On 21 February, we celebrated International Tourist Guide Day. This professional holiday was established by the World Federation of Tourist Guide Associations (WFTGA) to recognise and showcase the important role of the tourist guides around the world. 

This year’s theme was ‘Tourist Guides: Our Guardians in Promoting and Encouraging Green Tourism’. With this in mind some STGA guides, alongside professional guides from England organised a litter pick to help clear up at the border crossing. 

Laura Rhodes, Blue Badge Guide for the STGA and Institute of Tourist Guiding Blue Badge Guide for North East England and Yorkshire, helped organise this event alongside fellow STGA members Andy Middleton, Susan Smith, Bryan Hogg, and David Waite, a professional guide from England. 

Laura said: “Tourists and visitors from all over the world stop here for a photo at the famous flags. About 30 bags of assorted rubbish were collected and the area is all now clean and tidy again”. 

The Scottish Borders council is responsible for the northbound layby at the border, but the Northumberland County council is responsible for the southbound layby.  After years of historical conflict between the two countries, it’s good to see these councils working collaboratively!

The nearby town, Berwick upon Tweed is in a strategic geographical position – as the last town in England before the Scottish Border, it has been fought over many times through the centuries, having changed hands between the Scottish and English 13 times! 

The litter pick was hard work for all involved, but it was a great way of making connections with fellow guides across the Border, whilst helping the local communities as well as visitors to the site.