{"id":1569,"date":"2020-06-08T12:03:24","date_gmt":"2020-06-08T11:03:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cool-banzai.185-132-38-6.plesk.page\/?p=1569"},"modified":"2020-06-08T12:03:25","modified_gmt":"2020-06-08T11:03:25","slug":"literary-tourism-thirty-nine-steps-to-post-pandemic-economic-recovery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cool-banzai.185-132-38-6.plesk.page\/?p=1569","title":{"rendered":"Literary Tourism \u2013 Thirty-Nine Steps to Post Pandemic Economic Recovery"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

John Buchan\u2019s The Thirty-Nine Steps<\/em>, Dorothy L Sayers\u2019 The Five Red Herrings<\/em> and the inventor of the pedal bike could all play a role in Dumfries & Galloway\u2019s post-pandemic recovery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Wigtown Festival Company, based in Scotland\u2019s National Book Town, is spearheading a drive to make the region a centre for literary tourism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Spot-lit project, which will run for a year, is supporting a series of businesses and organisations to realise innovative ideas that make the most of its abundant links to famous writers and poets as well as the vibrant contemporary literary scene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The programme, delivered in conjunction with Business Tourism Solutions, provides financial investment as well as business mentoring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Gatehouse of Fleet, The Mill on the Fleet visitor centre (a restored 18th<\/sup>-century water mill with exhibition space, bookshop and caf\u00e9) intends to create a wide range of activities from trails to specialist tours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ken Smyth, Chair of The Mill on the Fleet,<\/strong> believes the area\u2019s links to Buchan, Sayers, Robert Burns, SR Crockett and others will combine perfectly with the charm of the town and beauty of the surrounding countryside to attract more visitors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said: \u201cBurns wrote Scots Wha Hae<\/em> while staying at the Murray Arms, there are links to Buchan\u2019s The Thirty-Nine Steps<\/em>, and Gatehouse is also in the middle of the country where Crockett set his Galloway adventure stories like The Raiders.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDorothy L Sayers wrote The Five Red Herrings<\/em> while she was staying at the Anwoth Hotel \u2013 now The Ship Inn \u2013 and was quite exact in her descriptions, so you can easily identify many places she mentions. It would make a superb literary trail and the opportunity for guided tours \u2013 perhaps led by her detective, Lord Peter himself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Mill on the Fleet will use its past experience of setting up heritage trails and exhibitions to develop pilots after travel restrictions are lifted and people begin to look for interesting short breaks and holidays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile Galloway Cycling Holidays is collaborating with local author Ian Barr to create a family-friendly route linked to his recently published children\u2019s book Jamesie Burns and the Bicycle Thieves<\/em>. The story also highlights the life of Kirkpatrick Macmillan, the Dumfries-shire blacksmith credited by many with the invention of the pedal-powered bicycle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Warren Sanders and Esther Tacke, who bought the holiday company in 2017 after falling in love with south-west Scotland during their four-year cycle tour of the world, hope it will raise Macmillan\u2019s profile and get more people enjoying country bike rides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Warren said: \u201cThe story is lovely, the book is beautifully illustrated and the area really lends itself to a cycle tour. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a gentle route that takes in Kirkpatrick Macmillan\u2019s grave and Drumlanrig Castle, and that passes fields full of cows and sheep and landscapes with Highland-style views. But the roads are very quiet so you don\u2019t have tour buses constantly on your shoulder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnything which will enthuse children about bikes, cycling and the outdoors has to be a good thing. We also want to raise awareness of Macmillan \u2013 visitors from abroad are astounded that there is no museum or other commemoration here and that he\u2019s not on our bank notes.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spot-lit is an international project funded by the European Union backed Northern Periphery and Arctic Programme with Wigtown Festival Company as its driving force in Scotland. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Planning began in 2018 when Wigtown teamed up with organisations in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and Finland with the aim of delivering literary tourism projects in western and northern areas of the EU from 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adrian Turpin, the company\u2019s Creative Director, said:<\/strong> \u201cCovid-19 has had a devastating effect on tourism and culture. Dumfries & Galloway is especially vulnerable because these sectors became particularly important when it rebuilt in the wake of foot and mouth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut Spot-lit is allowing us to support innovative ideas from locally-based businesses and cultural organisations at the very moment when we need to rebuild again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHolidays and short breaks with a focus on famous authors and stories are hugely popular, and people are increasingly interested in discovering contemporary writing and storytelling. Dumfries & Galloway has an abundance of both \u2013 as well as being home to Scotland\u2019s National Book Town, so we hope Spot-lit will help establish the region as the country\u2019s literary heartland.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other seven Spot-lit initiatives include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n