New #CrocintheFrock tours – a family-friendly #literarytourism experience aimed to appeal to people of all ages. Inspired by the iconic Croc in Peter Pan, our new venture seeks to explore Barrie and beyond, revealing more curious elements of Dumfries’ literary heritage, as well as famous tales and authors alike.
For lovers of ghosts, history, adventure and folklore (and a HUGE helping of fun!), this is an exciting Mostly Ghostly experience we hope you’ll all enjoy!.
Courtesy of Mostly Ghostly Tours.
https://www.spot-lit.eu/wp-content/uploads/mostly-ghostly-tours.jpg6201030spot-lit-adminhttps://www.spot-lit.eu/wp-content/themes/master/images/spotlit-npa-eu.pngspot-lit-admin2021-07-09 10:04:282021-07-09 10:05:40‘Mostly Ghostly’ New Literary Themed Tour of Dumfries.
Story Book Dumfries is an exciting new initiative that aims to establish Dumfries as Scotland’s home of children’s stories – a destination for families and a national cultural resource.
Our long-term mission is to bring tangible cultural, social and economic benefits to Dumfries through engagement with children’s literature and the status accorded to the town as the home of Scotland’s National Centre for Children’s Literature and Storytelling at Moat Brae House.
We would like to commission an artist, or group of artists, to create a town-centre work of art that gives visual expression to Dumfries as a centre for children’s literature. This will provide the visual place-making for Story Book Dumfries, with site-specific illustration that will lead people from Dumfries Station (subject to permissions) through the town.
The key elements we’re looking for are that the installations should be:
Visually impactful
Children and family friendly
Literary in nature
Weather resistant if outside
Durable but non-permanent
Appropriate to the local context and the region’s literary assets, the most notable of which include Robert Burns and JM Barrie’s Peter Pan
Delivered in consultation with the local community and relevant stakeholders
Story Book Dumfries will be coordinated by Wigtown Festival Company, in partnership with Moat Brae and other associate partners, as part of Spot-lit, a multinational literary tourism project funded by the EU’s Northern Periphery and Arctic Programme. The launch of the initiative will coincide with Scotland’s Year of Stories 2022.
Deadline: 9 July 2021 at 23:55.
Please contact Isla Rosser-Owen, Cultural Producer at Wigtown Festival Company, if you have any questions: isla@wigtownbookfestival.com.
https://www.spot-lit.eu/wp-content/uploads/green-books.jpg2951030spot-lit-adminhttps://www.spot-lit.eu/wp-content/themes/master/images/spotlit-npa-eu.pngspot-lit-admin2021-06-27 22:15:142021-06-27 22:15:49Invitation to Tender: Visual Arts Commission for Story Book Dumfries
Adrian Turpin, Spot-lit partner and artistic director of Wigtown Festival Company speaks to us about literary tourism in south west Scotland’s peripheral regions and how collaboration is key.
“Only connect,” the English novelist EM Forster famously wrote. It’s a suggestion made for Literary Tourism. We are passionate about writers and writing at Wigtown Festival Company but we’re also aware that we’re not working in a vacuum or an ivory tower. Every day we cooperate with multiple partners – from bookshops and accommodation providers, to schools and charities, visual artists and performers. “Joining the dots” has become second nature.
There’s a reason for this, I think, as for all the Spot-Lit partners, ours is a rural region – 6,000 square miles of sparsely populated south-west Scotland. No question, Dumfries & Galloway is on the periphery: some say it’s Scotland’s forgotten region. And Scotland’s National Book Town in Wigtown is even on the edge of that, occupying its own peninsula. We are quite literally on the road to nowhere, in that great expanse, individual voices can get lost. If we don’t work together, nobody will hear us.
This reality has long shaped our approach to Literary Tourism and it continues to inform the EU funded NPA Spot-Lit project. We’ve always seen it as part of our job to identify what makes our region special and to put it at the centre of what we do.
The most obvious starting point for this is Dumfries & Galloway’s spectacular natural heritage and the beauty of its landscape. Wigtown itself is situated in a Unesco Biosphere. Almost on our doorstep lies the Galloway Forest Park, a vast paradise for mountain-bikers, birdwatchers and stargazers. The night skies are so clear here that in 2009 it became the UK’s first international Dark Sky Park. That Dark Sky designation is a beautiful, simple, idea and in turn it inspired in 2017 to set up Big Bang Weekend, a Dark Skies festival that brings scientists, stargazers and writers together in Scotland’s book town each spring.
Galloway’s landscape is a perennial source of inspiration at Wigtown Book Festival itself. This autumn we are planning on taking audiences on walks across Wigtown Bay’s unique saltmarsh, the subject of a new book by award-winning nature writer Stephen Rutt. Watch the video inspired by this project
In the past, we have offered our visitors farm tours, pop-up restaurants, pilgrimage walks, a mountain trek to a Little Red Riding Hood’s cottage, foraging trips, canoe adventures, cycling tours exploring our Gaelic and Norse heritage, wild swims, and whisky tasting at the Bladnoch Distillery down the road.
Often these events offer audiences a chance to get up close and personal with writers; sometimes they are diversions from the main event – recognition that even the most ardent reader occasionally needs to lift their eyes above the page. But, in every case, they not only support existing local initiatives but add to the tale we are telling about Scotland’s Book Town, about our little corner of the country and what makes it special. After all, we are nothing if we are not in the business of narrative. And if we can’t tell our own story…
Similar thinking underpins Wigtown Book Festival’s strong tradition of visual arts. This is another of our region’s cultural strengths. The nearby town of Kirkcudbright (pronounced ker-coo-brie) was a renowned artist’s colony since Victorian time and artists and craftspeople still flock to Galloway attracted by its creative communities, cheap studio space and stunning light. When we celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Book Town in 2018, it seemed natural to commission artist Astrid Jaekel (www.astridjaekel.com) to wallpaper the exteriors of the town’s buildings, a spectacular project that miraculously endured that autumn’s gale force winds and deservedly won her a coveted World Illustration Award.
Over the years, we’ve had a lot of fun doing these kinds of things. We are proud of the memorable experiences we’ve created. Or, at least, we are proud of most of them: the less said the better about the alternative Burns Supper and an ill-fated expedition to find the source of the River Bladnoch.
But the truth is that literary tourism lends itself especially well to this multidiscilpinary, lateral approach. A writer’s job is to look at what is in front of them and make connections. Readers tend to be curious folk. And everywhere – rural or urban – has a tale to be told, even places that don’t have much in the way of traditional literary heritage.
Find Out More About The EU/NPA funded Spot-lit Literary Tourism Industry Support Programme HERE.
https://www.spot-lit.eu/wp-content/uploads/festival-director-adrian-turpin-outside-the-open-book-crop.jpg6801015spot-lit-adminhttps://www.spot-lit.eu/wp-content/themes/master/images/spotlit-npa-eu.pngspot-lit-admin2021-06-09 13:45:402021-06-14 13:38:47Joining The Dots – Literary Tourism In Peripheral Regions.
Galloway Cycling Holidays, as the name suggests, run bicycle holidays in Dumfries & Galloway. Thornhill in the Nith Valley is one of the hubs for their guests and a wonderful place for them to stay and do stunning day-long rides. Through the Spot-lit.eu business support programme, Galloway Cycling Holidays have developed a website https://www.gallowaycycling.com and a self-guiding trail starting at Drumlanrig Castle with links to Dumfries, Kirkcudbright and the landscapes of Burns, Barrie, Crockett and Buchan feeding into the Kirkpatrick loop.
Watch The Video made by Patrick Rooney (DEAR FRIEND Films) and Holly Young and her wonderful sons Freddy & Rowan make our Kirkpatrick Loop around Drumlanrig Castle & Country Estate to the grave of the inventor of the pedal bike come alive. We love this little movie – and the 10 mile ride is just bliss and will make you smile – promise!
A book by a local author – Jamesie Burns and the Bicycle Thieves, by Ian Barr – begins the adventure and Galloway Cycling Holidays want to help more people discover their unsung local hero. Kirkpatrick Macmillan , ‘Inventor of the bicycle’ is what it says on the grave of the Scottish blacksmith buried in a remote cemetery near Thornhill. Watch animated video: The Worlds First Bicycle‘ .
A new website linking the top Robert Burns attractions in and around Dumfries went live in May to stimulate the economy as lockdown lifts.
In the Footsteps of Burns, is a family friendly site which links romantic Ellisland Farm, Friars Carse Country House Hotel, The Globe Inn, The Robert Burns House and The Robert Burns Centre along with other tourist attractions in and close to Dumfries.
A linked Facebook page will have regular updates and both will focus on maps and trails to encourage more outdoor activity and travel between sites. Footsteps highlights what can be seen and done at each site, such as the poet’s stool in The Globe, afternoon tea at Friar’s Carse, children’s activities at the Robert Burns Centre and the farmhouse kitchen at Ellisland.
The Euro £10k initiative was conceived by lead partner, the Robert Burns Ellisland Trust, who successfully bid for the funds from the EU Spot-lit programme delivered locally in partnership with the Wigtown Festival Company. The programme is designed to help local businesses benefit from the growth area of literary tourism.
The Footsteps website was produced by local company Creatomatic. It is designed to be young and fun and aims to tell the story of Burns in Dumfries in a new and engaging way.
Joan McAlpine, Chair of the Robert Burns Ellisland Trust, said:
“After such a long lockdown, this project should help kickstart the visitor season and also encourage local people to enjoy what’s on their doorstep. Ellisland Farm inspired Auld Lang Syne and Tam o Shanter and this fresh approach will inspire a new generation.
“Creatomatic have done a great job and we are very grateful to Wigtown Festival Company who allowed us to adapt the project and timescales as a result of lockdown. There’s a big emphasis on exploring the outdoors with trails along the Nith and in the town centre. A government funded report by Glasgow University published before lockdown found that Burns was worth £203 million a year to the Scottish economy, but that more could be done to benefit Dumfries and Galloway. Marketing initiatives like this one should help us compete.”
Visit Footsteps here https://www.burnsdumfries.co.uk/
Literary Themed B&B in Wigtown.
Craigmount is owned by Malcolm and Nicole Court, who discovered and fell in love with Wigtown a few years ago while on their frequent travels to Scotland. Their dreams finally became a reality in August 2018 when they bought and reopened Craigmount as a bed and breakfast. Initially Craigmount B&B was just a b&b in Wigtown until approached by Adrian Turpin, director of the Wigtown Book Festival, who suggested they become a literary themed accommodation provider.
“He invited us to this Spot-lit Programme where we got to meet different people and there were lots of ideas going around about how to highlight Dumfries and Galloway as the literary highlight of Scotland,” said Nicole. Through the Spot-lit Programme which offered mentoring and funding, Malcolm and Nicole have created literary-themed accommodation at Craigmount, All rooms and public areas are based on local literary figures.
The first room chosen was ‘A Galloway Childhood’ because this is a wonderful place for children to grow up.
The second room is called ‘Diary of a Bookseller’ after Shaun Bythell, the bestselling author of ‘Diary of a Bookseller’ who lives just a short distance away.
The third room ‘Ring of Bright Water’ after Gavin Maxwell’s book which is based on his life on the coast of Wigtownshire.
The fourth room is named Peter and Wendy to incorporate J.M Barrie’s ‘Peter Pan’s original 1911 book“ that was based on the 1904 play.
Malcolm and Nicole are also keen to hold themed evenings and literary tours of the area. They hope that their ideas will help attract literary tourists to enjoy Scotland’s National Book Town all year round and not just during the annual book festival.
https://www.spot-lit.eu/wp-content/uploads/galloway-cycling.jpg3151030spot-lit-adminhttps://www.spot-lit.eu/wp-content/themes/master/images/spotlit-npa-eu.pngspot-lit-admin2021-06-08 21:39:222021-06-08 22:13:29Literary Tourism Products Launched in Scotland.
Galloway Cycling Holidays, as the name suggests, run bicycle holidays in Dumfries & Galloway. Thornhill in the Nith Valley is one of the hubs for their guests and a wonderful place for them to stay and do stunning day-long rides. Through the Spot-lit.eu business support programme, Galloway Cycling Holidays have developed a website https://www.gallowaycycling.com and a self-guiding trail starting at Drumlanrig Castle with links to Dumfries, Kirkcudbright and the landscapes of Burns, Barrie, Crockett and Buchan feeding into the Kirkpatrick loop.
Watch The Video made by Patrick Rooney (DEAR FRIEND Films) and Holly Young and her wonderful sons Freddy & Rowan make our Kirkpatrick Loop around Drumlanrig Castle & Country Estate to the grave of the inventor of the pedal bike come alive. We love this little movie – and the 10 mile ride is just bliss and will make you smile – promise!
A book by a local author – Jamesie Burns and the Bicycle Thieves, by Ian Barr – begins the adventure and Galloway Cycling Holidays want to help more people discover their unsung local hero. Kirkpatrick Macmillan , ‘Inventor of the bicycle’ is what it says on the grave of the Scottish blacksmith buried in a remote cemetery near Thornhill. Watch animated video: The Worlds First Bicycle‘ .
Find Out More about Galloway Cycling Holidays HERE.
Craigmount is owned by Malcolm and Nicole Court, who discovered and fell in love with Wigtown a few years ago while on their frequent travels to Scotland. Their dreams finally became a reality in August 2018 when they bought and reopened Craigmount as a bed and breakfast. Initially Craigmount B&B was just a b&b in Wigtown until approached by Adrian Turpin, director of the Wigtown Book Festival, who suggested they become a literary themed accommodation provider.
“He invited us to this Spot-lit Programme where we got to meet different people and there were lots of ideas going around about how to highlight Dumfries and Galloway as the literary highlight of Scotland,” said Nicole. Through the Spot-lit Programme which offered mentoring and funding, Malcolm and Nicole have created literary-themed accommodation at Craigmount, All rooms and public areas are based on local literary figures.
The first room chosen was ‘A Galloway Childhood’ because this is a wonderful place for children to grow up.
The second room is called ‘Diary of a Bookseller’ after Shaun Bythell, the bestselling author of ‘Diary of a Bookseller’ who lives just a short distance away.
The third room ‘Ring of Bright Water’ after Gavin Maxwell’s book which is based on his life on the coast of Wigtownshire.
The fourth room is named Peter and Wendy to incorporate J.M Barrie’s ‘Peter Pan’s original 1911 book“ that was based on the 1904 play.
Malcolm and Nicole are also keen to hold themed evenings and literary tours of the area. They hope that their ideas will help attract literary tourists to enjoy Scotland’s National Book Town all year round and not just during the annual book festival.
https://www.spot-lit.eu/wp-content/uploads/craigmount.jpg443858spot-lit-adminhttps://www.spot-lit.eu/wp-content/themes/master/images/spotlit-npa-eu.pngspot-lit-admin2021-05-21 15:32:342021-05-25 09:00:27Literary Themed B&B in Wigtown.
A new website linking the top Robert Burns attractions in and around Dumfries went live this month to stimulate the economy as lockdown lifts.
In the Footsteps of Burns, is a family friendly site which links romantic Ellisland Farm, Friars Carse Country House Hotel, The Globe Inn, The Robert Burns House and The Robert Burns Centre along with other tourist attractions in and close to Dumfries.
A linked Facebook page will have regular updates and both will focus on maps and trails to encourage more outdoor activity and travel between sites. Footsteps highlights what can be seen and done at each site, such as the poet’s stool in The Globe, afternoon tea at Friar’s Carse, children’s activities at the Robert Burns Centre and the farmhouse kitchen at Ellisland.
The Euro £10k initiative was conceived by lead partner, the Robert Burns Ellisland Trust, who successfully bid for the funds from the EU Spot-lit programme delivered locally in partnership with the Wigtown Festival Company. The programme is designed to help local businesses benefit from the growth area of literary tourism.
The Footsteps website was produced by local company Creatomatic. It is designed to be young and fun and aims to tell the story of Burns in Dumfries in a new and engaging way.
Joan McAlpine, Chair of the Robert Burns Ellisland Trust, said:
“After such a long lockdown, this project should help kickstart the visitor season and also encourage local people to enjoy what’s on their doorstep. Ellisland Farm inspired Auld Lang Syne and Tam o Shanter and this fresh approach will inspire a new generation.
“Creatomatic have done a great job and we are very grateful to Wigtown Festival Company who allowed us to adapt the project and timescales as a result of lockdown. There’s a big emphasis on exploring the outdoors with trails along the Nith and in the town centre. A government funded report by Glasgow University published before lockdown found that Burns was worth £203 million a year to the Scottish economy, but that more could be done to benefit Dumfries and Galloway. Marketing initiatives like this one should help us compete.”
Visit Footsteps here https://www.burnsdumfries.co.uk/
See the Facebook page here https://www.facebook.com/inthefootstepsofburns
For more information call Joan McAlpine on 07879116435 or ellislandchair@gmail.com
https://www.spot-lit.eu/wp-content/uploads/in-the-footsteps-of-burns.jpg6641030spot-lit-adminhttps://www.spot-lit.eu/wp-content/themes/master/images/spotlit-npa-eu.pngspot-lit-admin2021-05-21 15:21:392021-06-08 21:56:40‘In the Footsteps of Burns’.
Scotland’s International Poetry Prize, open to all.
Founded in 2005, the Wigtown Poetry Prize is one of the UK’s best established writing competitions and a launchpad for many writers’ careers.
Refreshed and rebranded in 2019, Wigtown Poetry Prize welcomes entries from poets writing in English wherever they may live. Separate categories celebrate the best of Scottish Gaelic and Scots language poetry, a special category acknowledges a rising talent in Dumfries & Galloway, and a pamphlet prize is named in memory of Alastair Reid – local poet and one of Scotland’s foremost literary figures.
The competition closes on 31 May 2021, with a prize-giving at Wigtown Book Festival in the autumn. We hope to see you there.
Lapland University of Applied Sciences is a project partner engaged in the Spot-lit Project and is the responsible partner for the T4 work package named “Development of Transformative Guide for SMEs in Literary Tourism” . The activities of the work package include the establishment of a baseline audit of Northern Periphery and Arctic (NPA) literary tourism activity at the project commencement, data collection over determined periods during the project implementation, and data analysis.
In summer of 2019, a baseline study was conducted, in which an agreed set of economic indicators of literary tourism in the NPA regions involved were evaluated. The economic indicators are as follows:
SME activity within the literary tourism
Number of jobs supported by the literary tourism sector;
Number of SME products and service connected to the literary tourism
sector;
Reach of those products and services into national and international
markets;
The extent of SME clusters in the literary tourism sector;
The visibility of products and services connected to the literary tourism
sector;
Public awareness and engagement with the literary tourism sector as a
means of identifying destinations of choice for tourism activity
The same set of economic indicators are evaluated in this report, based on data collected in all four participating regions late 2019, first quarter of 2020 and third quarter 2020.
Sara Maitland likes to think of herself as a hermit. To reach her house, set alone on a remote moor in the depths of the Galloway countryside, is an adventure in itself.
It’s the perfect location for the author of How To Be Alone and A Book of Silence, her brilliant exploration of how she came to embrace a quiet and contemplative life, dispensing with many of the comforts of life, such as mobile phones, radio and television
Not that she has always been so unworldly – at university she was friends with Bill Clinton and she also worked as a scriptwriter for Stanley Kubrick. Until Covid struck, she also ran retreats in the Sinai desert.
Maitland’s fiction and non-fiction is infused with the twin themes of feminism and spirituality. An exceptional short story writer herself, she is fascinated by folk stories such as those of the Grimm Brothers, an interest that inspired her book Gossip from the Forest, which explores the connection between fairy-tales and forests in Northern Europe.
Sara is currently one of the mentors for Wigtown Festival Company’s regional writer development scheme. You can listen to an interview with her about lockdown life on the Wigtown Book Festival podcast HERE.
https://www.spot-lit.eu/wp-content/uploads/sara.jpg515564spot-lit-adminhttps://www.spot-lit.eu/wp-content/themes/master/images/spotlit-npa-eu.pngspot-lit-admin2021-03-05 15:32:312021-03-05 15:35:17Sara Maitland: How To Be Alone and A Book of Silence.
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