"Plenty to learn" at this year's Heritage Festival

Wednesday 27 March 2019

The Heritage Festival will return to Guernsey next month, inviting both locals and visitors to 'Encounter Guernsey through the Ages'.

It will run from 19 April to 10 May with a number of organisations getting involved, planning events across the Bailiwick.

"The variety is just immense and that's why I think the title really captures it," said Economic Development tourism lead Deputy Dawn Tindall. "We've got so many different things that appeal to different people. They're accessible to young and old and include little quirks like learning how to knit a Guernsey!

"We advertise through VisitGuernsey's marketing and tourism to off-island. We also have partnership with the Telegraph and another exciting development is we've got the Ambassador, historian Dan Snow, coming over. We do have people who come over anyway but what we want to do is get people who are over to see another side of Guernsey, talk about it to friends and family and hopefully encourage others."

This year's festival will look at a broad range of island history including German Occupation, folklore, the Middle Ages and local traditions.

Pictured: Craig Alexander will run tours of the Rocquettes orchard throughout the festival.

"I'm a historian and I'm local and I'm still discovering things," said Folk and Costume Museum Manager Ali Keeling. "The beauty of Guernsey is that there's so many different aspects so if you are into modern history we have the history of the occupation, but we have a great Victorian history as well. You just need to walk around St Peter Port to look at the fantastic buildings that we have, but dig a bit deeper and we have medieval history. There's so much across the island that we do need to promote it, not just to tourists, but to locals."

Vice President of the National Trust of Guernsey Sara Lampitt added: "Having seen what Jersey has done so well for so many years, to see this element of tourism develop the way it has and the huge effort by VisitGernsey to really brand-up and get a superb website. Whatever resources have been thrown at tourism I think have been very well spent."

Pictured: Sara Lampitt and Ali Keeling.

A number of events will take place throughout the festival including open days run by Festung Guernsey, bike and kayak tours with Outdoor Guernsey and a 'fairies and folklore trail' led by Guernsey Museums.

"A lot of local people will come along and admit that they've learnt a lot just from the visit. There's plenty to see and plenty to learn," said Paul Bourgaize from Festung Guernsey.

"If someone can't find something of interest to them, I'll be surprised!" added Deputy Tindall.

 Pictured top: His Excellency the Lieutenant Governor launched the event at his house yesterday along with Deputy Dawn Tindall.