Accuracy of Magazine site / tour articles

There was a professional journalist posted on here a couple of times last year. He/she was obviously hoping to collect info for writing articles. Maybe it was the same person.

I don’t know why Club doesn’t simply utilise the wealth of experience it has within the Membership. There will be dozens of folks that could do a comprehensive area tour, based upon real experience, actually doing the walks/cycle rides, enjoying the local attractions, and with some decent photographs. It’s starting to do it with photos, so why not articles. Some of the travel blogs I have seen, read, watched are a lot better than some in Club magazine. 

I often read the articles on Norfolk/Suffolk and East Anglia in general and invariably just shake my head

For years (probably quite a few decades actually) I have glanced at these reviews and doubted the truth of some obvious glaring inexactatudes. So I have taken to carefully going through reviews of sites and areas that I know well and counting up a score of of these "errors" to give a measure of the misinfomation that is acceptable to the Club. I can then apply that factor to reviews of places that I do not know to improve the usefullness of the article.

I live about a mile from a major site of the Club and it is astonishing what appears in reviews and publicity pieces that is either just not true or totally misleading. A good example is suggestions for places to eat being 12 to 15 miles away in Glasgow while the villiage I live in is overflowing with great places to eat.

Lazy desk bound journalism in some instances. Most Club Sites do have good local eateries listed in on site information huts, and lots of folks leave leaflets in there as well. 

Actual Club Site reviews would work better and be more helpful if there was a bit of a “prompt” format for reviewers to follow. As it is, things like “Arrival and welcome”, “peace and tranquillity”, etc. simply don’t work on a regular basis, as there are inbuilt variables, such as different staff, different times of year, possible building work and other things outside control of Club going on.🤷‍♀️ Tend to encourage the gripers too much, ie “the site Manager didn’t smile at me” types. 

Recommending pitch locations, recommending places of interest, recommending shopping and eateries, good places to take children, how easy is the location with a pet, is there public transport close by/transport information, nearest garage for fuel, actual walking times both fit and more sedentary, are local roads walkable with children/pets/aids. All far more useful, particularly as most Club Sites don’t vary nowadays in terms of operation and facilities, and each webpage has site photos and information already.

Good heavens. The last time I sailed St George's Channel it was between Ireland and Wales. If they have shifted it, whatever happened to the Bristol Channel?  🤔😁.

🫣🤭 oops🤣🤣

Just testing😁 OH says I often get my channels crossed😁