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.

The Pub Walker
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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.

The Pub Walker
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RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch Results

RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch

Many regular walkers also enjoy observing the wildlife all around them as part of what makes up their all round outdoor experience. Certainly that is the case for me and I’m sure I was among many thousands of other regular walkers taking part over the weekend in the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch.

Having put out my mixed seeds and my diced past-their-best plums and pears, I sat back with a tray of tea for the allotted 1 hour. After a slow start, activity in the garden picked up and I was thrilled to see not only the usual visitors but also my first sighting of a firecrest and only the second of a nuthatch.

I’m sure these less common visitors to my garden have been here before so the real pleasure came from just taking the time out to relax and quietly observe what is undoubtedly going on around me all the time.

Next week back to the pub walks of course but with a renewed enthusiasm for taking in all that the natural world has to offer the keen observer.

For anyone interested, my full birdwatch results submitted to the RSPB were:

Jackdaw (3)
Great Tit (2)
Blue Tit (2)
Robin (2)
Magpie (2)
Wood Pigeon (2)
Firecrest (1)
Nuthcatch (1)
Blackbird (1)
Collared Dove (1)


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Publicans ... A Pub Walk for "Proud of Pubs Week"

Publicans ... A Pub Walk for "Proud of Pubs Week"

If you run a pub and would like to draw some of us 8 million regular walkers to your door then why not use Proud of Pubs Week to start a competition to find the best walk featuring your pub?

The free guide 10 Easy Steps to a Successful Pub Walk explains the simple steps that you can take to put your pub on the walkers' map. This is a major but often neglected market of potential customers who work up an appetite and thirst as part of their hobby!

So if you want to satisfy our needs, find out how your customers can help discover your best pub walk. Take the first step by simply downloading the free report 10 Easy Steps to a Successful Pub Walk.

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Walkers ... Proud of Pubs Week: 13th - 20th July 2008

Walkers ... Proud of Pubs Week: 13th - 20th July 2008

Sponsored by the Publican trade magazine, Proud of Pubs Week is aimed at showcasing "the fantastic things pubs, licensees and their staff are doing in their communities". It is a chance for all of us to demonstrate our support for our pubs and that we are proud of our pub tradition.

So why not take the opportunity to download a pub walk and visit a pub near you? Even better, why not submit a pub walk for others to enjoy and help your favourite pub generate some new customers?

Many of our pubs need our help to survive and this is one cause where offering that help can be a real pleasure in itself.

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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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Easter Bank Holiday weather perfect for views

When I started this blog I vowed to myself not to mention the weather. But this Bank Holiday has given such clear skies that it has been an ideal opportunity to explore some of the pub walks offering distant views. Take the Somerset Levels, for example, where the slightest rise in the land can sometimes offer panoramic views to the horizon in all directions. So today's pub walk at the bottom of this posting includes this kind of reward for little effort - plus refreshment at a real ale pub that has offered 600 different cask ales in the last 3 years!

Today's pub walk: The George Inn, Middlezoy, Somerset

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Posted: MONDAY, APRIL 9, 2007

Highland Cattle on Shawford Down

In a new initiative to conserve and restore the chalk downland habitat of Shawford Down, Hampshire County Council have taken the inspired step of introducing Highland Cattle to graze the slopes. These 6 handsome longhorns are proving a real hit with local walkers and families and they make a great photograph against the fantastic views we get from this vantage point.

Here's my photo of these Highland Cattle so you can see for yourself - I really must get that Shawford Down pub walk loaded!

Today's pub walk: The Case is Altered Public House in Bentley, Suffolk
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Posted: SUNDAY, APRIL 8, 2007