Happy 4th Birthday Visit Great Ayton

After another fun-filled and yet currently challenging year, Visit Great Ayton turns 4!

It doesn't seem like a week has passed, yet alone a year since we celebrated our 3rd birthday, where does time go?

We've had yet another fun-filled and busy year helping to increase the tourism footfall into our businesses and beautiful village.

We've had good times supporting Great Ayton Parish Council with the organisation and promotion of the Cook Cottage Memorial Garden reopening in May 2019 and the Christmas Fayre and thoroughly enjoyed supporting Cleveland Mountain Rescue with our Santa Sleigh Tracking App - thank you for all your wonderful words of support over the last year, this is very much appreciated. We are also pleased to announce that we have been shortlisted for the North East England Prestige Awards! It's lovely just to be shortlisted, so fingers-crossed!

We have been taking this time, when promoting Great Ayton has not been appropriate, to look into how we can improve our services to the tourism trade and local community, so when things are more settled in the future, we can provide the best service for the village, surrounding areas and for visitors. We would like to make Visit Great Ayton more interactive, allowing people to share their own stories, local adventures, walks, cycling routes and inspiring photos. We would also like to feature more interesting information for the area, including attractions and activities suitable for all ages and provide a service where people can plan their trip including being able to book accommodation, packages and attractions. Tourism is a big positive for the local area, which drives footfall into our local businesses, keeping the local economy thriving.

It was so inspiring to see the community spirit of Great Ayton with the uplifting sounds of clapping and the banging of pots and pans every Thursday at 8pm, supporting our NHS workers, which resounded all around the village echoing off the hills with great amplitude, the sound of a wonderful community coming together to express their gratitude.

There are so many local heroes from key workers, NHS staff, teachers to businesses providing services to the community throughout the lockdown process, from community support groups assisting the vulnerable and isolated, to parents who have made the transition to home schooling whilst balancing other commitments, such as continuing to work whether at their places of work or from home. Churches have been providing services to their congregrations online via Facebook and Zoom helping support some of our community's most vulnerable and many individuals have been working relentlessly behind the scenes to provide relevant and updated support information about businesses and support groups available within our community.

Each and every one of these unsung heroes deserves a very large round of applause for their ability to adapt to the current situation we all find ourselves trying to manage, infact, everyone should be applauded, as we are living in very challenging and difficult times where the most vulnerable are more isolated than ever and where many people will be struggling with the massive change to routine.

However challenging, we all need to take positives from this crisis, there is an element of peacefulness involved, time to recharge our energy where possible, appreciate our existence, take up a new hobby to occupy ourselves and get out into nature in our local community, we are blessed to live in such a beautiful part of the world.

We are so pleased to see that more and more businesses and attractions can reopen and we wish you all the very best of luck with the "new normal" ways of operating. Onwards and upwards!

The 75th anniversary of VE Day was observed on 8th May, it has been quoted that "the Second World War was won due to the resilience and determination of ordinary people". In response to this it is clear that the resilience and determination of the residents of Great Ayton is outstanding.

For information on support groups currently providing services please see details below:

Name	Services/Support	Opening/Operating Times	Contact Info
Christ Church Helpline	Offering listening service & purchasing provisions for those isolated	Mon - Fri 2 - 4pm	01642 722665
TS9 Support Group	Facebook support group for those isolated		Facebook Page
Covid Community Hub	Providing provisions for those isolated in Great Ayton including homemade food.		Facebook Page
North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum	Providing support and advice information for those isolated	Poster available to download and print	Poster

Latest Community Care Association newsletter

For the latest information regarding local businesses please follow the link below. This information has kindly been contributed by the Great Ayton - Events and Appreciation Facebook Group. With greatest thanks to Jeremy Harbottle, Amanda Kell, Liz Greenhalgh, Carol Morgan and Ben Lambert. Please follow this group.

Latest business information

Thanks Great Ayton - you are fantastic! Keep strong, keep healthy, be resilient and keep positive.