The Week in the Life column with Keith Tordoff

ETW runs until Sunday 7 April and Visit England which is behind the campaign say it is timed to kick start the holiday season in this country before the Easter Holidays.

English Tourism Week is all about raising the profile of all the wonderful attractions and destinations we have in England.

I am all for people staying in this country for their holidays and more so if they take them in Nidderdale! I was discussing English Tourism Week with representatives of Visit England and The UK Holiday Group who are based in Norwich with a view to them both promoting Nidderdale.

Neither had visited Pateley Bridge or Nidderdale and while I was enthusing about the area, one of the ladies said my description sounded like Switzerland which she had recently visited.

I said she had hit the nail on the head as in the early 1900s Nidderdale was described as Little Switzerland in view of its scenery, clean air and water.

By the time I had finished describing the area, both said they would be coming to visit as well as promoting and marketing it to visitors. If there are any business owners in Nidderdale reading this it is worth going onto the Visit England website and providing information about your business which can be included for English Tourism Week (#EnglishTourismWeek).

When I was talking to the ladies about the area they commented that they were most impressed that Pateley Bridge had won the title Best High Street in the country and had been winners of the Best Village in Yorkshire in last year’s Yorkshire in Bloom competition. I had also informed them that this year Pateley Bridge are finalist in the National Royal Horticultural Society Britain in Bloom competition.

Whilst on the subject of bloom a local couple very kindly made a generous donation to the Pateley Bridge in Bloom group to help support its efforts in this year’s Britain in Bloom competition.

The couple have made donations to the Pateley Bridge in Bloom group since it started entering the competition two years ago. They have again this year, as they have in previous ones, been insistent that they do not want any recognition.

The couple live outside of Pateley Bridge but use the High Street businesses and are proud that it is attractive and still full of independent shops.

That is the beauty of the area that we have so many good people who are proud of where they live. Another person who I am sure would not mind me describing as quiet and unassuming is Ann Brett who takes pride in where she lives.

Ann can regularly be seen out picking up litter from the side of the Ripon Road as it comes down into Pateley Bridge.

What you may not see is Ann maintaining planters with flowers at the bottom of Panarama Walk and is part of the Nidderdale Way.

The area where Ann maintains the planters needs some work to improve it and will be a project undertaken by the Pateley Bridge in Bloom group with of course the assistance of Ann.

Hot off the press – Pateley Bridge is to be featured on the BBC Two TV programme Britain in Bloom at 6.30pm on Monday 25 March.

The programme is half an hour long and is the first to be shown in the series of fifteen.