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Guest Blog Erin Lloyd Jones writes about the recent A Way with Words course at Plas Tan y Bwlch, the Snowdonia National park Study centre and reflects on the power of words, bards and the Black Chair.

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Heritage interpretation plays a bigger and more important part in many heritage-related businesses and initiatives than many people think.

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Like museums, the countryside/ conservation sector can come across as nerdy, insular and irrelevant. The best organisations in both sectors are doing great, and tough, work to change that.

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Today Peter is in Sheffield talking to the Chartered Institute of Ecologists and Environmental Managers. He will say that communication skills should be seen as essential to the environmental profession. I wish I could be there; he was great in rehersal. This is the blog of the talk. He is talking to a group of professionals who care, usually passionately, […]

Mull of Galloway: a successful lighthouse attraction

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We are especially interested in automated lighthouses as tourism businesses at the moment. This means that even when on holiday in a faraway area in the extreme south west of Scotland, a community-run lighthouse attraction that radiates success stops us in our TellTale tracks.   We spent a large part of the last year working on interpretation strategies and […]

Interpretive writing: sharp writing for busy people

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Writing so that busy, distracted people take notice is a good skill to have in the 21st century. If you can’t do it, you may want some training. More and more we need to write for people in a hurry. For people who have most of their mind on other things. They are getting smarter […]

Wildlife experiences and interpretation

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We (particularly TellTale partner Peter Phillipson) have spent a lot of time over the years thinking about how interpretation can help people have great wildlife experiences. I have written several posts about the special challenges of interpreting wildlife (see here  and here). We believe that interpretation has an important role in preparing people for the experience […]

Images for international visitors

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People wandering around the square in Kazimierz Dolny in Poland

A lot of our advice revolves around getting the ‘first five minutes’ right and giving a clear, concise introduction to what makes your place special. It can make all the difference to how, and whether, people remember it. This is particularly true for international visitors who may well have less background knowledge. When we arrived at […]

Thoughts (on heritage interpretation) from Bialowieza Forest

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Two woodpecker feathers from Bialowieza Forest in Poland, a UNESCO natural world heritage site

Some reflections on why heritage interpreters are like woodpeckers. They have a vital role and impact on the big, complex system of influencing public perceptions of heritage and environmental issues.

Interpretation in the streetscape at Bushmills

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A shop door and window in Bushmills, Northern Ireland. The door is half open and slightly tatty and this is a painting. The shop window is also a painting showing a cobbler and a saddler at work.

Bushmills in Northern Ireland is a great example of using the streetscape to get people thinking and talking about heritage. As a result, it is a memorable and distinctive place to visit.