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Tourist Information Board Imbalance

Timbo

By Timbo
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Timbo

Timbo

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I'm not talking about them falling over...you know who I'm looking at over my glasses ...

I've just spent an afternoon at my day job advising a landscape management authority on the content on their tourist information boards. The authority involved had received quite a lot of negative comment from visitors and stakeholders about the information contained on these notices. The main complaint can be characterised in one comment.
"I wanted to know about the history of the location but the only information available was about non-descript brown birds which we could not see."
This instantly struck a chord with me. I recently brought RT back to the Northern Broads and moored up for the night at the Tea Gardens.
"I wonder why they are called the Tea Gardens?" asked Alli who had been volunteered as crew.
"I don't know. There's a tourist information board over there, let's go find out!" I replied.
We sauntered over to find a a board full of information about non-descript brown birds which were hiding and not visible at the location at that time of year at that time of day and nothing about the history of the location.

As part of the meeting today I was confronted with a blinkered wildlife organisation also attending the meeting while we were on a site visit.
"There's no history here, the wildlife is the important thing that we need to get visitors to appreciate!" said the wildlife bod.
While we walked along the path we were caught up by a group of American Tourists. As we walked along I picked up shards of Roman pottery, a whet stone, several neolithic pot boilers and an Elizabethan silver penny from the plough soil by the headland. The tourists were fascinated and asked so many questions I went into 'tour guide mode'. I pointed out the remains of the abandoned medieval village. We spoke about the plague, agricultural revolution, I gave them directions to the next village along which was the former home of one of the Pilgrim Father's which was one of the reasons they were visiting the area.
The tourists moved on leaving me £60 in tips which I donated to the management authority as my contribution to their new 'inclusive' tourist information boards.

The rambling point I'm getting to, is that the information boards around the Broads are in a similar state. Other than at specific recognised historic locations such as St Bennets or Potter Bridge, there is little or no information included on signage for the tourist interested in things other than non descript brown birds. Norfolk is a landscape shaped by man. It's a landscape so drenched in history you couldn't swing a duck, if you can find one, without hitting archaeology. So please, could we start to have signage which is inclusive of all interests? 

Rant over, I'm now off to report my finds to the county archaeologist and finish this article on 18th Century perfumers.

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JennyMorgan

JennyMorgan

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The point has long been made, the Broads is largely a man-made, industrial landscape. Our history and many of our ancestors predate the Roman Empire, it's a long story well worth telling. 

I will say it,  I find those blessed information boards intrusive, I don't welcome them. By and large I find them condescending. However, I do welcome the information being available via the internet. 

By the way, the Dutch Tea Gardens was named thus out of political expediency by a sharp minded businessman called Miller. It was his creation, his Tea Gardens, accessible to his customers using his boats. I've forgotten the previous name but it was one of not very nice people relating to WW1. The Dutch were thought to be very nice people, which indeed they are, thus the Tea Gardens became Dutch! 

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YnysMon

YnysMon

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I liked the info board near Loddon Staithe...about the trade that went on in the area conveyed by Wherries.

History...not birds.

😀

Mind you... on our recent visit I could have done with an info board that reminded me what a Moorhen looked like (thanks Marshman). :default_hiding:

 

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johnb

johnb

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It always amuses me when we enter Heigham Sound on the right hand side just past the eel sett, there are two large notice boards. One is on the bank just before a small bay where people often fish from boats. The board is on an overgrown piece of bank where it doesn’t seem possible to moor or walk to. As far as i am concerned, it is impossible to read from the river (maybe if you went very close to the bank and stopped in a not very convenient place it may be possible). Then  about 100 yards further on a notice is attached to the netting protecting the reed bed. Again more than one can see without stopping mid channel. Whoever decided to place these notices appears never to have tried to read them from any convenient place.

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Timbo

Timbo

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On 21/11/2019 at 22:10, JennyMorgan said:

I will say it,  I find those blessed information boards intrusive, I don't welcome them. By and large I find them condescending. However, I do welcome the information being available via the internet.

Anyone looking at the Broads Authority site would be incorrectly told the Broads was once a vast estuary in the Roman period. With what information is readily available over the internet subject to an easily manipulated search algorithm rather than the accuracy of the information being presented, I quite like checking out the information in the location I find myself. Although some of that information can be suspect too. I was having a bit of a chuckle Peter about where we would put your blue plaque on the rhonde or Yare House? A bit like the plaque to Nelson in 'Carry on Jack' which Kenneth Williams' Captain Fearless keeps tripping over? :default_norty:

On 23/11/2019 at 22:42, YnysMon said:

reminded me what a Moorhen looked like

I saw a moorhen on Barton Broad last month. It wasn't until I saw it that I realised I hadn't seen one in years!

12 hours ago, johnb said:

Whoever decided to place these notices

Meanwhile back at home and talking of 'blue plaques' I've run across a case of blue plaque fitters who got lost. A local history group in town raise money to pay for blue plaques celebrating various historical figures involvement in the town or notable bits of architecture or architecture long gone. The only problem is, they either don't put them anywhere near the place they are supposed to commemorate or when they do get it right put the plaque so high up a wall that you can't read it.

 

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ChrisB

ChrisB

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NNDC  have an excellent "Deep Coast" trail with a number of permanent exhibitions plus an augmented smart phone app to accompany your exploration of the coastline. As I have often said there is a lot more to Norfolk than The Broads. The Broads are dominated by the BA in a "National Park" mode and NWT in a nature conservation mode it needs another body to push the historical angle. I feel it is a bit of a shame that the phone has taken over from the enquiring mind and interlect but, that's the time we live in.

20191125_112858.thumb.jpg.26c9878c9af422cbfc1dc007d5893ee1.jpg

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JennyMorgan

JennyMorgan

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For my sins the Angles Way goes past my garden and a very good walk it is too. I've done many miles of it over the years but unless things have changed lately we have nothing like that that North Norfolk offers. In my own case the footpath itself qualifies as 'ancient' and has both Roman and medieval connections, in other words it has history yet the casual walker is unlikely to be aware of it. A good friend of mine, a Teddy Back (RIP), was keen on such things. He always maintained that the footpath in my vicinity was a 'drovers way', even that it follows a 'ley line'. It is largely on a North/South alignment & my diviner's rods always reacts so who knows!  I would hate to have a dirty great 'interpretation' board stuck up outside of my house but the NNDC scheme does look good.

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JennyMorgan

JennyMorgan

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By the way, if you fancy a spot of dowsing or divining, it's a doddle and all you need is a couple of steel coat hangers such as you get from the dry-cleaners. Cut and bend the wire into an 'L' with the long bit about eight inches and the short bit about four inches long. The short bits are the handles. Bend your arms with your elbows into your sides and forearms parallel to the ground, the handles held very lightly with the long bits also parallel to the ground and pointing straight ahead, turn your wrists to achieve that. Walk slowly forward until the long bits eerily cross and point towards each other. At that point throw them aside and grab a spade, hopefully you will find oil, gold, dead body, a ley line or more likely the main drain.  Have fun, it does work! 

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grendel

grendel

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3 minutes ago, JennyMorgan said:

By the way, if you fancy a spot of dowsing or divining, it's a doddle and all you need is a couple of steel coat hangers such as you get from the dry-cleaners. Cut and bend the wire into an 'L' with the long bit about eight inches and the short bit about four inches long. The short bits are the handles. Bend your arms with your elbows into your sides and forearms parallel to the ground, the handles held very lightly with the long bits also parallel to the ground and pointing straight ahead, turn your wrists to achieve that. Walk slowly forward until the long bits eerily cross and point towards each other. At that point throw them aside and grab a spade, hopefully you will find oil, gold, dead body, a ley line or more likely the main drain.  Have fun, it does work! 

do be careful, as it may also be the electicity mains cable too, I used to use the method when the cable avoidance tool wouldnt find a cable (its easier to find cables if you use copper wire, you can put the short ends inside biro outers and that leaves them free to rotate.

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Timbo

Timbo

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Dowsing? Divining? Ley Lines? Guaranteed to get a rise out of an archaeologist, often quicker than Tropical Linda. These days most archaeology done is 'rescue archaeology' getting as much information we can before the archaeology is destroyed by climate, developers, conservationists and the local amateur archaeology group dis-ably assisted by Ted the local dowser and his coat hangers of doom who happened to notice that you can draw a line on a map connecting Yare House, Wussername's Wall at Reedham. JM's slipway and Tkalčićeva Street in Zagreb. Mind you, thinking about it, I reckon we should apply to get Wussername Grade II Listed! :default_norty: 

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