitality businesses to benefit from this reach, all FOR FREE.

What’s On pages; there are lots of great events happening again, please remember to tell us about them. This continues to be one of the most popular sections of the site, so make sure that you tell us about events in South Somerset that you wish to share with visitors and residents. Event details can be uploaded here, and please email a suitable image (preferably landscape format) to go with your listing.

Events can also be submitted to Radio Ninesprings, via their online portal, where they will be featured on their website and read out on the radio station.

Social Media Collaboration Opportunities: We are always interested to hear from local businesses who would like to collaborate with us – we have recently worked with Fleet Air Arm Museum and The Bath and West Show offering a ticket giveaway competition, and promoting the attraction/ event. 

If you would like to speak to us about this further, please contact me, in the first instance or email: tourism@southsomerset.gov.uk

Don't forget to follow our channels and be sure to #visitsouthsomerset. We love to see your content and share posts, stories and promote events when we can. Thank you!

Massive congratulations to The Cotley Inn in Wambrook for its recent Gold for Pub of the Year in the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence. They were nominated for the Visit England awards following their success in the Bristol, Bath and Somerset awards and now going to benefit from amazing PR opportunities as well as some of the good old fashioned "feel good factor".

The 2022 tourism awards close at midnight on 19 June and there are categories for accommodation, experiences, attractions, food and drink, dog-friendly, visitor information, and many more, find out about them all HERE. You can enter as many categories as you like.

If you are unsure about entering, Nell Barrington is running an extra final free online workshop to help entrants on 13 June at 2pm, details on their website. I really recommend these workshops and it can help save a lot of time when completing the forms. 

I recently attended a meeting about the proposed new Hospitality Hub being set up by Yeovil Chamber in conjunction with Yeovil College. In this instance, it isn't what they say on the tin, as they will be covering a much wider area that just Yeovil! They are interested in making contact with tourism businesses that can see the benefits of networking, sharing ideas and maybe resources. If you think this group might be for you please get in touch and I can forward your details on to the group for an invitation to the next meeting.

This is the survey link and the deadline for submissions is 30^th June 2022.

Thank you - it is really helpful when businesses fill in in this survey

As Visit Somerset plans its strategy for the next few years, they are inviting members and non members to help influence their direction and evolution. Please help them to understand how best to support you as a business and a member of Visit Somerset by completing this survey here - thank you

To find out more, including all the events, the Somerset Food Trail website will be live soon or take a look at their social media accounts -

(24 September - 9 October)

Keep an eye on the Art Works website for details as they are finalised.

Training and Business opportunities

Escape the Everyday was first launched in autumn 2020, to encourage people to book a short break across the UK, the campaign showcases the breadth of experiences to escape to. To get involved,

Download the free campaign toolkit for examples of how you can get involved in the campaign, as well as the Escape The Everyday logo for use in your own marketing activity.

The VisitEngland website is full of useful research and other useful links, such as the latest consumer sentiment tracker. You can sign up here to receive their fortnightly industry newsletter.

If you are interested in learn how to boost international bookings, you can sign up for a FREE virtual training course, Taking England to the World, to help your business reach new customers and grow your revenue.

To make the most of the programme please ensure you can attend all three dates of your chosen course - more details from here

A unique opportunity Data Analytic Training for Somerset businesses to receive FREE specialist training from top University of Exeter academics to help you maximise your understanding of data analytics.

Spaces are limited so email leah.watts@astleymedia.co.uk ASAP with your name, job role, company name and address to register.

Cosmic have established the Velocity Project which is an exciting new opportunity for all voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations in Somerset, offering fully funded training, support and investment until summer 2022. It is being run through funding from the Government’s Community Renewal Fund.

Full details about the trailing programme, workshops, champions network and potential technical solutions are available here

They also publishes a weekly blog, where they share tips and tricks on digital marketing on our social channels and blog, keep an eye out every Tuesday or have a look at their website

Finally a reminder about Thrive, a service provided by the South West Growth Hub, for the self-employed and small to medium-size enterprises (SMEs) in Devon, Plymouth, Somerset and Torbay.

Enrolled businesses will be able to access 1-2-1 support, webinars and specialist support around topics such as digital skills, finance, marketing, HR, business planning and more. Click here to find out more

Window Seater is a new app that provides geolocated audio stories which connect rail travellers to the world outside their window - covering subjects as diverse as history, geography, community, culture and local activities. They have audio guides for ten railway lines (and counting!) in the south west, including the Heart of Wessex line - which in South Somerset passes Bruton, Castle Cary and Yeovil Pen Mill - and all the great stories in between!

You can get the app for free on Apple or Google stores and the Window Seater team are keen for you to tell them what you think via this short feedback form.

They would also love to hear from local businesses and organisations in South Somerset - get in touch here

The Moore Foundation, in collaboration with the artist’s daughter Mary Moore, have produced a comprehensive survey spanning six decades which extends across all five gallery spaces, in addition to an open-air presentation of seminal works.

‘Henry Moore. Sharing Form’ runs until 4 September 2022. Explore now: www.hauserwirth.com/hauser-wirth-exhibitions/36155-henry-moore-sharing-form

Recently the Somerset Wetlands was announced as the second 'super' National Nature Reserve (NNR) by Natural England, following Purbeck in Dorset being declared in 2020. Somerset Wetlands covers an area of 6,140 hectares of salt marsh, heath and wetland, which is home to significant populations of birds and insects. To read more on this exciting news, click here.