Sense of place toolkit for businesses

WE ARE WYRE Sense of Place Toolkit

What is sense of place?

Think of a place in Wyre that you know really well. How would you describe it to someone?

Would you say what it’s called, what it’s near, or how to get there? While factual, none of these descriptors give a sense of what that place is really like.

Instead, would you talk about your favourite local bookstore, run by an elderly man who remembers your name and welcomes you with a smile? Would you describe a local bakery, one which sells freshly-baked cheese scones made with locally sourced cheese – they’re totally unlike anything you can buy anywhere else! Perhaps you’d talk about the woodland you walk through on your way to work and how you always feel calm by the time you get to the office? Or maybe you’d mention how great the sunsets are nearby to your home, and whip out your mobile phone to show some photos?

Sense of place is thisthe feelings a place invokes.

In short,

“ sense of place is the lens through which people experience and make meaning of their experiences in and with place” (Adams, 2013).

A strong sense of place benefits the local economy. When visitors connect with this sense of place on a deeper level, they develop an affinity and an affection for the area and are more likely to return.

Collaborative marketing

Wyre Council is working hard to promote Wyre’s coast, countryside, attractions and events to locals and tourists like as a brilliant place to visit, stay and enjoy.

But we cannot achieve this feat alone. Only by working together with local businesses can we truly begin to take leaps to improve Wyre’s visitor economy. A unified approach sharing a consistent message will work to raise the profile of the area and create a ‘buzz’ around the location.

This toolkit is designed to help business owners across Wyre to unify their messaging and promotion of the area, reinforcing one another’s efforts to increase tourism spend in the area.

In practical terms this means crossselling Wyre businesses and attractions to send the message that there is so much more to see and do in Wyre, encouraging visitors to stay longer!

Promoting Wyre as a place to visit will help to promote your business

Perhaps you run a coffee shop at the end of a popular walking route. You could use your social media to promote your daily special and artisan coffee, and maybe that will be enough to gain some local business.

But what if you think bigger and promote the place? Sharing the walk route and photographs of the amazing scenery of the area, with the promise of a warming artisan coffee at the end of the walk, will give visitors an experience. And an experience is something they’ll remember.

Visitors to a place benefit all of the businesses within that place, so we need to work together to encourage people to visit Wyre.

Add to the visitor experience

The growth of experience tourism means that visitors are more likely to book an overnight stay if there is a specific reason for doing so – such as walking festival, a car show or a concert.

Oftentimes the event organiser will be working hard to promote their event to increase footfall and/or sell tickets. But local businesses and attractions are missing a trick if they don’t jump on board and join in with promotion. Creating a ‘buzz’ around an event and cross-promoting it can boost tourism across the whole area as people start talking about and sharing the event on social media. This is where that collaborative marketing can really drive up business!

If visitors are already coming to the area for an event, position your business in a way that adds to their experience and encourages them to come back again and again.

The purpose of this toolkit

As a business owner, your priority is promoting your business and what it has to offer; but as we can now see, collaborative marketing and working together to share a cohesive sense of place message can encourage more visitors to Wyre, and benefit the local economy as a whole, including your business.

This toolkit will help you to discover the special qualities of this area and how to use them to develop and promote your business. Within these pages, you’ll find example wording you can use to help develop Wyre’s sense of place.

How to use this toolkit

We have organised this toolkit into sections, each highlighting one of the special qualities of the area:

We are... beautiful beaches

We are... a breath of fresh air

We are... historic highstreets and bustling markets

We are... rich in heritage

We are... a warm Lancashire welcome

Within each section, we’ve given some background information about that special quality and why it is important to Wyre’s sense of place.

The information provided is supplemented by our online image library, where you can download free to use images to help promote your local area.

Image library

The images in our image library are free for use for promotional purposes in brochures and digital marketing or social media.

The images cannot be used for commercial activity (e.g. creating postcards for sale) and cannot be redistributed or uploaded to any other image sharing library.

Where instructed, please credit the photograph with the name of the photographer. If no photographer name is given, no credit is required.

We Are WyreAn Introduction

Discover Wyre - a place with fabulous views, wonderful walks, mouth-watering local food and quality accommodation. The home of picturesque towns including Fleetwood, Garstang, Poultonle-Fylde and Thornton Cleveleys, as well as many rural villages.

On one side you’ll find stunning award-winning beaches with unspoilt coastlines, and on the other unforgettable landscapes in the Forest of Bowland, an area of outstanding natural beauty.

Our visitor economy campaign – We Are Wyre – develops and expands our sense of place by highlighting experiences and feelings instead of places and attractions. We define Wyre not by its name but by the things visitors can discover, the memories they can make, and the unique experiences that they can only find here in Wyre.

Describing Wyre

To depict the area’s unique feel, think about the words you could use to describe the views, landscapes, highstreets and community to your visitors. Then, think about the feelings these words create, or how Wyre makes you feel when you spend your leisure time there. Why not look through your customer feedback on social media and TripAdvisor and use some of the words people use to talk about your business? diverse landscape breathtaking

WE ARE BEAUTIFUL BEACHES

The beach is a yearround draw for visitors, so the importance of its influence on the visitor economy of Wyre cannot be understated.

With over 16km of beautiful coastline to explore, Wyre’s beaches and promenades are the perfect place for visitors of all ages and interests.

Visitors

won’t want to miss...

Experiencing a slice of a galaxy far far away! Cleveleys beach and promenade around Cafe Cove featured in an episode of the Disney+ spin off series, Star Wars: Andor. It’s a great opportunity to encourage fans to visit the area, and if you have a business nearby, why not target some marketing in this direction? Think about if there are any ways you could offer something that adds to the visitor experience.

Suggested wording

If you’re writing a social post or produce some printed materials, feel free to use or adapt these messages.

Take in the fresh sea air and stunning views by walking or cycling along the seafront. On your journey you’ll pass a variety of landscapes and habitats, from sand and shale beaches to dunes and pretty promenades.

Look out for the abundant wildlife that calls this stretch of the North West home.

With stunning sunsets over the ocean and many hidden treasures to discover, Wyre’s coastline is a photographers dream.

Take a walk from Cleveleys to Rossall and explore the Mythic Coastline, a series of art sculptures which bring to life the story of The Sea Swallow, igniting the imagination of children and adults alike. Snap a photograph of the much loved Mary’s Shell, or see if you can spot the Sea Ogre lurking on the sands when the tide is out!

Where the Wyre Estuary opens into the Irish Sea lies Ferry Beach, the second beach in Fleetwood, which has breath-taking views across to Morecambe Bay. Home to a wealth of sandflats and saltmarshes that attract thousands of birds, it is considered the second most important estuary in the UK, and is the perfect spot for wildlife enthusiasts.

WE ARE

A BREATH OF FRESH AIR

Photograph by Mike Coleran

More than ever, people are looking to connect with nature and reap the benefits of spending time outdoors.

There are not many places which can offer a stunning countryside walk and a stroll by the beach in the same weekend. Where you can, try to promote these key themes hand in hand. It shows visitors that there is a wealth of things to see and do in the area, encouraging longer stays!

Suggested wording

If you’re writing a social post or produce some printed materials, feel free to use or adapt these messages.

Wyre is home to some of the most beautiful countryside in Lancashire. From the breath taking fell of Nicky Nook to the vibrant and varied wildlife of Wyre Estuary Country Park, our great outdoors are the perfect places to enjoy walking, cycling, bird watching, or even just taking in the spectacular views.

Visitors won’t want to miss...

Garstang Walking Festival! Every year in May the walking festival hosts over 40 walks. Most are in and around Garstang but many other walks and activities are held in other areas of the borough! It’s a great opportunity for cross promotion and positioning your business as part of the overall walking festival experience.

The landscape of Wyre is dominated by the fantastic River Wyre, the only major Lancashire river that flows from source to sea within the boundary of Lancashire county. This river cuts a winding path through the blanket of green spaces, bustling towns and quaint villages before opening into the Irish Sea.

Thanks to our location between beautiful coast and countryside in Lancashire, Wyre offers a huge variety of walking opportunities, from coastal dunes to wild upland moors, riverside trails to quiet country villages.

WE

ARE HISTORIC HIGHSTREETS AND BUSTLING MARKETS

Wyre is home to four charming town centres ranging from seaside towns boasting rich maritime history to market towns full of character.

The diversity of our high streets mean that there’s something for everyone, from vibrant nightlife to deep routed heritage, family fun, popular shopping destinations, the best places to eat and drink and a calendar of year round events to enjoy.

No matter which high street your business is close to, you can highlight the unique features that make it special.

Fleetwood’s highstreet is brimming with maritime heritage, accentuated with stunning Victorian architecture including the traditional indoor market, and its high street is only a stone’s throw from the beach.

Visitors can’t miss... a traditional chippy in Fleetwood or a trip on the ferry to Knott End.

Garstang is best known for its locally owned businesses, with a high street full of boutique stores stocking unique products and punctuated with cafes and restaurants who pride themselves on using locally sourced ingredients. It’s also the world’s first Fairtrade town.

Visitors can’t miss... tasting the locally made Garstang blue cheese.

Cleveleys is one of the busiest highstreets in Wyre, where people can find big name and boutique stores alongside outstanding local cafes, eateries and even a micro-brewery.

Visitors can’t miss... discovering the mysteries of the Mythic Coast trail and exploring a little piece of a galaxy far far away.

Poulton’s charm lies in its quaint market town history and shoppers can enjoy a diverse range of locally owned stores.

Visitors can’t miss... a night out! Serving up worldwide cuisines and offering everything from cocktails to real ale, visitors can enjoy a five star meal, see a live local band or even belt out their own tunes at kareoke.

WE ARE RICH IN HERITAGE

One of the best ways to really get people to engage with a place and enrich their experience is to share our stories.

We’re very lucky that Wyre is steeped in history, reaching as far back as the Domesday Book of 1086. From the stocks and market cross in Poulton to the lighthouses in Fleetwood, there’s nowhere in Wyre that isn’t rich in history and stories.

Visitors won’t want to

miss...

Heritage Open Days! In September every year, Wyre takes part in this national celebration and offers opportunity to visit historic attractions for free that are either not normally open to the public or usually charge an entry fee. Locals and tourists alike will find something to enjoy and it’s another great chance to position your business offer to enhance their visitor experience/

Suggested wording

If you’re writing a social post or produce some printed materials, feel free to use or adapt these messages.

Discover Wyre’s historic hidden gems, whether its the glorious Victorian architecture in Fleetwood of Decimus Burton or the engineering splendour of the Grade II* Listed Marsh Mill a 70 foot tower mill. You are assured of a memorable visit.

Poulton-le-Fylde is an historic delight with a number of rare items of the past which date from the 17th and 18th Century. Discover the Market Cross, Fish Slab, Whipping Post and Stocks. See the beautiful St.Chad’s Church situated in the centre of town and famed for its crocus display.

Unmissible in Thornton is the grade II* listed Marsh Mill is one of the best tower windmills in the UK with working machinery and offers a unique introduction to milling of a bygone age.

Visitors can admire the stunning Victorian architure of Decimus Burton all over Fleetwood, including the amazing Mount Pavilion, built on top of what was once a rabbit warren.

WE ARE

A WARM LANCASHIRE WELCOME

If you’ve checked our image library, you’ll see there’s a lot of people. That’s because people make a place.

There might be other beaches, other countryside, other high streets – but the one thing you really can’t find anywhere else is our people. From the local community to the owners of all our amazing home grown businesses, everyone is always ready to offer a warm Lancashire welcome.

The human connection

When you choose imagery to use as part of your promotion or to build on Wyre’s sense of place, remember the human element. We connect with other people, and when we see images or videos of people connecting with a place, we are able to imagine ourselves in their shoes and really feel the experience. It’s this human connection which can help to make visitors feel welcomed to a place, more likely to visit or to make return trips.

Help to promote your business

Businesses like yours mean that Wyre has lots to entice visitors to the area. As well as our beautiful outdoor spaces and calendar of events, your businesses are vital to creating a fully rounded tourism offer for the borough.

We want to shout about all the brilliant things there are to do in Wyre! We have a number of free ways we can help you to amplify your messages, such as event listings on our website and social media, listings for your business on our website. shared posts across our social media channels and more.

Keep in touch and let us know what you are promoting so that we can help share it - tag us on social media or send updates to discoverwyre@wyre.gov.uk

www.discoverwyre.co.uk