We have always promoted sustainable transport options as the best way to explore the Jurassic Coast – we just needed to bring those options together in a way that would whet people’s appetites, tempting them to break those long-established ties to the notorious motor car.
We decided to combine the Jurassic Coast ‘by bus’ and ‘by boat’ leaflets to create a new Sustainable Travel Leaflet. This incorporates walking, cycling and taking the train as other sustainable travel options, which when combined offered a whole new range of possible ways to really start to explore this amazing coastline.
Rather than reinventing the wheel and listing detailed itineraries of existing walks and routes, I took the advice of the Dorset AONB team and decided to ‘signpost’ the visitor to information that was already available eg the South West Coast Path National Trail geology themed walks which are detailed on their website, and the DIGS (Dorset Important Geological Sites) walks which are available from TICs. We made sure the latest bus routes were included (as these do tend to change from time to time), checked with Sustrans regarding which parts of the National Cycle Network were still not officially open, and checked out the rules and regs for taking your bike on the train. As we continue to support the boat operators along the coast (this really is the only way to see much of the Jurassic Coast) it was just a case of myself and a willing colleague to contact as many of the boat operators as possible to ensure correct information about trips was included.
Sustainability is a bit of a buzzword, but it really does stand for all that the World Heritage Site status is about, to ensure that the Jurassic Coast – whilst being enjoyed by and offering inspiration to those who visit – can be spared from detrimental effect, in this case the volume of traffic choking all routes leading to it.
I can truly say that partnership was and is, essential to the success of this new leaflet – in the first instance working closely with those organisations who are responsible for ensuring sustainable access to the coast, and now, working with TICs and other outlets for the leaflet, making sure everyone is encouraged to explore without their car, so visitors will also be working in partnership with us to help keep the Jurassic Coast natural World Heritage Site – well, natural!
Julia Pulman, Jurassic Coast Marketing Officer.
