The town’s newest Blue Badge tourist guide, Catherine Pitt, has plans to turn tourism in Tunbridge Wells upside-down. Catherine is keen to show that the town is not just about The Pantiles.
The 30-year-old history graduate is one of fourteen new South East England guides: “I know the coaches drop off tour groups there, and of course that’s what attracts them in the first place, but our history doesn’t start and stop in 1606 when the waters were discovered. But I think a lot of people see the hill and don’t venture any further.”
Catherine grew up in Bath and moved to Tunbridge Wells two years ago.
“High society used to move between the two. I guess they spent summers here and winters in Bath, where the springs are hot. But Tunbridge Wells is smaller and more compact, and feels quite different. My first experience was the Camden Road musical, and it made me realise how much potential there is for exploring different strands of the town’s history. Like most people, I love stories, and these things bring the past to life.”
Miss Pitt is the winner of the Best Cathedral Tour Guide and has been recruited as a Blue Badge guide in anticipation of forthcoming events like the Olympic Games and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.