spotlight WHAT’S MAKING THE NEWS IN EXETER? WILDLIFE
WE’RE LOOKING OUT FOR YOU, HONEY . . .
Wayne Pearce, Mark Lyne-Ley and Lee- roy Newton of Princesshay with Jason Wallis and Simon Pannell
Major boost for city tours ACCOLADE
Exeter’s volunteer Red Coat Guides run tours 363 days a year (photo by Exeter City Council)
A rooftop garden has been created high above Exeter city centre to help save the honey bee. Disease has wiped out most wild honey bee colonies, and a third of the food we eat wouldn’t be available but for pollination by bees, so we need to help them thrive. There are now bee-friendly plants and two hives on the roof of Princesshay shopping centre, with a third due later in the year, aiming for five in total by the end of 2014. This environmental initiative is being funded by Land Securities, which owns the shopping centre. Andrew Littlejohns from Princesshay came up with the idea after watching a TV programme about the decline of the honey bee and its impact on the environment, and sought advice from Exeter Bee Keepers Association. The rooftop garden has raised flower beds and an irrigation system, and several metric tonnes of top soil had to be transported by hand via the service delivery lifts. The first colony of over 10,000 bees has now arrived. Andrew said: “This is such an exciting project. We’ve contacted all our retailers and restaurants to invite them to take part, and our plan is to have a core team to manage and care for the project.” Jason Wallis from
WeeTree Nurseries, who is training the amateur bee-keepers, said: “I must applaud the centre team for their initiative and enthusiasm. Their sheltered rooftop is fantastic.
“Projects like this all help to keep this important species part of the UK habitat.”
8 Exeter Living
www.mediaclash.co.uk
Exeter’s Red Coat Guided Tours are officially among the world’s top-rated tourism operations, says
travel website TripAdvisor. The tours won a 2013 Certificate Of Excellence, which is only given to businesses that consistently earn high ratings from TripAdvisor travellers. This means that Exeter’s Red Coat Guided Tours – which this year celebrate their 25th anniversary – now rank in the top 10 per cent of all businesses worldwide on the TripAdvisor website.
Councillor Rosie Denham of Exeter City Council said: “Being awarded the coveted Certificate Of Excellence by TripAdvisor is a fantastic achievement for Exeter’s dedicated team of volunteer Red Coat Guides. The city is incredibly lucky to have such passionate guides, and I would like to congratulate them on achieving this award.”
Every day except Christmas Day and Boxing Day, the Red Coat Guides lead
fascinating free-of-charge historic walking tours around Exeter.
The city council has recently recruited and trained 13 new volunteer guides, who were presented with their red blazers by The Lord Mayor at a reception in the Guildhall.
The new Exeter Red Coat Guided
Tours summer programme contains 16 differently-themed tours, which include Medieval Exeter, Cathedral To Quay and Forgotten Exeter. A number of tours allow access to places not normally open to the public, including the Bishop’s Palace Garden and the Custom House with its impressive sweeping staircase and ornamental plasterwork. Tours depart from the noticeboard outside ABode Exeter (Royal Clarence Hotel) or from outside the Quay House Visitor Centre on Exeter’s quayside. No booking is required. For the full programme, visit www.exeter.
gov.uk/guidedtours or call 01392 265203.
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