Custodians of the spaces and places that people love.

The railway’s summit service will recommence and Hafod Eryri, the summit visitor centre, will reopen in May

Snowdon Mountain Railway are busy preparing for services to return to Snowdon summit for the first time since 2019. Hafod Eryri the summit visitor centre which has been closed since 2019 will also open its doors once again.

The railway is due to reopen on the 1^st of April, initially travelling to Clogwyn Station ¾ distance up Snowdon until trains are able to reach the summit. The diesel service to the summit is due to recommence and Hafod Eryri, the summit visitor centre, will reopen on the 13^th of May. The steam service to the summit will also recommence on the 15^th of May.

The railway has not run all the way to the summit for the last three years initially due to the pandemic and more recently as a result of essential upper mountain track work and has instead been running to its early season destination Clogwyn Station.

The railway management and employees are currently busy preparing for the start of their 2023 season, and a recruitment drive is planned for the coming weeks to recruit for seasonal staff to work up at the summit, onboard the trains and at Llanberis Station.

Vince Hughes, Commercial Manager at Snowdon Mountain Railway said:

“We’re extremely excited to once again be able to offer our visitors the full journey to the summit of Snowdon, and to welcome passengers and walkers back to Hafod Eryri.

Our operations and commercial teams are working hard in preparation for our opening on the 1^st of April, and we’re looking forward to a busy 2023 season.”

The railway runs for 4.7 miles from Llanberis to the summit of Snowdon and is the only rack and pinion railway in the UK. It is a seasonal attraction which operates from April until the end of October.

Bookings from Llanberis station to Snowdon summit are now being taken for the 2023 season, and can be made online at www.snowdonrailway.co.uk

Snowdon Mountain Railway is looking forward to the coming months with the anticipation of a busy summer season ahead.

Royal Liver Building 360 has won a prestigious Silver Award at the Visit England Awards for Excellence held at the Library of Birmingham on the 8^th June.

Having won Small Visitor Attraction of the Year for the last 2 years at the Liverpool City Region awards, RLB360 was selected as a finalist for the National title along with Gold winners Nothe Fort in Weymouth and fellow Liverpool attraction, the British Music Experience, who took Bronze.

Judges praised the “Outstanding Staff” at Royal Liver Building 360 in delivering an amazing guest experience.

The Silver award is further recognition of RLB360 following being name as Tiqets Most Remarkable Venue for the UK and Ireland in December.

 

Entering service in 1922, No.6 steam locomotive Padarn enters its 100^th year of service taking passengers up Snowdon, Yr Wyddfa.

Padarn is a coal-fired, steam locomotive built by the Swiss Locomotive & Manufacturing Co. of Winterthur for a cost of £3,000 (equivalent to almost £200,000 today) and was a later addition to the railway. The railway opened in 1896 and Padarn was added to the fleet six years later in 1922. Allegedly the locomotive was a demonstrator engine for Winterhur and had been used on another railway in Switzerland before it arrived at Snowdon Mountain Railway in Llanberis. The locomotive was originally called Sir Harmood, named after the then chairman of Snowdon Mountain Railway, Sir John Sutherland Harmood-Banner, but was later renamed Padarn in 1928 after the lower lake in Llanberis, Llyn Padarn.

To celebrate this momentous occasion the railway invited local school children from Ysgol Dolbadarn to ride in a heritage carriage powered by the 100-year-old Padarn. Many of the children were experiencing a ride on the railway for the very first time and thoroughly enjoyed the journey up the mountain to Clogwyn.

Royal Liver Building 360 was proud to be named Small Visitor Attraction of the Year at the Liverpool City Region Tourism Awards for the 2nd year in a row.

RLB360 which opened in 2019 and takes visitors on a guided tour to the top of the Royal Liver Building had already been named Tiqets Most Remarkable Venue for the UK and Ireland in December 2021.

The dual awards have been a proud moment for all members of the team at RLB360 and we at Heritage Great Britain couldn’t be prouder of them!

We’re delighted to share some exciting news with you all…

 

Following a rigorous 9 month process that started in May 2021, the Land’s End Hotel was judged on a combination of entry submissions, digital presence, and visits from independent judges.

 

The award body focuses its judging process on excellence, innovation and resilience as 3 key factors amongst several others.

 

Surpassing all expectation; given the challenged last 2 years we have faced, we were delighted to receive the news that the team achieved a silver award in the Large Hotel of the Year Category from the well established Cornwall Tourism Awards.

 

Every individual associated with this business played a role in winning this award and a huge congratulations is deserved for the entire Land’s End team.

 

What a fantastic way to start the year!

Royal Liver Building 360 has launched the “Capsule of Culture” commemorating the events of 2020

The ‘Capsule of Culture’ includes memorabilia from the Black Lives Matter movement, a copy of the Brexit Bill, commemoration of NHS work and support, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and a vaccine vial.

A Liverpool FC shirt signed by the Premier League winning team, a model of Everton FC’s proposed new stadium at Bramley Moore Dock, signed boxing gloves from Tony Bellew and a copy of the Liverpool ECHO from the day lockdown came into force on 20 March have also been added.

Liverpool FC superstar Trent Alexander-Arnold, Sex and the City actress Kim Cattrall, RU Paul’s Drag Race UK winner The Vivienne, Everton’s Chief Executive Officer Denise Barrett-Baxendale and Olympic gold medalist Katarina Johnson-Thompson were all part of the decision-making panel for the items nominated by the public.

The Capsule has been shaped like a replica of the tower of the Royal Liver Building complete with it’s own Liver Bird and was officially unveiled by World Champion boxer Tony Bellew, Lord Mayor of Liverpool, Cllr. Anna Rothery as well as football legends Graeme Sharp and John Aldridge

Visit @rlb360 on social media for more information

Investment in new family activity makes Sandham Gardens a ‘must visit’ tourist attraction on the Isle of Wight. 

The Isle of Wight’s Sandham Gardens has now opened their brand new headline attraction, “Skynets – The Big Bounce”.

The popular tourist destination, a favourite with families, locals and tourists alike, has benefitted from a massive £650,000 investment in “Skynets – The Big Bounce” in time for the summer season as it seeks to further enhance activities for visitors.

Already offering action and adventure with an exciting array of activities and attractions for people of all ages, Sandham Gardens is now a ‘must visit’ tourist attraction on the island.

Situated opposite the “UK’s best beach”, as voted for by Countryfile Magazine readers, Sandham Gardens already offers electric go-karting, gigantic Jurassic golfing adventures and beautiful gardens set against a backdrop of stunning sea views.

The new high nets adventure course will allow visitors to play and bounce across four huge nets suspended high up between posts around one, central treehouse. Akin to a massive, open-air bounce park, children and adults alike will be able to enjoy the ‘big bounce’ experience.

“Skynets – The Big Bounce” officially opened on Saturday 4^th July.

Christian Zanti, Operations Manager at Sandham Gardens, commented:

“We are extremely happy that we can now begin to welcome visitors back to Sandham Gardens and we are incredibly excited to have officially opened our brand new Skynets attraction. This new activity represents a major investment in Sandham Gardens as we continue to offer more choice and value for the thousands of tourists we attract every year. We’re confident that Skynets – The Big Bounce will also be popular with local people as we continue to offer a 20% discount across all our attractions for island residents.”

Allan Leech, Chief Executive Officer of parent company, Heritage Great Britain said:

“We are working hard to make the Sandam Gardens visitor experience and destination bigger and better every year. It is amazing news that ‘Skynets – The Big Bounce’ is finally open after many months in the making and with comprehensive hygiene and comfort measures in place. This is an outstanding addition to the Sandham Gardens portfolio of attractions which already includes a massive Jurassic adventure golf course along with electric go karting.”

For more information on Skynets: The Big Bounce and other attractions at Sandham Gardens please visit their website.

The wonderful John O’Groats brewery visitor centre is now taking shape, with a view to welcoming people who make the long journey to see them in the far north of Scotland.

The John O’Groats Brewery is an artisan brewery producing the finest craft ales, using only the beautiful unspoilt waters from the highlands of Scotland.  All their beers are produced with attention to detail and created in small batches within the village of John O’Groats at the North Eastern tip of Scotland.

For more information about the John O’Groats brewery and visitor centre, please visit their website.

Planning permission has been secured for the construction of a new whisky production site at John O’Groats which will also become Scotland’s most northerly mainland distillery.  

The new micro-distillery, which is slated to open in 2021, is the brainchild of local husband and wife team Derek and Kerry Campbell, who secured £198,000 of funding from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) to help bring their vision to life. We therefore look forward to working with our friends Derek and Kerry on this fantastic new development to further enhance the John O’Groats destination.  

The 32,670 square foot site will also house a visitor centre and bonded warehouse, and will replace Wolfburn and former titleholder Old Pulteney as Scotland’s most northerly mainland distillery, and overtake Dunnet Bay distillers as it’s most northern spirits production site. 

The as-yet-unnamed distillery will have the capacity to produce up to 60,000 litres of whisky each year and will be the first Scotch whisky distillery in John O’Groats for over 180 years, with National Archive of Scotland records showing that a whisky distillery founded by James Sutherland and John Gibson in 1826 operated in the coastal town until 1837. 

The project hopes to boost tourism in the area, with the venture also offering a new visitor attraction to tourists and providing those travelling from Land’s End to John O’Groats with an opportunity to toast their journey with a dram of Scotch whisky. 

The new distillery and visitor centre will encompass one large building which has been designed to showcase the two copper stills and traditional whisky-making process, while making the most of the “stunning views across the Pentland Firth” through large glass windows placed along the front of the building. 

A 1,500 square foot dunnage warehouse will also be built on the site to mature and store the Highland spirit. 

Founder Kerry Campbell said: “With a longstanding interest in the whisky industry, I began to truly appreciate quality Scotch whisky around 12 years ago and since then have developed a growing passion for Scotland’s national drink. 

“After many conversations with my husband around the idea of building our own distillery and creating our own whisky, I’m delighted that we are now one step closer to making these plans a reality having secured planning permission on our dream site at John O’Groats. 

“We believe the whisky we will produce will be unlike that from any other distillery, due to our coastal location in John O’Groats and the impact the local climate will have on our spirit as it matures. With traditional methods at the heart of our plans and an ambition to showcase whisky distilling in John O’Groats to the world, we are looking forward to opening the doors to our micro-distillery in due course.” 

To read the full article on the Scotsman food and drink website please click here.  

For more information about staying at John O’Groats, please click here.  

Article credit: Scotsman food and drink website. 

Speedomick has triumphantly completed his 1,000-mile charity walk from John O’Groats to Land’s End. 

The 55-year-old danced with supporters at Land’s End after completing the mammoth fundraiser at about 3.15pm on Saturday 22nd February. 

Mick broke into a dance as he arrived to the sounds of a brass band playing The Proclaimer’s hit ‘I would walk 500 miles’. 

He was also greeted by two fans who bravely donned Mick’s signature blue Speedo trunks to hand him a cheque. 

Speedomick, real name Mick Cullen, took on the challenging task back in December and has raised more than £300k for charity. 

He passed the £300k mark on the final leg of his walk on Saturday. 

Walking nearly a marathon every day, the Everton FC fan said he wanted to take on the challenge to raise money for a charity he is setting up, Leave the Light On. 

It’s hoped the charity will run community projects for people, young and old, who feel isolated. 

Mick has kept supporters entertained and updated with his journey every step of the way posting videos of his progress on Facebook. 

To read the full article on the Liverpool Echo website, please click here.  

For more information about John O’Groats and Land’s End, please visit their respective websites.  

Royal Liver Building 360 Tower Tour and Experience took their Gin collection, which has been made by The Handmade Gin company with specially designed labels by the Jones Boys, to the 10th Anniversary of Jamie Carragher’s 23 Foundation Dinner hosted at the Titanic Hotel Liverpool.

Royal Liver Building 360 were able to support the evening with their Bella, Bertie and Nineteen Eleven Gins.

It was a great evening that managed to raise 200K for Grassroots Football in Merseyside

For more information on Royal Liver Building 360 please visit their website or follow on Facebook and Twitter.

Ambitious plans are being drawn up to transform a landmark building at John O’Groats into a new tourist attraction based on locally brewed craft ale.

John O’Groats Brewery is proposing to create a brewery, tasting room and visitor centre at the Last House, which has been unoccupied for almost a year.

A planning application for change of use has been lodged with Highland Council and, if approval is granted, the venture could be under way by Easter 2020.

The development – costing around £250,000 – would add to the existing brewery operation at the village’s old fire station and would be a new experience on the North Coast 500 touring route.

The plan has the full backing of Heritage Great Britain, the company that owns the Last House. The building is thought to be more than 100 years old and has previously been used as a shop, as well as a small museum.

Andrew Mowat, one of the directors of John O’Groats Brewery, believes the development will further enhance the village’s tourism appeal if it gets the go-ahead.

“It’ll be a brewery and visitor experience with a tasting room and shop along with an audio-visual display and information about the area and how the beer is made, with a little tour at the end where people can go round,” Mr Mowat said.

“The beer will be the mainstay of it, but we’ll try to incorporate a bit of local interest where we can. One of the things we might look at is extracts from some of the old visitors’ books from the John O’Groats hotel from way back in the late 1800s or early 1900s.

“We’ll keep the existing brewery where it is, in situ, and we’ll put a new, smaller kit into the new building so we’ll have the capability of two areas where we can brew in.

“The emphasis will be more on the visitor experience – people coming in to taste it, and to get the tour. Where it is just now in the old fire station is just like a small factory, really – it’s not set up to look nice for tourists.

“It gives John O’Groats another attraction and it’s not competing against anybody else, and it’ll hold people for a bit longer. If people can spend an hour to an hour-and-a-half doing the tour, sitting having a taste, that’s an hour-and-a-half longer they’re in Groats.

“They might then go on and have a cup of coffee somewhere else, or something to eat, and maybe stay. That’s the idea, and we can expand our business as well.”

John O’Groats Brewery was set up in 2015, with the first batch of beer ready by early 2016. At present it produces three bottled beers, four main cask ales and some specials.

The plan for the Last House comes at a time when micro-breweries and craft ales are on the rise generally across the country.

Mr Mowat, who is treasurer of John O’Groats Development Trust and proprietor of the Seaview Hotel, said: “More and more people are asking for it. I know that from the hotel – they want to try the local thing wherever they are.”

Allan Leech, CEO of Heritage Great Britain, said: “To find the right venture for the Last House was absolutely critical, not just for us as a business but for the visitor experience and the success of John O’Groats.

“It sits right in the heart of John O’Groats, next to the signpost which gets 100 per cent of all visitors.

“I’ve known Andrew for many years and we have worked together on other projects at John O’Groats. When he said the brewery boys would like to have a chat it seemed a bit of a perfect match.

“This is also going to showcase the history of John O’Groats, the visitor experience at John O’Groats, and it’s going to be really high quality.

“As we’re finding more and more now, people want a true experience and a true sense of place.

“It was probably one of our most important decisions to find the right people to go in. That’s why it has sat empty for nearly a year.

“When the brewery chaps came along with this concept, that they were going to take their brewing skills and place them into a visitor experience with retail attached to it, but also showcasing the history of John O’Groats, it was a no-brainer.

“They’re going to be the custodians of the Last House.

“They’re really good chaps, local guys, and we’re really looking forward to seeing it coming to fruition. We’re fully behind them.”

John O’Groats and the wider area is benefiting from the growth in popularity of the North Coast 500, according to Mr Mowat.

“There’s more and more people visiting these days. There are people moving about in the quieter times,” he said.

“It [the NC500] is definitely helping. I dare say people not going abroad on holiday and Brexit and the pound plays a part too, but in general terms the whole area seems to be busier.”

Mr Mowat believes the Last House dates back more than a century. The traditional low-lying croft house featured in countless souvenir snapshots over the years as visitors reached the “end of the road”.

“The last person to live in it was called Maggie Mowat,” he said. “She was a fairly far-out relation of mine, and I do remember her when I was young. After that it became a shop for a time.

“It’s just lying empty now. It has not been looking very good for the last year or two, so it’ll spruce up that whole area.”

Earlier this year John O’Groats Brewery was awarded a bronze medal for its oatmeal stout in the London Beer Competition, the first event of its kind the company had entered.

The other three directors are Simon Cottam, Allan Farquhar and John Mainprize.

Meanwhile, there are unrelated plans for a micro whisky distillery at John O’Groats. The couple behind the venture, Kerry and Derek Campbell, from Thurso, hope it will create local employment and attract visitors.

Article credit: The John O’Groat Journal

To read this article on the John O’Groat journal website, please click here. 

For more information on staying at John O’Groats, please click here.

A new interactive family attraction is being unveiled at the westernmost point of Cornwall this half-term, starring much-loved characters from Oscar-winning animation studio Aardman.

The ‘Aardman Presents: A Grand Experience’, attraction is based at Land’s End and replaces the landmark destination’s successful Shaun the Sheep Experience.

Iconic Aardman characters Wallace & Gromit and Morph join Shaun’s farmyard friends within the attraction, which offers an entertaining experience for all ages, themed around some of the studio’s biggest TV and film successes.

Improving and expanding upon the Shaun the Sheep Experience, the new site gives visitors the chance to step into Wallace & Gromit’s living room, explore Wallace’s workshop and help build one of his Cracking Contraptions, before climbing on board a rocket to the moon.

Aardman Presents: A Grand Experience is part of a £200,000 investment in Land’s End this winter which will also see a new 4D film arrive at the venue’s 100-seat cinema, titled ‘Return To The Lost World’.

David Bryans, general manager at Land’s End, said:

“After a winter of redevelopment at Land’s End, I’m thrilled to be able to announce the opening of a new and expanded Aardman attraction in time for the half-term holidays.

“It’s great to be able to bring world-famous characters like Wallace & Gromit to Land’s End, along with old-favourites like Morph who will be as familiar to mums and dads as he is to younger children.

“Visitors will be able to enjoy a series of interactive games and experiences while exploring the venue, including drawing boards where guests can design their own inventions and video walls where they can take a selfie and then watch as their faces are ‘Morphed’.

“We’re also bringing a new movie to our 4D cinema for 2018 with ‘Return To The Lost World’, a sequel to our popular feature ‘The Lost World’ promising bigger and more exciting adventures on an island filled with dinosaurs.”

Aardman Presents: A Grand Experience opens at Land’s End Landmark Attraction on Saturday, February 10 and will remain open throughout half-term week until Sunday, February 18.

Find out more at landsend-landmark.co.uk or follow on twitter @VisitLandsEnd.

A Swiss locomotive made a historic journey to North Wales in early September, offering visitors to Snowdon Mountain Railway free rides and a taste of the Alps.

For the first time, a train from the Brienz Rothorn Bahn (BRB) mountain railway in Switzerland travelled 900 miles from its Alpine home to meet up with its sister locomotives on Snowdon.

During September, visitors to the Welsh mountain railway enjoyed a 20-minute round trip powered by BRB’s No 2 steam engine, from Llanberis to Waterfall Halt.

Between departures, the train and carriage sat at the Llanberis arrivals platform where visitors could meet the loco, talk to experts from the Swiss railway and take photographs with the historic engine.

BRB’s engine was operated by a fully Swiss crew and undertook four return trips, part-way up the mountain, every day throughout September except Fridays, with carriage spaces allocated on a first-come-first-served basis.

Vince Hughes, Commercial Manager at Snowdon Mountain Railway, said:

“We carefully planned this event with our Swiss friends for some time, so it was great to unveil the BRB loco and see it steaming up Snowdon for the first time.”

Nick Robb, Project Manager at Switzerland Travel Centre said:

“It’s fantastic to have brought Loco No 2 across Europe to spend a month visiting our twin railway in Snowdonia.

“The BRB and Snowdon Mountain Railway use the same rack-and-pinion rail system and their steam engines were built in the same Swiss factory over 125 years ago.

“It felt right to reunite these historic steam engines after more than a century apart and we hope the public and rail enthusiasts alike enjoyed sampling a taste of the Swiss Alps in the foothills of Snowdonia.”

For more information about Snowdon Mountain Railway please visit their website or follow on Facebook and Twitter.

Dame Shirley Bassey DBE has been honoured in North Wales after Snowdon Mountain Railway named a carriage after the legendary singer.

Dame Shirley travelled on the historic Welsh railway to Waterfall station in the foothills of Mount Snowdon to unveil her carriage.

The honour is to recognise Dame Shirley as an international ambassador for Wales and for her glittering musical career, having been the first Welsh singer to have a number one single, and the only artist to record three James Bond theme songs.

The Cardiff-born entertainer is the fourth and final person to be recognised by the railway with the most recent recipient being classical crossover singer Katherine Jenkins OBE in 2015.

Dame Shirley Bassey DBE said:

“I’m so grateful to Snowdon Mountain Railway for this unique honour.

“It’s been a privilege to entertain audiences around the world and help put Wales on an international stage.

“I’m proud of my Welsh roots and this honour keeps me forever connected to Wales and one of its most iconic locations.”

Dame Shirley was presented with a commemorative medal by Vince Hughes from Snowdon Mountain Railway, who said:

“The carriage naming recognises outstanding individuals in their field and we wanted to save the best ‘til last.

“I’m sure the other three won’t mind me saying that nobody’s done more to put Wales on the map than Dame Shirley.

“We’re truly thrilled that Dame Shirley agreed to come to Snowdon in person to accept the honour.”

For more information about Snowdon Mountain Railway please visit their website or follow on Facebook and Twitter.