Historical Background (All information found from www.wikipedia.com and the book: Uttoxeter: A Local History)
Bakewell:
Bakewell is a small market town in Derbyshire, England, the name Bakewell derives from 'Badeca's Well'. According to the UK census Bakewell has a population of 3,979. Bakewell was probably founded in Saxon times and Bakewell Parish Church, a Grade I listed building, was founded in 920 and has the famous 9th century cross in the churchyard.In Norman times Bakewell gained some fame and its church was mentioned in the Domesday Book.A market was established in 1254, and Bakewell developed as a trading centre, which could explain the sheer amout of shops in the town today. In Bakewell there is also the famous five-arched bridge over the River Wye, it was constructed in the 13th century. In the eighteenth century a spring was found in Bakewell and there was a bid to develop Bakewell as a spa town,like another town close to it ,Buxton. Once the town became quite popular with access was improved by the arrival of the Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midlands Junction Railway in 1862, later the Midland Railway and LMS main line from London to Manchester. However although the line closed in 1968, the station buildings, on the hillside overlooking the town, still exist. Parts of the trackway are currently in use as a path for walking and cycling. Bakewell attracts many domestic and international tourists and is a very popular place for day trip sa sit is the only large town to be included int the Peak District National Park. Monday is a particularly popular day for visitors as this is the day that the traditional market is held in the town. The cattle market is housed in a new purpose built agricultural centre, across the river from the main part of the town. A medium sized stall market is held in the town centre. There is also a picturesque public park, alongside the River Wye, which has its source in nearby Buxton.
Uttoxteter:
Uttoxeter is a small market town in East Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. The current population is approximately 12,000, though new developments in the town will increase this figure. Uttoxeter lies on the River Dove and is close to the cities of Stoke-on-Trent, Derby and Lichfield.Perhaps the most famous event to have occurred in Uttoxeter is the penance of Samuel Johnson. Johnson's father ran a bookstall on Uttoxeter market, and young Samuel once refused to help out on the stall. When Johnson was older, he stood in the rain (without a hat) as a penance for his failure to assist his father. This event is commemorated with the Johnson Memorial, which stands in the Market Place, in the town centre and there is also a Johnson Road, which was named after him in the 1930s.Uttoxeter was the birthplace of Joseph Cyril Bamford (creator of the JCB Empire), who started his small business in a small garage in the town. The International Headquarters are now based in Rocester, a near-by village.In addition, Mary Howitt (writer of poem 'The Spider and the Fly'), lived in Balance Street, Uttoxeter for a long period of her life. The town had infludenced some of her poems. Howitt Cresent, a residential road in the town was named after her. Recently, three of her poems were displayed in the town's bus shelters by the Uttoxeter Arts Festival Committee to increase the awareness of art within the town.Another major attraction of Uttoxeter is the racecourse, which is home to the Midlands Grand National. Uttoxteetr hosts a market every Friday and Wednesday but unfortunatley its original Catlle Market ground has been demolished for development purposes.The main accese to the town is the A50 which runs on the outskirts of Uttoxeteter, a small mainline railway is run through Uttoxeter aswell.
This project is of a quite important and significant topic and is very relevant to the time, it has been chosen because tourism constantly increasing and Bakewell and Uttoxeter may change dramatically because of this, whether it be for the better or the worse. Tourism is definitely on the rise in the UK, according to the national office of statistics , During April to June 2006, there were 8.0 million visits to the UK by overseas residents – an increase of 3 per cent when compared with the previous three months. Spending increased 4 per cent to £3.8 billion. If that many people are coming to the UK in the summer months then it is definite they are going to visit attractions and honey pots, i.e. Bakewell. This could potentially leave Uttoxeter behind in terms of visiting tourists. This trend of increasing tourism is also shown in these statistics from the same source: Visits by overseas residents to the UK rose by 5 per cent during the 12 months ending June 2006, from 29.3 million to 30.8 million. The number of visits from residents of North America showed an increase of 4 per cent (to 4.4 million), from residents of Western Europe of 4 per cent (to 19.8 million), and from other parts of the world of 10 per cent (to 6.7 million). This is the main interest of my project and I will investigate how this raise in tourism and tourism related developments to the towns could affect which town is a better place to live. This table highlights the facts of tourism (national office for tourism):
The number of tourists that are UK residents has risen by 8.4 million from 1991 to 2001 , and the amount they spend has more than doubled! This trend is also reflected in the number of overseas residents visiting the heart of England. Again this could seriously affect the number of visitors to each town and how the town accommodates these visitors, hence making the town a better place to live, both for original residents, new residents and tourists.
Why is tourism increasing in the UK?
There are a lot of reasons why tourism in the UK is increasing. Perhaps the main reason is the increased accessibility to tourist areas outside of a person’s local area, this enable s a person to visit a tourist attraction just about anywhere in the world or their country fairly easily; airlines rates have dropped, train ticket prices have dropped, and most own some form of private transport. In 1951 only 2.2 million Britain’s had a car and in 2002 that figure is over 10 times, with more and more access to transport a lot more people are prepared to take journeys to get to a tourist destination, in fact over 19% of people travel to a green tourist destination via their car a least once a week (www.statistcis.gov). Perhaps the second most important factor that is boosting tourism is the amount of disposable income that a household today has, in 1989 the amount of disposable income per head in a family was only an average of £5.60, in 2001 it rose to £11.30 per head. With this disposable income the family can choose to do what they like, for most it is a leisure activity, below is a table (www.statistics.gov) that shows the most popular leisure activities of families on 2005:
Notice that the top 4 results (excluding visit friends) can all be done in Bakewell, and perhaps Uttoxeter, this suggests that according to these statistics Bakewell, and to a lesser extent Uttoxeter will be ideal for tourists and will satisfy their needs very well. Another factor that could encourage people to be visiting Uttoxeter or Bakewell is that workers are having much more holidays throughout the year, and not only are they taking them they are getting paid on these manual worker’s holidays, in 1971 only 12% of UK residents took 2 holidays a year, now that is near doubled and in 1991 22% of residents took 2 holidays a year and 9% 3 or more. Because workers are taking much more holidays they will have much more leisure time and free time and they may want to go on a day trip to Bakewell and Uttoxeter.
Access to honey pot tourist areas has also increased in the past years, nearly 25 million people have access to the Peak District National Park , this has increased by nearly 6 million since motorways have been built. This is quite an important factor of amplified tourism, more access to these areas means more people visiting these areas. The final important element I think is the number of people with membership cards to outdoor clubs. Many beautiful areas and outdoor, as well as sometimes indoor tourist attractions are owned by membership societies, the National rust, RSPB, Caravan and Camping Club, National Rock Climbing Association and The national forestry commission. According to the office for national statistics in 2000 2,750,000 UK residents have a membership card to the National Trust, and 1,234,000 have a Membership Card the RSPB (royal Society for the Protection of Birds). With more and more people applying for membership Cards they are bound to get more adventurous and visit areas that are part of their society around the country. Both Uttoxeter and Bakewell are surrounded by some quite famous National Trust attractions, Haddon Hall, Sudbury Childhood Museum, bass Museum and Chatsworth Hall and Gardens.
Key Words:
These are some Key Words I will be suing throughout my piece of work (all defined from either Oxford Dictionary or Online Dictionary):
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Environmental Quality Index (EQI): A test of the environmental quality of a given area, using a scoring system of different factors. The EQI measures both Human and Natural landscape variables.
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Sound Map (or Noise Map): A test in which all sounds around one point are recorded by marking them on direction, name and distance.
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Choropleth Map: A map that shows numerical data for a group of regions by first , assigned them classes, then shading in the class area to a specific colour code.
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Honey pot: a honey pot is a particularly popular attraction within a managed tourist area, such as a national park. Honey pot sites are often encouraged because they concentrate the damage caused by tourists on small sites, making conservation easier in other parts of the managed area.
Location of Study:
Uttoxter
Absolute Location:
United Kingdom Latitude: 52° 53' 60 N Longitude: 1° 51' 0 W
Uttoxeter is in East Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England, the town is 14 Miles NE of Stafford, a large commercial town and 17 miles N of Lichfield , famous for its cathedral. The town stands on an elevation above the Dove Valley, and has been known for the cleanliness of its air and the long lives of its inhabitants. Surrounding Uttoxeter there are many small hamlets: Blount's Green, in the manor of Blount's Hall, three quarters of a mile SW. Little Bramshall, 2 miles W, adjoining Great Bramshall, Crakemarsh,2 miles N, a fertile district situated near the Dove. Spath, 1 mile N. Stramshall, and Creighton, 2 or 3 miles NW. Uttoxeter is also xlose to many attractions and facilities: East Midlands airport - 25miles ,1m toTutbury Castle - 6m to Alton Towers - 7m to The Peak District - 10m to Stoke on Trent Potteries – and 16m to Waterworld.
Below is a hand drawn annotated map showing Uttoxeter in relation to the rest of England (scale: 1;4,000,000):
This annotated map shows Uttoxeter in relation to its surrounding towns and villages (1:100,000):
This annotated map shows Uttoxeter at a more detailed level (1:50,000):
Bakewell:
Absolute Location: United Kingdom 53° 12′ N 1° 40′ W
BAKEWELLis in the parish of its name in Derbyshire, East Staffordshire in the West Midlands, Englnad, UK. Bakewell is 153 miles from London, 36 miles S.E. from Manchester, 25 N.W. from Derby, 16 N. from Ashbourn, 12 W. from Chesterfield, and 12 E by S. from Buxton. Bakewell is an ancient town, situate at the foot of a hill, on the western bank of the river Wye.
Below is a hand drawn and annotated map showing Bakewell in relation to the rest of England (scale 1:4,000,000)
This annotated map shows Bakewell in relation to its surrounding towns and villages (1:100,000):
This map shows Bakewell at a much higher level of detail (1:50,000):