Visit Shropshire Hills Summer Newsletter

Welcome

How is it July already? We hope you’re having a successful summer and welcoming plenty of visitors to the Shropshire Hills.

In this newsletter:

• Get the best out of our Visit Shropshire Hills social media
• The Shropshire Good Food Trail 2025 launches on 13th July
• Spread the word about the Shropshire Hills Shuttle Bus
• Training Resources

Are you getting the best out of our
VSH Social Media Accounts?

Our Visit Shropshire Hills social media accounts are thriving! We now have nearly 4,500 followers on Instagram and 1,300 on Facebook. That’s a sizeable audience that you could be tapping into.

How Does that Help Me?
Here’s an example of how using the ‘collaborate’ function in Instagram helped VSH member The School House B&B extend their reach and gain new followers:

This Instagram post promoting the River Clun Festival in May/June was shared by Visit Shropshire Hills as a collaborator.

– The post had 1,170 views (similar posts usually get 300-400 views
– 82% of those views were from non-followers
– That’s 960 views from people who wouldn’t have seen the post if The School House B&B hadn’t collaborated with VSH
– The post also contributed to an increase in the number of followersthat month for The School House, so it can also help to grow your own audience.

What Do I Need to Do?
You don’t need to be an expert in Instagram. Here’s some advice from our Social Media Manager Karen Thorne:

1. Tag @visitshropshirehills in your Instagram posts for a chance to be featured on our Stories or main feed.
2. It can speed things up if you also send a direct message letting Karen know you’re a member and that you’re happy for her to use your photos
3. If you’re creating a post you’d like us to share, you can also use the Collaborate feature to send us a request. We don’t accept every request (it can get a bit much!), but we do prioritise posts from our members where possible.
4. All members are also entitled to a dedicated post on the main feed. We email all new members to offer this, but those messages can sometimes end up in spam folders. So if you’ve recently joined and haven’t heard from us—or if you haven’t had a feature in a while—just drop Karen a message on Instagram or email her directly and we’ll get something arranged.

We love helping visitors discover all the brilliant places to eat, stay and explore across the Shropshire Hills!

Training Resources & Events

There are several ‘Powering Tourism in Shropshire’ free training courses on offer for anyone working in the Shropshire Visitor Economy, plus more Fire Warden courses at Eaton Manor. Details below.

Food Safety Level 2 
Ideal for anyone working in a food handling role, this one-day course covers essential food hygiene practices and legal responsibilities. 
Time: 9:30 AM – 4:30 PM 
Venues & Dates: 

• Shropshire Mental Health Service – 29th September 2025 – Click here to book 

• Bridgnorth Library – 2nd October 2025 – Click here to book

• Ludlow Library – 28th October 2025 – Click here to book  

Emergency First Aid at Work 
This accredited course equips participants with the skills to respond to workplace emergencies confidently and effectively. 
Time: 9:30 AM – 4:30 PM 
Venues & Dates: 

• Enterprise House, Bishop’s Castle – 20th October 2025 – Click here to book

• Ludlow Library – 7th November 2025 –  Click here to book

Fire Warden Course
Wednesday, 15th October 2025 from 9.30 am
at Eaton Manor
Cost £50.00 +VAT
Book by 15th September by emailing events@eatonmanor.co.uk
• Duration – 3½ to 4-hour course.
• This course is based on the Fire Protection Association course.
• Upon completion of the course, each candidate will receive a Role of the Fire Warden certificate valid for three years.
• Drinks & biscuits will be provided.