The six different learning exchanges provided great opportunities to visit and better understand current community led tourism enterprises in the Angus area. An important aspect was the value the hosts gained from the exchanges with knowledge, advice and insights provided by all participants as well as the direct learning from the visit. In total 66 people and 56 community groups and organisation benefitted from the exchanges hosted.

We were able to gain an understanding of how nature led conservation in a former and now restored quarry worked with young people, maintained their assets and supported volunteers to ensure reliable revenue streams. Focussed discussions on collaboration between different assets highlighted how Caledonian Railway, Brechin Cathedral, the Aberlmeno Pictish stones and Brechin City hall work to bring in regular revenue streams to sustain large buildings  and attractions, alongside the role of the community in preserving heritage assets.

Visits with Friends of Arbroath Abbey, Fit O’ the Toon Regeneration Group, The Court House and East Haven Together focussed on creative opportunities to animate the community and the value of community led tourism approaches in tackling resilience, particularly in the winter months when footfall to the town is slow and how the community use these times to connect and plan for the coming months. The pristine East Haven community owned public toilets are a shining example of how to bring tourism to an area, attract funding for cycle paths, generate revenue to invest back into community activity and the important upkeep of the toilets themselves.

The Glen Esk museum and Church have much to share from the perspective of a remote location in terms of indigenous and rural crafts for visitor engagement, with good partnerships with transport to bring in trade. The learning from historic building and churches highlighted the realistic uses for these buildings to generate revenue and allow the building to still function as a place of worship when needed.

Learning Outcomes

• collaborative discussions between the hosts and participants on shared themes (eg sustainability, succession, funding, governance etc)
• interrogations on specific aspects of the project being visited and the host’s approach to different issues
• first hand experience of what other communities are doing which is relevant to the participants existing community endeavours or ideas for the future

"An idea our organisation had last year but couldn’t progress due to a lack of local expertise is now moving forward, thanks to contacts made. A follow-up meeting took place today (5 days post exchange!) between both community organisations, and we are now exploring ways to not only implement our original idea but also roll it out on a more ambitious scale to bring bigger benefits to a larger geographical area. Additionally, we are continuing conversations with other community groups. After last year’s Gathering, we engaged in two learning exchanges with organisations we met at the conference, leading to new developments within our organisation."