It’s been a tricky few years’ as we all know, but times are a changing! The sun is rising, and the light is returning and with it, a reignited sense of purpose and drive. We are thrilled to see most of our wonderful events returning, so many old friends still with us and new ones coming to celebrate Ely with us !
It’s going to be a great year!
So what have Visit Ely been up to?
Well lets begin at…. The beginning!
The first point of order was to put the final touches to our Visit Ely Visitor Guide 2023, copy written, designs signed off and sent to the printers. This is a mammoth task, undertaken every year, designed to highlight this beautiful City and the wonderful accommodation, shops, attractions, eateries and events that make up the rich tapestry that is the City of Ely.
The hours and hours that go into the Guide would surprise many, with edits and edits, considerations and in the words of T S Eliot – “In a minute there is time For decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse.” – Why do we spend so long on this publication? In one word …. Love. We love this book, we love the contents and we love the City that it offers a snapshot of. This is our shop window, and we have so much to put in it. We want it to be perfect, we want it to be reflective and enticing and enthralling. We want it to have a hint of magic and we want everyone who picks it up to go “Wow! We need to visit Ely!”
Finally we reach a moment that is less magical… The moment that strikes fear in to our hearts. The doorbell rings, a weary member of staff answers the door to be greeted with the words “Where do you want this pallet?” Multiple thousands of copies have arrived behind Oliver Cromwell’s House, a mountain of boxes matched only by the equivalent mountain that has been sent to a distribution centre in Sheffield – from where they will be distributed the length and breadth of the country. But here we are, stood before the mountain wrapped to protect it from the weather (we less so and our coffees cooling at our desks, next to our PCs with full email inboxes and the central heating!) All of these mild inconveniences however fade away however, when we open the first box and the first copy is taken swiftly from within. The cover is divine, the feel is perfect and that sense of excitement for the coming year is refreshed as we flip through the book and see where to go, what to do, where to eat and where to rest. Our year falls out before us and we get a giddy sensation knowing that for some a visit is brief, for us, we live within the perfect sphere that is shown off in this book.
This joy is not short lived, it carries us as we organise the books being placed into storage, popped in cars, unpacked, and distributed, replacing the beloved guide to 2022 and most importantly, handed out to visitors as they come into the Tourist Information Centre. Watching people experience a similar level of joy and excitement as they open the book, sometimes because they’d just decided to spend a day in Ely on the spur of the moment that morning and are now presented with a cornucopia of experiences to engage with.
To sum it up?
- 52 Pages
- Countless Hours of Work
- 60+ amazing examples of eateries, attractions, accommodation options and shops.
- 1 Visitor Guide lovingly compiled
2023 is a very special year as we celebrate the 1350th year of St Ethedreda, and the launch of a year long programme dedicated to the founding of Ely. Our front cover is rather stunning and we hope you love it as much as we do!
Love Anna