Walkers – A Menace or Meal Ticket for Publicans?

Walkers – A Menace or Meal Ticket for Publicans?

Publicans seem to give walkers a very mixed reception. Some welcome them with open arms with a “Walkers’ Special” on the menu, whilst others curse them for clogging up their car parks over lunchtime and then disappearing for a few hours simply to call in for one quick drink on their return.

So how do you turn a menace into a meal ticket?

Some thoughts:

- There are 8 million regular walkers in England along, that’s 8 million people working up a hunger and a thirst each month, every month. (Source – Sport England survey)

- Walking is Britain’s most popular outdoor activity. Generally, people on higher incomes participate more in recreational walking than people on lower incomes. (Source – The Ramblers)

- 891 million day trips for leisure in Great Britain in 1998 included a ‘walk, hill walk or ramble’. This is 15% of the total of all leisure day trips. The figures are old but the popularity of walking is even higher today. (Source – The Ramblers)

- Increasing numbers of young people are giving up the stuffy atmosphere of the gym (saving a fortune on their memberships) and getting out into the countryside for their exercise instead. (Source – The Ramblers)

- Ever increasing numbers of older people join walking groups too and we all hear constantly about the power of the “grey pound”.

Need I say more? This is a huge market and many like nothing more than to finish their walk at a traditional pub. Certainly that is my experience from the many walkers I know.

So my advice is seize the opportunity and get a pub walk written down that leads those hungry and thirsty walkers straight to your door, rather than someone else’s. Have copies available in the bar to take away, send it to your local paper and get it on the internet! When people enjoy a walk and are welcomed at the pub, they do it again and again and what’s more they tell their friends.

If you think your car park is being abused by walkers, rather than turn them away with a rude notice, think about what you can do to get them through the door instead, even it its just making sure you have a copy of the menu and the specials board outside (many pubs still don’t).

Finally, why not even offer a free meal to the walker that produces the best walk from your pub? And again tell your local paper. You could be surprised at how this takes off!

For more information on attracting walkers to your pub, visit www.myfavouritepubwalks.com/publicans.

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Publicans - How to make your customers thirsty for National Cask Ale Week

Publicans - How to make your customers thirsty for National Cask Ale Week

National Cask Ale Week is a great marketing opportunity for publicans and if you want to maximise your customer spend then why not ensure that they arrive extra thirsty?

How? Show them a pub walk that leads them straight to your door!

An interesting fact - there are 8 million regular walkers in England alone (according to a Sport England survey) and the ones I know usually look for a walk that offers a great pub en route. That's up to 8 million people working up an appetite and thirst each month, and you can get a share of their business if you show them you welcome walkers and that there is at least one interesting walk nearby.

If you are interested in this market then do take a look at yesterday's post:
5 Ways to Get a Pub Walk for Your Pub


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Publicans - 5 Ways to Get a Pub Walk for Your Pub

Publicans - 5 Ways to Get a Pub Walk for Your Pub

It's official. Walking is the most popular recreational activity with over 8 million of us walking at least once a month, according to a Sport England survey. That's 8 million people out there every month, looking for somewhere to walk and, if they are all like my walking friends, often somewhere to stop for refreshment. That's a huge opportunity for pubs that welcome walkers - 8 million people working up a thirst and an appetite. Every month.

So why not tap into that market by showing them an exciting walk featuring your own pub? Here are some ideas for how to get a pub walk and lead them to your door:

1. Run a competition, offering a prize to the customer producing the best walk from your pub. This is a perfect way to engage with your customers and get them talking about your pub. See Running a pub walk competition for more information.

2. Search on-line for walking leaflets - type in "(your town/village) walking leaflet" or "(your town/village) walks" and you'll probably be amazed at how many walking routes are available free on-line. Check them out to see if one passes your pub door. Try also your local library and Tourist Information which are both likely to have a selection too.

3. Contact your local Ramblers groups and walking clubs - they may already have a suitable walk which they would allow you to use as long as you give credit for its source.

4. Check pub walk books - if your pub is included, dont be afraid to advertise "as featured in My Area's Best Pub Walks book" in your pub to encourage customers to return another day to do the walk. Have a copy of the book available but do not give out photocopies of the pages as this would infringe copyright.

5. Write your own pub walk is the other obvious way if you enjoy walking yourself.

Any of these can help you get new customers and increase their spend. Whichever route you follow, its worth reading the marketing steps under Running a pub walk competition as some of these can be applied to the other methods too.

Finally, if you create or find a pub walk, do please share it with us at www.myfavouritepubwalks.com so we can help you spread the word.

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Money Programme - Last Orders: Calling Time on Pubs?

Tonight's Money Programme Examines our Pubs

The Money Programme tonight asks "Last orders for pubs? Are we calling time on the British boozer?" and investigates what the future could hold for our precious pub heritage.

Switch on at 7:00pm tonight on BBC2 (Friday 12 December 2008). For more details go to Money Programme.

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Essex Community Pub Saved

Essex Community Pub Saved

Ye Olde Cherry Tree in Little Oakley, near Harwich, Essex has a story to tell. Despite having a history of excellence, it has recently had to really fight for its survival against a backdrop of forced periods of closure over the past couple of years - changing hands and landlords several times.

Now however it is under new management and is proud of its chequered history and the valiant efforts and campaigning that has kept this community pub alive. It is an inspiring story and you can read more about how this Essex community pub was saved.

I am very pleased to see them join in the Quest for the Nation's Favourite Pub Walk and I have selected them as "Today's participating pub" below.

Today's participating pub: Ye Olde Cherry Tree in Little Oakley, Essex.
Prizes offered: A 3-course Sunday Lunch for two.

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Rural Pubs to offer Postal Services

Rural Pubs to offer Postal Services

We've all seen it. Alistair Darling, Trade and Industry Secretary, trying to convince us all that the planned closure of 2,500 post offices is actually a good thing and that we'll all reap the benefits. Well, I'm not so sure of that. Readers of my blog will know what I feel about the loss of services in rural communities.

But this time, there could be a few winners. The organisation Pub is the Hub champions the rural pub and is looking to open up post offices in rural pubs across the country. It has already done this successfully in 100 pubs over the past 5 years as it helps pubs expand their businesses into wider community services.

Today's pub walk: The Boringdon Arms near Plymouth, Devon.

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Smoking ban good for pubs

The smoking ban is on its way with less than 50 days to go now until 1st July start date in England. And this is going to be great news for business, for many pubs. Cheers indeed!

The Publican tells us that a Deparment of Health survey found that 36% of people cite a smoke-filled atmosphere as the main turn-off for going to a bar or pub. And what's more, 71% of regular pub-goers support the legislation and 76% of the general population see it as having a positive effect on health.

For me, this is a good reason to revisit some of those pubs that I walked out of as soon as I entered due to the smog filling the bars. Roll on 1st July!

Today's participating pub: The Hatton Arms in Gretton, Northants.
Prize offered: Sunday lunch for two.

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Participating Pubs and Prizes

My last posting highlighted an article in The Publican, promoting the use of pub walks by pubs to generate new business from the walking community. Pubs are already starting to register as Participating Pubs so I thought it would be good to sometimes include a "Participating Pub" at the foot of my blog instead of a "Today's Pub Walk". So here we go with the first one ...

Today's participating pub: The King's Head in Swaledale, North Yorks.
Prize offered: Meal for two.

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The Publican encourages Pubs to Find Best Walks

The Publican magazine for the trade includes an article in today's edition showing publicans how they can use a pub walk to market themselves to the walking community. It includes a 10 step guide showing them how to maximise the publicity they get from the event and includes quotes from yours truly! It is a well presented article and if you'd like to take a look just click on Walk into new trade.

If you are a publican who would like to participate in the event and benefit from the free advertising, you should also take a look at MyFavouritePubWalks.com/publicans to get further details.

Today's pub walk: The Rising Sun in Warsash, Hampshire.

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Gastro pubs that spend £1.16 on your meal

Saturday’s Telegraph included an item on pub food with the headline “Gastro pubs that spend £1.16 on your meal”. This was apparently the average cost of the food in a typical pub meal in 2006 and the article laid into pubs on the basis that they were making excessive profits from their customers.

Well, sorry, I have to disagree. The article ignored the fact that the ingredients are just one of the costs of the meal, that the chef and serving staff have to be paid, and that every business has to also cover its overheads if it is to survive. The fact is, as with everything, there are bad ones and there are good ones with the best pubs offering great value for money while serving up good, wholesome food.

So let’s all share our experiences, good and bad, and help avoid all pubs being tarred with the same brush.

Today's pub walk: Ye Olde Bull Ring Tavern in Ludlow, Shropshire.

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Pubs to find their own Best Pub Walks

As part of the initiative to find the Nation's Favourite Pub Walk, licensees are being encouraged to run their own competitions to find the best walks from their own pubs. They are being offered support from MyFavouritePubWalks.com which has produced posters, flyers and guidance for licensees and will automatically include all online entries in the national competition.

The trade magazine "The Publican" has included a news item on its website which can be see by clicking here.

Today's pub walk: The Peacock Inn in Chelsworth, Suffolk.

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Posted: SUNDAY, APRIL 15, 2007

5000 pubs to close by 2011

According to the caterersearch website, a Price Waterhouse Coopers report just published suggests 5000 pubs could close by 2011 if current trends continue. This is a significant number when compared to the total of around 58,000 pubs in the UK. The reason given by PWC is a combination of the smoking ban, a clampdown on drinks promotions and declining beer sales.

Readers of this blog will know I have a real concern over the decline in the fortunes of our pubs and the effect the loss of a pub has on its community. However the report indicates that those establishments hardest hit will be those relying only on drinks and those not providing outdoor areas for smokers. Hopefully most of our community pubs will already be planning for the smoking ban and will ensure they do not fall into either of these categories. After all, if they are really pubs that support their communities then they need to provide food and smoking areas anyway.

Today's pub walk: Fort St. George in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire.

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Posted: SATURDAY, APRIL 14, 2007

Hop to it! The hunt is on ...

I was trying to come up with something really special to celebrate the launch of MyFavouritePubWalks.com on 29 March 2007. And I’ve got it - the first-ever quest to find The Nation's Favourite Pub Walk!

With prizes for contributors, publicans and voters this competition has something for everyone. So if you have a favourite, now is the time to put it on the map and share it with the rest of us.

And what is really exciting is that all entries will be made on-line so that everyone can freely download as many pub walks as they like and then try them out before casting their votes. At the same time they will be helping to create a national on-line database of pub walks that can be continually updated for everyone’s ongoing enjoyment.

Entries for the title of “The Nation’s Favourite Pub Walk” have to be submitted by 30 June 2007 and the walks can be given a star rating by voters any time after they are loaded until voting closes on 31 July 2007. There will also be regional and special category winners.

Registering as a voter, proposer of a pub walk or as a participating pub is free and further details may be obtained by visiting www.myfavouritepubwalks.com/competition.

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Why Community Pubs Need Pub Walks

56 pubs are closing permanently in Britain every month, according to the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) with another 1300 currently under threat. These are shocking statistics given that so many of these are at the centre of a community that then loses something irreplaceable. This means pubs need to use every trick in the book to get thirsty and hungry punters beating a path to their door.

So why then do so few of them use pub walks to promote their business? It's not like they all have to be country pubs to have an enjoyable pub walk - most towns and cities have green spaces or a river or heritage trails or other themed walks - so they all share this opportunity to gain new customers.

It may be an ambitious hope, but I would like my website and this blog to help us all to stay alert to community pubs under threat and then encourage us all to support them by sharing our favourite walks centred on these pubs.

In the end their survival will depend upon how successfully they serve both their immediate communities and their visitors but at least we can help those visiting walkers find and enjoy some real gems.
See update...

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