HomeMaritime Heritage Trail
The Maritime Heritage Trail (MHT) is a European Interreg funded initiative between Kent and Nord-Pas de Calais. Sponsorship from Tourism East Sussex has enabled an extension to the Partnership’s programme of activity to include the coastal areas of East Sussex, Brighton & Hove. The funding covers two years of joint promotion and some specific projects:-
- The existing leaflet being redesigned to include new partners on the trail (Rye, Winchelsea, Hastings, Eastbourne, Seaford, Newhaven, Lewes and Brighton).
- Interpretation panels commissioned and placed in the new sites across East Sussex during the summer of 2006.
- Attending exhibitions to promote the Maritime Heritage Trail, specifically Le Salon Nautique, Paris (December 2005) and Tourissima, Lille (February 2006) with a range of partners linked to the maritime theme.
- Press packs issued as part of an on-going programme of PR activity including regular media releases on the MHT' s current news (writing articles, organising competitions, linking maritime events to the MHT, liaising with both the local and specialist Press. Future press and PR work aims to focus on East Sussex.
- Fact finding tour of local Maritime Attractions for a party of French visitors (March 2006).
- Press briefing event attended by a range of print and broadcast media from both sides of the channel (January 2006).
- Advertising poster campaign about the trail at 42 stations agreed with South East Trains for the summer of 2006. Other proposals include mail out campaigns, leaflet distribution and editorial coverage on the South East Trains website.
- Improving the existing website www.maritimeheritagetrail.co.uk, with the initial focus on the trail extension to include information on new partners Rye, Winchelsea, Hastings, Eastbourne, Lewes and Brighton in the UK, and Cayeux sur mer, Equihen-Plage and St Valery sur Somme in France. This will be followed up by work to improve information on educational programmes in attractions part of the trail, a media room to include downloadable images and press releases and visitor statistics.
Other initiatives set to benefit from the Maritime Heritage Trail funding include the Cinque Ports Cycle Trail and Brighton’s Volks Railway, which has just produced a French version of its promotional leaflet.
