Walking through Rye last Saturday I heard a familiar voice, a loud and clear voice, just what’s needed when conducting a guided tour of Rye’s busy streets. This time it wasn’t the oh so recognisable tones of our own beloved town crier, Paul Goring, but that of Rye’s heritage centre manager, Simon Parsons.
He’s normally to be found inside the heritage centre where he runs the group of volunteers, who all work so hard to keep the centre going, but today he was wearing a different hat. Having lived locally his whole life, who better to impart his wealth of knowledge to our visiting tourists than he. We exchanged pleasantries and I left him to it but later we exchanged emails and in his own words he sent me the following.
“The walk you saw me on was a one off, requested by an American group, currently touring the UK, which perhaps demonstrates the necessary versatility of staff, volunteers and trustees alike in meeting the challenges created by the the change in visitor dynamic following the pandemic and the effects on the foreign visitor market caused by Brexit.
“The walking tour lasted around 90 minutes and focussed on anecdotal stories illustrating Rye’s rich and varied history and designed to show the varied fortunes of Rye and its context and importance in English history.
“Tailored experiences like this can be provided by arrangement; there is no set fee – cost is dependent on numbers and time and can include a wider itinerary of visits to other attractions like the nature reserve, Great Dixter, etc. Individual presentations of the town model can also be arranged for interested groups focussing on a specific interest.
“We’re still working hard to attract funding, both national and local to ensure the continued daily operation of the centre and for development projects like the recently announced HerStory project and to continue ongoing work on existing projects such as regenerating the heritage exhibition space.
“We need more volunteers to fill various roles from retail assistant to event planners and everything between – without that valued support we cannot grow and improve. This is a good time (in the middle of national volunteer week) to acknowledge the amazing contribution of the existing team of dedicated volunteers and the ongoing support and guidance from the board of trustees, particularly in respect of securing much needed financial support in the form of grants and fundraising in general. The key to our future success is to adapt to changing times and to diversify to meet visitor expectations.
“A new website has recently been launched where you can see our up-to-date opening times and book tickets to see the Story of Rye sound and light show featuring the amazing town model. You can also book tickets for guided walks and forthcoming events, and donations to support us can also be made via the website.”
Simon goes on to remind us that, “Local residents can claim half price entry to the sound and light show with proof of address.”
For more information and to arrange a booking contact the Rye Heritage Centre direct on 01797 226696 or see details on their website https://www.ryeheritage.co.uk/.
Image Credits: Nick Forman .