The Councils Tourist Advisory Panel (TAP) arranged a press day on Friday 15th May. The main objective of the day was to invite members of the press to our town. The event was designed to showcase the town’s heritage, High Street, waterfront and maritime character through a guided programme involving Councillors and key local stakeholders. The main aims of the press day were to:-
- Raise Brightlingsea’s profile as an attractive and accessible day-trip destination.
- Generate positive media coverage across print, online and social platforms.
- Strengthen partnerships with District and County tourism organisations.
- Highlight the town’s distinctive assets, including the Harbour, Lido, Museum and sailing heritage.
- Launch of the “Winterfest” Accessibility Map.
The Mayor, Councillor Chris Paveley greeted the press at the Parish Hall along with other Councillors, after which there was a short walk to the High Street to listen to a brief talk by local High Street business owner Peter Reilly. This was followed by a visit and a cup of tea at Brightlingsea Museum, where they were warmly greeted by Margaret Stone, Curator of the Museum and volunteers. The Museum is a major highlight for Brightlingsea and a “must see” for visitors to the town.
Brightlingsea Town Council were delighted to join forces with the launch of the “Winterfest” Accessibility Map led by Nicola Stephens. Nicola launched the project to the press and explained that this is an initiative exclusive to Brightlingsea to help people with access needs, she added that the programme could be easily understood by visiting our Visit Brightlingsea website at www.visitbrightlingsea.co.uk/accessibility-information. Should you wish to be added to the list of places accessible on the website, please email Nicola on accessbrightlingsea@hotmail.com.
After the Museum, the group visited the Lido, where the Chair of the Lido gave a well-planned tour along with other Lido Volunteers. A walk then led us to the Marina and the Press enjoyed a 30-minute Harbour tour, after which we gathered at the Colne Yacht Club for lunch. A presentation of Brightlingsea and all it has to offer was shown to the Press and a recorded song which was written by local artist, Peter Ronan called “Loving Brightlingsea” and performed by “Snappy” and can be heard by following the link here.
(All rights to use, reproduce and distribute “Loving Brightlingsea” have been given to Brightlingsea Town Council with kind permission of the artist).
