Rayne Heritage Trail finalist in East of England Tourism Awards

The Rayne Heritage Trail is a finalist for the East of England Tourism Awards 2021-2022, in the New Tourism Business of the Year category

It is a trip around the village, visiting historical areas and buildings.

It is a collaboration with Rayne Heritage Advisor Richard Bale and Reverand Roman Kukiewicz, on behalf of the All Saints Rayne Parochial Church Council, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Mr Bale, 61, explained how the project began, saying: “It all started ten years ago, when the All Saints Church needed to raise around £250,000 to repair and restore it.

“They applied to various grants, one of which was the heritage lottery fund.

“The heritage fed back that the church needed to increase their amount of heritage content, which is where I came in and helped.”

There are over 60 grade one and two listed buildings in Rayne, so Mr Bale created a two hour circular route around the village, along with an app and website.

He said: “There is a free app that comes off the website, or you can scan a QR code from one of our four signposts in the village, or maps that we sent to every house in the village.

“The app is linked to google maps, which tells you where you are and how far you are away from the next place on the tour.”

The official launch was last August, with everything pushed back due to Covid.

Mr Bale helped train volunteer tour guides during lockdown and says the response since the opening has been fantastic, with it opening again in April.

Now, he is hoping to win the New Tourism Business of the Year award.

Mr Bale said: “I am delighted to have made the final.

“It would be nice to win it but being a finalist is already achieving my objective of highlighting it to as many people as possible across the region, and it is a tremendous validation of all the work put in.

The winners of each category will be announced at an awards ceremony on February 24.

For more information, visit rayne-heritage.info.