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Tunbridge Wells and Middlesborough are as different as different can be. They have almost nothing in common; but last week they had me. In both places I was working with enthusiastic residents who wanted to share their local green spaces with the local community. Tunbridge Wells lies in the affluent south surrounded by the green […]

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Many of our regular clients, including the RSPB, The Wildfowl and Wetland Trust and The Wildlife Trusts are in the environmental / wildlife conservation sector. Their mission involves changing people’s attitudes and behaviour and they, quite rightly, want interpretation to contribute to that. So it jolly well should. But how? At TellTale we spend a […]

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Interpretive panels are hard to do well. In fact I think they are possibly the hardest interpretive medium to master. Panels need to be very carefully planned in order to get the best value from the couple of pictures and limited number of words they can carry. These panels in Mount Field National Park, Tasmania […]

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Opening places to the public and creating interesting days out is hard work – and now I have the blisters to prove it! This year’s Farm Open Day at my brother’s award-winning Norfolk farm begins in 35 minutes. We, and especially he, worked late last night. He had worked for many days before that to […]

Making your workplace into a visitor attraction

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During the last six months we have helped several commercial businesses to use interpretation to make more of their company heritage. We were therefore particularly interested in how Nils Olsson, manufacturers of Dala horses in the small village of Nusnas in Darlana, Sweden, approached this. During a recession, longevity and  tradition can be valuable, reassuring […]

Interpreting conflicts in carnivore conservation

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I like and admire a country that sets a minimum population size for its large carnivores. Sweden does this for bear, wolf, wolverine and lynx. This of course is contentious, especially among people whose livelihoods and way of life are threatened the transhumance farmers whose animals graze wild in summer and the Sami reindeer herders. […]

Wild Sweden – an exceptional wildlife viewing experience

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What makes a guided interpretive experience exceptional? I suspect that Marcus from Wild Sweden has spent much of the the last ten years thinking about that. He has certainly found some answers. We went on a ‘Moose Safari’ with him two nights ago. It was hugely enjoyable, informative and rewarding. Marcus made it all look […]

Heritage interpretation lessons from Stockholm (2)

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I set out yesterday in search of Swedish artists – about whom I was impressively ignorant – and of five interpretation pointers I could write about here (see yesterday’s post). It turns out that are not five pointers today. Just one big five times over – Take time to enjoy the things you love. Inspire, delight and  and educate […]

Heritage interpretation lessons from Stockholm (1)

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I know it’s easy to mix my work up with what other people do on holiday. Sometimes it’s even easy to mix my work up with what I do on holiday. But there is a difference – when I am working I make notes on the things I want to remember. I am aiming for five things a […]

A great start to a visit experience

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We talk a lot about the first five minutes in our visitor experience training. Our arrival in Stockholm yesterday reminded me of just how important it is. Travelling is fun but it is tricky too. There’s a lot of stuff that has to put in place. There’s the timetable to be be developed and adhered to, an inventory […]