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I was delighted that my last post picked up a reader in Slovenia.  But when I re-read it in the light of that international audience, I saw  just how steep a learning curve I am on in terms of international communication. It was that humour thing that tripped me up.  Again.  I should know it’s dangerous stuff […]

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Last week I posted about a stop-me-in-my-tracks question on the use of humour in interpreting tales of bloodshed. You may need to read about that before this makes any sense – click here. Several people have got in touch (many thanks for that, it’s always very encouraging to hear from someone who’s read this blog […]

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Over the Bank Holiday weekend I went to Bosworth battlefield and found a new addition to my (imaginary, but not that long) list of really well interpreted places in the UK. It was   a really ‘good day out’,  and a demonstration of how careful interpretation planning  makes that good day look effortless and obvious. […]

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I like the questions that stop me in my tracks.  Especially when I am training. Picture this. I am in full flow in a workshop about how to make panels interesting, relevant etc. I have got to the bit about words and tone. I really like this, so I am surfing the wave here.  I […]

TalkTalk’s top 10 UK wildlife tourism sites and nature conservation messages – a mismatch?

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‘Wildlife’.  ‘Nature’.  Do we understand what those words mean? If not, and I think that’s the case, we had better be careful how we use them. A few days ago, somewhat tongue in cheek, I posted my version of the Top Ten UK Wildlife Experiences. Today I Googled that term – and got a lion! […]

My top 10 places to see wildlife in the UK

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The UK offers some absolutely great wildlife viewing experiences. That may surprise folk from bigger, less populated countries (of which there are many). In some ways it is a wonder that there are still spaces for wildlife among all the people, and that is a tribute to the many individuals and organisations who work to […]

Four great places to experience wildlife in Scotland

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Scotland really values its wildlife as a tourism asset and has done for many years.  It aims to be one of the top wildlife tourism destinations in Europe and seems to be well on the way to that.  This makes a huge difference. Wildlife viewing sites are star-rated by the Scottish Tourist Board and Scottish […]

Four great places to experience wildlife in Australia

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At our new and very exciting Creating Great Wildlife Viewing Experiences workshop last week we flagged up some case studies from our recent Australian trip that we thought were  particularly interesting in some way. 1. Seal Bay, Kangaroo Island, South Australia This has been recently and somewhat controversially redesigned to create a more controlled experience that is less […]

NEW Revised guideline on telling people about seasonal wildlife!

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Most trainers agree that we learn as much from our workshop participants as they learn from us.  In our new “Creating Great Wildlife Viewing Experiences’ workshop for  Forestry Commission Scotland, I learned I was wrong – not about everything, but one specific thing that I thought was a rule is nothing of the kind. So now, […]

Five tips for telling other people’s stories

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Too little inspiration can be as bad as too much. I am often asked what to do when the ‘thing’ you have to interpret is too hard, too boring, or both. I have written elsewhere on this blog, like here, and here, about the possible pitfalls of being too excited about the stuff you have […]