The New Website

Mem bers Newsletter – August 2011

Important Dates Members Meeting at Tues 23rd August National Cat Centre 10.30 – 12.00 Chelwood Gate RH17 7TT The New Website Members Meeting at Thursday 27th Oct Gravetye Manor The new website has been running since 7th July and Olympic Games2012 27 July-12 Aug has received a favourable response. Thank you to Para Olympics 2012 29.09.2012 everyone who, as requested has checked their business descriptions and advised me of changes. Many of you have also sent in updated descriptions using the new key words to improve hit rates during searches and photos. All information sent in will be on the web site by the end of next week. August Members Meeting Our next members meeting will take place on If anyone hasn’t checked their entry on the new rd website yet, please would you log onto the site using Tuesday 23 August at the National Cat Centre in the standard domain www.ashdownforest.com and Chelwood Gate RH17 7TT. As usual the meeting will check : last from 10.30 – 12.00. Thank you to Clare Halden for hosting the meeting.  Your contact details During the meeting, as mentioned, we hope to show  You are listed in the correct categories the new film in a near to final version. We hope to  Description is up to date and includes as many have the film on the website by the end of August. key words and tourism sites as are relevant ie There will also be a discussion with Allan Hammnet downstairs rooms, willingness to take dogs, close from Rix and Kay in Uckfield about the legal to National Trust sites etc. requirements regarding websites.  Up to date photos are loaded – max of 5  Location marker on the map is in the right place If you plan to attend this meeting, please would you  Website listing connects to your web site let me know by Friday 19th August.  Your events have been listed  You have provided details of regular events such as a quiz night on a Monday, a discounted main meal on a specific night etc. These details can be listed on our new Regular Events listing. Members Information The Website Film

Two days of filming took place on the Forest last Millbrook Garden Centre week. Usually the film crew like to cover about 4 sites during a day’s filming. We managed to cover over 30 Jarvis Brook sites plus filming on the Forest to get landscapes and different vegetation. The Heather had just come into bloom and therefore we got some lovely shots of the So much more than a Garden Centre, Millbrook offers : Forest with banks of purple foreground. A wide range of plants Garden equipment from greenhouses to spades & forks It is important to stress that we have filmed examples of each type of business to showcase the wide range Green Fingers Cafe serves lunches and snacks all day of activities available on the Forest. We will not be Children Activities 15 – 21st August promoting individual businesses that have been filmed. Geocast TV will be using their expertise to decide which film clips are used in the final cut. This Competition to win a BBQ worth £129.99 means that all locations filmed may not appear in the Sp[ecial offers on BBQ Tools finished ‘masterpiece’. However we will be keeping 25% discount on Garden Furniture the film and hope to use it at a later stage to create some more detailed films of each category. www.millbrookgardencentre.co.uk We hope to be able to show a version of the film at E: [email protected] the next members meeting on 23rd August.

 Millbrook Garden Centre in Jarvis Brook have a great children’s programme of events from Mon 15th – Sunday 21st August. Also a great venue for children’s (or adults) birthdays and competition to win a BBQ valued at £129.99. special occasions. Please note that children must www.millbrookgardencentre.co.uk be age 7 to take part in activities.  Sketching and Scroff is a Summer Art Course with renowned artist Charles Newington who Website Reminder made the large horse at Ebbsfleet. The course will take place on Saturday 6th and 13th August. If you run a regular feature such as a quiz night on a The two day workshop will cover the practise of set day or a discounted meal offer, please do let me drawing, composition, water colour techniques know so that I can advertise it in the new feature on and the use of other mediums. Refreshments the website. and a two course lunch are included in the fee of £65 for a day or £120 for the two days. The event Peter Graves from the Old Cart Lodge had a vacant will be held at Bolebrook Mill in Hartfield. week in August and came up with the great idea of www.theoldbarnbolebrookmill.co.uk advertising it in our Current Offers section. If anyone  Trading Boundaries are holding a special day on else has vacant space and would like to offer a Bank Holiday Monday 29th August to include live special discount for a set period of time, please do let music, BBQ, lunch in the Elephant Cafe, Face me know so that I can promote it for you. painting. www.tradingboundaries.com  Evolution Indoor Climbing are holding an Open Publicity Day on Monday 29th August to celebrate 50 years of the Tullis Families involvement in local We had a half page article in the Courier last month climbing. after the members meeting when we launched the www.evolutionindoor climbing.co.uk new website. As a result of that article we are  Chequer Mead are offering Earlybird Discount on featured this month in Ashdown Living. pantomime tickets for Snow White at £13 each before 1st October 2011. There was also a lovely two page article about the www.chequermead.org.uk Ashdown Forest in the BBC Countryfile Magazine for  Standen are presenting Twelfth Night as an Open August. They did contact me some time ago to ask Air Theatre production on Saturday 20th August at for Bluebell sites. They may have used our website 6.30. Book via National Trust Box Office on for reference because they refer to Places to Stay T : 0844 2491895 and Places to Eat, and all featured organisations are  Heathfield will be holding their annual Le Marche AFTA members. Anglo French market on Monday 29th August. This event is running for the 15th year in Twitter succession and attracts thousands of people. Many of the shops will also be open. There is a Our Twitter following is steadily increasing. Please do Park and Ride scheme to reduce traffic issues in sign up to hear what is happening in the Forest. The the town. AFTA Twitter name is ashdownforest1. The London Olympic Twitter site is now following AFTA and they  Bluebell Railway are holding their annual Vintage are re-tweeting messages to thousands of their Transport Weekend on 13th and 14th August. followers. If you haven’t tried Twitter, I do have some www.bluebell-railway.co.uk very simple notes that I can email to you – they were  The Cat at West Hoathly has been nominated for kindly provided by Clare Halden at the National Cat the ‘Best Sussex Eating Experience’ . If you Centre. There are also many local courses available would like to support their nomination visit their at very reasonable prices. website and vote for them by 2nd October. I had a lovely meal there recently and can recommend it Stocks of Maps highly. www,catinn.co.uk  La Casa Pizzeria is now open as an eat in or take It is important that all members can easily obtain away restaurant. They have an authentic brick stocks of the AFTA map – especially during the busy oven which cooks pizza in an amazing 40 summer season. I have therefore created a stock of seconds – so you won’t have to wait long for your maps at : food! www.lacasapizzeria.co.uk  Old Plawhatch Farm are offering 20% of their own  Chequers Inn, Forest Row cheeses until the end of August. Most of their  Ashdown Llama Park, Wych Cross cheeses are made on the premises. You can  Nevill Crest and Gunn, Eridge Green also take children to the farm to watch and possibly have a go at milking the cows at about  Trading Boundaries, Sheffield Green 4.00pm each day.  Perryhill Orchard, Hartfield  Blacklands Farm primarily caters for groups of children such as Guides. However I have just Members in East Grinstead can pick up maps from learnt that small groups of people can book either our printers – Eden Press on the Charlwood Ind an activity or a group of activities. It is a great Estate.

Gay Pride in Brighton 13/14th August Large Events in Sussex during August Eastbourne Airbourne 11/14th August Hastings Old Town Carnival 7th August Shoreham Airshow 20/21st August

Website Statistics

The new website went live on 7th July and therefore these stats only cover a 3 week period rather than a whole month.

Visits to the site 2018 Average visits per day 85 Hits 91,720

90% of traffic to the site was from the UK. The remaining traffic came from 35 countries including : 5% from USA 1% from China .5% from Germany

Key Word searches were ‘Forest’ ‘Ashdown’, ‘Farm’ and ‘Tea’.

Peak activity on the site was at 4pm and at 9.00pm

It will be interesting to see how the stats change next month when the site will have been picked up by most of the key search engines.

I hope you all have a busy August and I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at the members meeting on Tuesday 23rd August at the National Cat Centre in Chelwood Gate. regards

Barbara T : 01435 863091 E : [email protected]