Telly and movie boost for Cornwall and Dorset tourism

AS the first series of #Poldark (BBC1) wraps up, Cornwall is likely to benefit from a boost in tourism thanks to what is being coined the Poldark effect.

More than five million viewers watched the story unfold on the box, but images of blue waters, lush countryside and craggy cliffs have proved to be the greatest seduction, sparking a huge surge in the number of people interest in a Cornish get-away. During and after each episode, Visit Cornwall’s website had a 50% increase in, er, visits.

An uplift in visitor numbers has already begun with some businesses reporting near double year-on-year figures. St Aubyn Estates Holidays manages the car park and café at Porthgwarra Cove, as well as holiday cottages in the area. Based on takings, it estimates that visitor numbers at Easter were almost double those at the same holiday weekend last year.

‘Many of our customers during the Easter period told me they had been inspired to #VisitCornwall as a direct result of watching Poldark,’ says Kerry Baillie, cottage manager for St Aubyn Estates Holidays. ‘They are visiting Porthgwarra Cove to see where Ross famously swims while watched from the clifftops by Demelza, or the location of the pilchard fishing scene where the water is so brilliantly turquoise. We envisage that once the summer arrives we will receive many new visitors to the cove.’

It's a similar story for the National Trust's Levant Mine which plays the role of the fictional Tressiders Rolling Mill in Poldark. Part of the Cornwall and West Devon Mining World Heritage Site, Levant offers fans of the show a taste of Cornwall's mining heritage. Visitor numbers so far this year are by 91%.

A number of businesses are capitalizing on the Poldark effect by creating themed packages and experiences. At the luxury resort of Gwel an Mor in the coastal village Portreath, guests can sign up for a Poldark break and get a guided tour of the film locations, while Hallagenna Riding, which provided stabling and accommodation for the stunt riders and horses while filming on Bodmin Moor, has created a Poldark horse-riding Trail. Glasgow-based Caledonian Travel is offering a five-day tour of 

mines and film locations.

‘Film and TV is proven to have a significant influence on holiday decision-making, so Poldark has been incredible gift to Cornwall,’ said Malcolm Bell, CEO of Visit Cornwall. ‘We couldn't ask for a more powerful showcase and with the second series confirmed, it can only get better.’ 

Still in the West Country, statistics from holidaycottages.co.uk show a substantial surge in interest in Dorset following the release in November last year of The Imitation Game, part of which was filmed in Sherborne.

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Picture Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/13071852@N00/9466630012">Porthgwarra</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/">(license), http://www.flickr.com/photos/64766003@N00/268087507">Engine house at the Levant tin mine</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/">(license), Mousehole02 by waterborough - photo shooting. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons 

Benedict puts Sherborne on the map

SHERBORNE, Dorset, is celebrating its new-found fame as Benedict Cumberbatch's new film, The Imitation Game, opens in cinemas.

The film features Sherborne School as the set for the biopic film starring Cumberbatch as the WW2 Bletchley Park code-breaker Alan Turing, who was a pupil at the school in the 1920s.

Dominic Elliott, Mayor of Sherborne during the filming, commented on the impact of the film crew and the interest in the town. ‘We have a history of filming in this town and I am very pleased to see it continue. Like the filming for Far From the Madding Crowd, this puts Sherborne back on the map.’

Sherborne can expect more interest next spring, with the release of the much anticipated Thomas Vinterberg adaptation of Hardy's Far From the Madding Crowd starring Carey Mulligan and Tom Sturridge. Film locations included Sherborne Abbey, Castleton Church, and Abbey Close, the streets of which were transformed into an 1870s market square located in the town of Casterbridge.

Sherborne School and the surrounding area will feature again in a BBC adaptation of Wolf Hall, Hilary Mantel's novel.

Why can't Hollywood and independent film makers keep away from this small market town situated on the Dorset-Somerset border?

It has two castles, one of which was commissioned by Sir Walter Raleigh, Sherborne Abbey – which goes back much further than its perpendicular arches suggest – the 16th century Sherborne School, and an independent butcher, J & M Parsons, which can trace its trading history back to 1840.

www.sherbornedorset.co.uk

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Picture Credit: 'The new castle, Sherborne' by Pengannel via Wikimedia Commons

Screen fame for Sherborne

THE historic Dorset town of Sherborne has a starring role in two potential blockbuster films and a new BBC series in the next 12 months.

The Imitation Game – to be released at the beginning of November – is whispered to be a contender for Best Picture and features Sherborne School in location shots for the biopic film starring Benedict Cumberbatch as the WW2 Bletchley Park codebreaker Alan Turing. 

Turing was a Sherborne pupil, and film crews have been at school filming scenes depicting his boyhood years.

Early spring 2015 will see the release of Thomas Vinterberg adaptation of Thomas Hardy's Far From the Madding Crowd, starring Carey Mulligan, Tom Sturridge, and Mathias Schoenaerts. 

The town’s streets were transformed into an 1870s market square located in the town of Casterbridge.

This summer saw Sherborne School and the surrounding area used again for a BBC adaptation of Wolf Hall, Hilary Mantel's prizewinning novel.

www.sherbornedorset.co.uk 

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Picture Credit: From Top -  'Sherborne Castle and Lake' by John Allan via Wikimedia Commons; 'Dorset Sherborne, Conduit' by Joe D via Wikimedia Commons; 'Courtyard in Sherborne school' by Graham Horn via Wikimedia Commons