August 2019

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

                               Summer over? Escape to a top coastal English retreat!

With autumnal sun flooding the beaches, the sea at its warmest and scenes of migrating birds, autumn's the perfect time for a coastal English escape.  And booking that escape has never been easier thanks toEngland's Coast, an online booking platform featuring more than 1,700 coastal hotels, B&Bs, attractions and experiences.

 Delivered by theNational Coastal Tourism Academyand funded by VisitEngland, the national tourist board, England's Coast highlights the diversity and beauty of the coast to encourage visitors year-round.

 "Autumn is an ideal time for visiting our English coastline, beaches that were packed with sunbathers and families just weeks before are quieter making them perfect for wind-swept walks," says Samantha Richardson, Academy Director of the National Coastal Tourism Academy.

 "The sea is actually at its warmest in September, so it's an ideal time for water sports, and when hunger strikes there are countless cosy English pubs up and down the coast with roaring log fires offering heart-warming local food and drink and of course our seafood is second to none."

 Few coastlines offer the variety and heritage of the English coastline.  A late afternoon stroll along theSouth Hamscoast, east ofPlymouth, is perfect for watching the autumnal sunflooding the valleys or head just west ofSalcombe,a good base to see hundreds of swallows settling on telephone wires, gathering for their autumnal migration to Africa. 

Salcambe, Devon

 Walk around the nearby hamlet ofSouth Huishand the village ofHope Cove; stay until dusk to see the swallows lift off and gather together before funnelling away over the sea, not to return for seven months.

 Across theKingsbridgeestuary from Salcombe lies the village ofEast Portlemouth.  A five-minute ferry journey drops visitors at the pier to walk the 2km or so along the coast toGara Rock,offering superb views along the crenulated coastline.

 The reed beds, fens and marshlands ofNorfolkalso offer a perfect autumnal escape;Cley-next-the Sea'sFlemish gables provide a reference point to its important history as a trading port with other North Sea communities.  Spot hen harriers migrating here in autumn.

Blakeney Spit, Norfolk

 Close by,Cley Smokehouseproduces mouth-watering locally caught Cromer crab and lobsters, along with crevettes or a half-side of smoked salmon.

 For more inspiration, check out the videos onEngland's Coastto plan and bookyour trip.

 Ends/

For more information and images please contact Sheron Crossman, England's Coast Marketing & Communications ManagerSheron.crossman@coastaltourismacademy.co.uk

The England's Coast project is undertaken by the National Coastal Tourism Academy whose partners include P&O Ferries, Green Traveller,  Visit Northumberland, Yorkshire Coast, Scarborough Borough Council, North York Moors National Park Authority,  East Riding of Yorkshire, English Riviera, Teignbridge District Council, Hello Kingsbridge,  Visit Brighton, Dorset Council, Visit East Anglia, Suffolk Coast, Visit Hull and East Yorkshire, Visit North Norfolk, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council, Dover District Council, North Devon Council, Somerset and Exmoor National Park Authority, Marketing Lancashire, Visit Cumbria, Greater Liverpool, England's Creative Coast, Go To Places, Thanet District Council, West Sussex, Discover Gosport, Portsmouth City Council, Visit Isle of Wight.

About the Discover England Fund

• In November 2015, the Government announced a £40 million Discover England Fund; an unprecedented opportunity for English tourism. The Fund aims to deliver world-class bookable tourism products joined up across geographies and/or themes; including integrated transport solutions to provide an end-to-end customer experience.

• The Fund supports the growth of one of England's most successful export industries, inbound tourism. Tourism is an industry that delivers jobs and economic growth across the English regions -contributing some £106bn each year to the economy and supporting 2.6 million jobs.

• The Fund supported a number of pilot projects in year one (2016/17) that tested product development approaches.  In years two and three, 2017-19, the fund will support:
  • A number of large-scale collaborative projects to be delivered over the two year period 2017-2019 that will create a step-change in bookable English tourism product for international consumers,
  • A smaller funding pot for new one year pilot projects (in year two), and
  • Continuation funding for existing year one projects that demonstrated early learnings (in year two).

About VisitBritain/VisitEngland

• VisitBritain/VisitEngland is the national tourism agency - a non-departmental public body funded by the Department for Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS)

Working with a wide range of partners in both the UK and overseas, our mission is to grow the volume and value of inbound tourism across the nations and regions of Britain and to develop world-class English tourism product to support our growth aspirations. For further information and to access the latest in-depth market intelligence and statistics visitwww.visitbritain.orgorwww.visitbritain.comandwww.visitengland.com