Winchester City Council shops local to create new destination guides to ‘support local’
Winchester City Council has worked with local creators and designers to produce five brand new guides for the Winchester district and the market towns of Alresford, Bishop’s Waltham and Wickham as part of the council’s commitment to economic recovery post pandemic.
The Winchester Destination Guide and Discover Winchester District’s Market Towns are inspirational, magazine-style guides designed to entice residents to rediscover what is on their doorstep and act as an important pre-visit read for potential visitors. Suggesting ideas for local days out with family and friends, walks and opportunities to enjoy the great outdoors, events, places to shop and eat, plus staycation itineraries, the guides cater for all tastes and budgets as well as supporting local attractions and independent businesses across the district. Local influencers and experts were also invited to share their favourite places in the district.
To further support independent shops and eateries in the district’s market towns, the council has also produced town maps for Alresford, Wickham and Bishop’s Waltham. These handy maps also contain business listings as well as walks and trails to enjoy to assist visitors and residents in navigating their way around.
The guides were designed by Winchester-based boutique design agency Buttercross Creative. They work primarily with the heritage, arts and culture sectors, and their local clients include Winchester City Council, Winchester Cathedral, and Hampshire Cultural Trust.
“We were delighted to work with the Visit Winchester team on these new guides, designed to encourage people to rediscover our wonderful city and district, and we loved collaborating with Miranda, Mike and Jonathan to achieve the final result. We especially enjoyed creating a fresh new look for these guides, to make them fun and engaging whilst also simple to use.”
Winchester-based PR consultant, Miranda Rocksmith, worked with businesses in the market towns to research and write the Discover Winchester District’s Market Towns. Founder of PR business, Rocket Launch, Miranda has over 25 years’ experience in PR and marketing and in 2020 was made a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations for her outstanding contribution to the industry. The photographs for the market towns guide were taken by Mike Hall of Northwall Creative Imaging Limited, also based in the city. The self-taught photographer was shortlisted for Landscape Photographer of the Year in 2020. Mike has also produced work on a voluntary basis for several local charities including Blue Apple Theatre.
The maps were produced by Winchester-based freelance artist and illustrator, Jonathan Chapman, who achieved a Masters in Fine Art from Winchester School of Art. Jonathan produces traditional brush and pen artwork for heritage and travel projects, inspired by his trips around the world, original paintings for exhibitions and private commissions. His popular illustrations can be found on cards and gifts available to buy from Winchester’s visitor information centre.
Cllr Lucille Thompson, Cabinet Member for Business and Culture commented:
“Winchester City Council has always been committed to supporting local business and these new guides and maps showcase the very best of them whilst also celebrating the district’s history, culture, and natural surroundings. We hope they will entice locals and visitors back to experience all that the district has to offer as we enter the holiday season and beyond, serving to aid the recovery of our visitor economy. Importantly, the guides have been put together using local businesses too – part of our commitment to procuring locally.”
Pre-pandemic, the Winchester district welcomed over five million visitors each year, bringing in £350m for the local economy. The work for the guides and maps has been produced with funding from the Government’s Welcome Back Fund designed to support and promote a safe public environment for a local area’s visitor economy.
All the new guides and maps are available from the visitor information centre on the ground floor of the Guildhall in Winchester or for download from visitwinchester.co.uk. Maps can also be found at various outlets in the market towns.