Northumberland Tourism On The Up! Still time to book a staycation up north

We can all agree that Northumberland is a fantastic place to live and visit, and thankfully this is something that others are realising too. Visit Northumberland recently shared the area's tourism statistics for 2015, and there is some very positive news.

Last year we welcomed a total of 9.5 million visitors to Northumberland, an increase of 3% on 2014. These visitors spent 14.8m days with us, which is also up a healthy 4% from last year. What's more:

- 1.7m of our visitors stayed overnight, an increase of 2.8%

- Between them visitors spent a total of £816m, up by 5% on the previous year.

- 11,591 direct jobs were supported by tourism, also up by 4%.

What this all proves is that Northumberland is a county on the up, and one which welcomes visitors both old and new. Tourism is a vital part of the local economy, but should also be seen as a point of pride. Having so many people visit the area is heartening, and it merely reinforces what we already know: that Northumberland is the best county in the country!

For inspiration on where to take any friends or family who are up on a visit, then give the Visit Northumberland website a look - http://www.visitnorthumberland.com/ or send them this link, which really does showcase the stunning scenery on our doorstep - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCg0L-DJfAs.

Bringing Local Venues Back to Life - The Dyvels Inn &The County Hotel both provide a fresh start to the local pub / hotel scene

The North East, and our own constituency in particular, has always been blessed with great ales and fantastic pubs. That's why I was so pleased to re-launch two brilliant pubs recently, both of which have been through hard times not so long ago.

The Dyvels Inn in Corbridge was devastated by the floods of last winter, making business impossible. The renovations that Chris Baxter and his team had done only months before were wasted, as both features and decorations were ruined by the water. Thankfully, due to the enthusiasm of Chris, and with the help of the people at Punch Taverns, the pub is now ready for business again.

The pub boasts one of the nicest beer gardens in Northumberland, and is always a friendly and welcoming environment for everyone. Worth noting also is the County Hotel, which also re-launched recently. Once again supported by Punch Taverns, this fine establishment is back doing what it should be doing; selling beer and providing good food..

It was heartening to see both of these establishments finding their feet again, and I implore all of you to go and have a pint (or two) at both when you get the chance. These pubs are at the heart of their respective communities, so we should all do as much as we can to ensure that they continue to thrive.
The wider point is that both provide much needed beds for tourists, business visitors and for weddings and events. Tynedale needs this. But use them or lose them - its your community. I have had pints in both and the beer is good!

Cycling in Northumberland is going from strength to strength - the Sandstone Way adds to this

Recently I got the chance to ride the Sandstone Way, the epic journey from Hexham to Berwick by cycle route, cross country and forest trails, cycle paths, and quiet back routes. It is a wonderful thing to do with beautiful views, great stopping points, easy navigation due to the great signage and some spectacular climbs and ascents. I have never been on a cycle route like it, and am eternally grateful to the Tyne Valley Mountain Bike Club for letting me join them. A short report of the routes progress, the numbers of people who are using it and thereby boosting the rural economy, and the sheer fun of the trip are found in this good report by the Journal.
http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/thousands-cyclists-ride-new-northumberland-11189211
We are slowly making progress on the provision of greater cycling provision in Northumberland. I look enviously at what Newcastle has achieved with significant government support, and await the changes we all seek from NCC. For my part I am doing all I can to support the various cycle routes, the pubs and tea rooms that so depend on them and the expansion of cycling across Northumberland. I am not doing the Dunwich Dynamo this summer but have signed up to the Ride100, https://www.prudentialridelondon.co.uk/ raising money for Brain Tumour Research, which is a pretty ardous cycle project for the summer.

The Sill project is the biggest investment in Rural Northumberland +opening June 2017

Great to visit the building site for the Sill last week. This is going to transform West Northumberland in so many ways. There is going to be 80+ beds for kids and tourists to use, which will massively boost tourist numbers and the revenue spend. The architecture on its own will make the sill a destination. And as a visitor centre it is going to be something special. Full credit to the team behind it, but it is a massive project funded largely by Heritage Lottery money and it was great to bring the Heritage Minister on site on Thursday of last week.

Still time to book places on the Haltwhistle Walking Festival and enjoy great Northumberland hiking

Marjorie Baillie and her team run a great walking festival and I warmly recommend it. The west of Northumberland has great country to hike over. The dates are April 23-May 2. Full details here:
http://www.haltwhistlewalkingfestival.org/page17.html

English Tourism Week this week - so much to celebrate in Northumberland

This coming week, 5th-13th March, is English Tourism Week 2016. Tourism is a vital regional industry; generating £3.1 billion, and providing 58,000 jobs in the North East, last year. The industry is also England’s third largest employer, directly providing jobs for over 1.5 million people, and generating £82 billion a year for regional communities.

In Northumberland we are very fortunate: we have award winning hospitality, glorious natural spaces, and history in abundance. This week, therefore is the perfect opportunity to go out and enjoy all our county has to offer, and support our local tourism industry.

Last month I attended a key tourism reception in the Commons. The striking difference was that there was lots of evidence of the North's many tourism organisations working together and not in competition. This is another example of the change that is happening by reason of the Northern Powerhouse leadership and drive towards a view that we are better together up north.

Thursday 11th September - The Tour of Britain Cycle Race goes from Prudhoe west through Northumberland

Pencil the date in and get Involved!


The detailed route is kept secret until closer to the event, but the outline was announced yesterday.
On Wed 10th Sep the race comes down across the Borders, past Alnwick, then down to a finish in Blyth.
On Thur 11th the race starts in Prudhoe then heads west right along the Tyne Valley into Cumbria then looping back for a west to east climb up Hartside. Some of the logic for the route is getting a balance between variation for the racers, a dramatic backdrop, but also accessibility for onlookers. i.e. there might be some roads which would seem very pretty to hold the race, but when cordoned off would make it very hard for large numbers of people to reach.

The race is clearly the pinnacle of speed and power, but the hope is it will help stimulate cycling across the full spectrum, in fact particularly those who can currently barely cycle. So encourage your local schools and community groups to plan activities leveraging the occurrence of the race.

Live in Heathrow: huge pics selling the Great North East has gone live in T1-5

Millions of Heathrow passengers now see VisitBritain adverts of the North East on digital screens across all the 5 terminals, as a result of our region’s victory in the #YourGreatBritain competition back in July.

Heathrow airport is now officially promoting the North East. The five promotional images for the North East show the Newcastle Quayside, Bamburgh Castle, Durham Cathedral, Hadrian’s Wall and the Angel of the North. 

Heathrow, the UK’s only hub airport, is the gateway to Britain and sees around 73 million passengers a year travel through the airport. With seven flights a day from Heathrow to Newcastle we hope that the three month advertising campaign worth £1million will inspire passengers to explore the beautiful North East during their visit to the UK.

If you could spare a brief moment, you could retweet, blog or let others know: http://www.itv.com/news/tyne-tees/update/2014-09-08/heathrow-adorned-with-north-east-beauty-spots/
Better Still: tell your friends to come and visit soon.
 

Letter from Heathrow! From late August Heathrow will showcase North East until November

The Chief Executive of Heathrow, John Holland Kaye, has just written to me:

Guy Opperman MP
House of Commons
London
SW1A 0AA                                                                                                      6th August 2014

Dear Mr Opperman,
Congratulations in playing your part in our #YourGreatBritain competition and securing the North East a £1 million advertising campaign at Heathrow. Despite losing the lead with just 48 hours to go, thanks to your support, the North East pulled together and showed not only to us here at Heathrow, but to the entire nation, that it is a region built on pride.

Heathrow – the UK’s only hub airport - is one of the busiest airports in the world, with around 73 million passengers travelling through every year. We are delighted that with 7 daily flights from Heathrow to Newcastle, we are able to connect businesses in the North East to their global markets and give easy access for overseas tourists to enjoy the incredible landscape, history and culture that the North East has to offer.
With this competition, we wanted to show our commitment to delivering growth for the whole of the country. In March, Heathrow began a 12-month advertising partnership with VisitBritain where we gave £4 million of advertising space to inspire visitors to explore the UK. The first three months of the partnership promoted the previously flood hit areas of Devon, Cornwall, Llanddwyn Island (Wales Coast Path) and Glastonbury, to show they were back on track and open for business. The second round of adverts that went live in June were chosen to coincide with the Tour de France Grand Départ, illustrating Yorkshire’s celebrated countryside, as well as the region’s retail and architectural strengths.
For this third round of adverts, we let the public decide which region would feature. In a two week competition, the North East fought off the North West, Midlands and Northern Ireland to secure £1m worth of free advertising at Heathrow. The North East will now see four advertisements showing its breadth and beauty presented across digital screens in all terminals at Heathrow from the end of August until the end of November.
Thank you for your support, Heathrow is a national asset and, if we get approval for expansion, we will ensure that the whole of the UK feels the benefit, not just London and the South East. For more information, visit http://your.heathrow.com/britainsheathrow/

Yours sincerely, John Holland-Kaye, Chief Executive
Fuller details here: http://www.thejournal.co.uk/news/north-east-news/north-east-voters-win-region-7563741
For my part I cannot wait to go to Heathrow and see the Wall on display!!

Amazing new electric bikes in Allendale - you have to try them out

Last week I went to Allendale to meet Jo Dixon and the many others helping to regenerate Allendale.
We are pictured outside the post office, with the new electric bikes available in the village, which are amazing. I am no Chris Froome, but he would have been hard pressed to keep up as we whizzed up the Allendale hills - the bikes are so good in that they are normal bikes on the flat ... but the moment that you hit a slope they kick in and you pedal effortlessly up the hills like Lance Armstrong on steroids. Whilst doing the tour of Allendale, I came across curlews who rose effortlessly from the side of the road and flew off to the moors with their haunting sounds. The curlew was so beautiful.
If you have not been to Allendale, and the incredible countryside around it, you have to go.

The New York Times review of the North East by award winning writer Jane Smiley

Well worth a read - she writes beautifully, about a beautiful land:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/08/travel/lost-in-time-in-englands-northeast.html?_r=0

The Hiking and Halls Tour

I am hiking Hadrians Wall from Wallsend in Newcastle, then up the Tyne and all across the constituency in Northumberland into Cumbria.
I am doing this to promote our tourist strengths, to raise money for 2 great charities, to prove my fitness, and stopping off along the way to hold a series of Village Hall "ASK GUY" events with the local councillors. I have rented some village halls where anyone can come and quiz myself and our councillors as to what we are doing on their behalf, what concerns them, and generally ask us questions.
The schedule is as follows:
Sat 20 Aug
Allendale surgery and Allendale Show

Sun 21 Aug
Bellingham BBQ Lunch

Mon 22 Aug
Hexham day and
Meeting the team at the Hexham Courant

Tue 23 Aug
Meeting at County Hall RE: Equal Pay Campaign
Constituents surgery in Hexham
Speaking to Cancer Support Group, 7.30pm, Ward 1, Hexham Hospital

Wed 24 Aug
Start of walk - Wallsend to Newcastle
Interview with Paul Tully, of the Journal
Freeman Hospital visit
Visit to Scotswood Garden

Thu 25 Aug
Walk Newcastle to Heddon on the wall, then by car to Prudhoe
Then a Wylam walkabout visiting all the shops
Then...
ASK GUY Ponteland event 7.30 @ Ponteland Memorial Hall + local councillors

Fri 26 Aug
Tynedale Business Forum 7.15am Hexham
Walk Heddon on the Wall to Corbridge
Corbridge shops walkabout
ASK GUY Event 7.30 at Corbridge Village Hall

Sat 27 Aug
Walk Corbridge to Humshaugh
Drop in to Old Church B+ B at Chollerton for a much needed cup of tea
Bellingham Show 2-5pm
Then...
ASK GUY Humshaugh event 7.30 @ Humshaugh Village Hall

Sun 28 Aug
Walk Humshaugh to Gilsland
Meeting various constituents on or next to Hadrians Wall
Going to Haydon Bridge

Mon 29 Aug
Walking Gilsland - Carlisle. End of the Walk

Tuesday Aug 30
Hexham based Surgery day
Parliament returns Monday September 5th

Please feel free to join me on the walk - simply call 01434 603 777 / or email hexham@tory.org
Come along to one of the events - simply turn up. They are free.
Or donate to one of the two fantastic chairities I am supporting - the Tynedale Hospice, which helps local people all over Hexham, whilst the National Hospital for Neurosurgery in Queens Square, London, saved my life in May.
Thanks, Guy

Tynedale Hospice at http://www.justgiving.com/guy-opperman-mp/

National Hospital for Neurosurgery at https://www.justgiving.com/Guy-Opperman-Mp0
POSTSCRIPT:
A really nice article by Robert Weatherall in the Journal on our plans
http://www.journallive.co.uk/north-east-news/todays-news/2011/08/10/hexham-mp-guy-opperman-to-raise-funds-for-brain-charity-61634-29208283/

Tourism and Heritage Minister in Hexham Constituency - 23rd June

Good news that John Penrose MP, the Minister for Tourism and Heritage, will be visiting Northumberland on this Thursday 23rd June 2011. After spending time at Vindolanda next to Hadrian's Wall, the Minister will be going to Newcastle and Gateshead mid afternoon for a brief tour of The Sage and the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art. He then goes on to the Newcastle / Gateshead Initiative’s offices in South Shore Road, Gateshead for discussions with leaders from the tourism industry across the region. John is being hosted by the Northern Tourism Alliance (NewcastleGateshead Initiative, Visit County Durham, Northumberland Tourism, Hadrian’s Wall Heritage and NE Hotels Association).
Sadly I cannot be there on Thursday but John's visit is timely and a good chance not only to visit key sites but also discuss the opportunities and issues facing tourism businesses and to hear any feedback on the Government’s recently launched Tourism Policy.
I met with John and representatives of Northumberland Tourism in the spring in parliament and he is a good man firmly committed to trying to bring the tourists in and maximise our assets. In Hexham the team has done a lot to promote tourism and our Vist Northumberland campaign is really kicking in