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Ross-on-Wye Cider and Perry Company won the category in the BBC Food and Farming Awards 2019 after being named one of three finalists. The judging started in April with a visit to Broome Farm, Peterstow, in April after nominations were sent to the BBC. The winners were announced at a ceremony in Bristol on Wednesday, June 12.

Albert Johnson, who runs the farm, said: “It’s somewhat overwhelming to think about it. It almost feels like there’s pressure now to live up to it, even though it’s all been based on what we’ve done in the past.

“They (the judges) visited us in April and were only meant to be here a couple of hours, but were there from 12.30pm until 5pm because there was lots to talk about. “They didn’t tell us anything though and we had to wait until later to find out we’d won.”

Pictured: The winning team at Ross-on-Wye Cider and Perry Company

Museum Without Walls takes shape

Ross-on-Wye has a rich and fascinating history. Through the millennia the town has seen Roman forts and Anglo Saxon palaces. Viking raids from the river and major battles during the English Civil War all form part of the rich historical tapestry of this beautiful town on the banks of the Wye. Kings, generals, politicians and poets have all played their part, and an exciting new initiative, a ‘Museum without Walls’ is being developed to celebrate the vibrant history of the town using cutting edge technology to bring the past to life for residents and visitors alike.

Augmented reality enables us to construct digital, animated, three-dimensional representations of buildings and features that have been lost to time. Using smart devices you will be able to walk around the town and see it as it once was; Ross-on-Wye will literally become a digital ‘Museum without Walls’. Over the next few years a group of volunteers from the town who have banded together in an organisation called ‘CreateROSS’ intend to design and deliver a minimum of 12 augmented reality exhibits that between them celebrate the town through the ages. The first exhibit has now been created and you can see for yourself how the ‘Museum without Walls’ will work. It is called the Lost Fountain and it exists digitally on the Prospect.

Supported by Herefordshire’s a Great Place, a Herefordshire Cultural Partnership cultural development project delivered by Rural Media. Great Place is co-funded by Arts Council England and Heritage Lottery, with support from Historic England.

For further information, visit the Museum Without Walls Website here.

Ross-on-Wye puts tourism in the spotlight

The Ross-on-Wye Tourism Association (RTA) has joined forces with Wye Valley and Forest of Dean Tourism (WVFDT) to increase its impact and improve the profile of Ross-on-Wye regionally, nationally and internationally.

This is just another step forward for the RTA which was formed in 2015 by a group of enthusiastic volunteers all of whom wanted to play a part in promoting Ross to a wider audience. Several have direct professional experience of tourism and PR.

One of the RTA’s first actions was to establish a network of Tourist Information Sites in existing businesses in the town centre, to fill the gap left when the County Council run visitor centre was closed – there are five sites in the town (Made in Ross in the Market House, Mandy Moos Café, Return to Splendour, Raglan House and Hope Treasures at The Hope and Anchor). All of these sites are equipped with a local accommodation folder, town maps and trails. Tourist information is also available from The Ross Information Service at The Corn Exchange and The Priory Coffee House.

In addition the RTA has set up two websites: www.playross.com provides links to events, live music, art, film and culture as well as to community organisations and www.visitrossonowye which provides visitors with an overview of the town and what it has to offer plus occasional blogs, it has also published a “Dog Friendly Ross” leaflet and is working on a town guide.

“Working with the WVFDT means that all of these products have a much higher profile and wider platform for promotion,” said RTA Chairwoman Caroline Utting, “The RTA is very grateful for the support and funding it has received from the Ross-on-Wye Town Council and the Town Team which has enabled it to achieve so much in a short time, we can now really move forward working with such an established tourism body and benefit from the widest local, regional and national profile.”

“We’re delighted that the RTA has decided to join us at Wye Valley and Forest of Dean Tourism,” said Maureen McAllister, Executive Director of WVFD. “ We have formed partnerships with many town councils, associations and market towns across the DeanWye and I am delighted that the RTA is now one of these. Ross-on-Wye is a fabulous town, with lots to offer the visitor and we already have a number of high profile businesses in Ross-on-Wye so this with further enhance our promotion of this beautiful town.”

“The trick will now be to encourage more tourism businesses in and around Ross on Wye to join WVFDT so that there is a wider Ross on Wye offer for visitors,” added Caroline Utting. “ We are so much stronger together and can achieve so much more if we work in partnership to showcase all that is great about Ross-on-Wye.”

RTA Chairwoman Caroline Utting and committee Members Alastair Stevenson and Yolande Watson met Maureen McAllister and John Bosley of the WVFDT to discuss working together. ( L-R :John Bosley, Caroline Utting, Maureen McAllister, Alastair Stevenson)

Find out more about Wye Valley and Forest of Dean Tourism here www.wyedeantourism.biz