Article and Photographs: Jeff Walshe
At theย Slow Travel Cotswolds Awards 2024 presentations in early May- Wotton-under-Edge received two nominations. Held in Painswick, nominees came from Stratford-upon-Avon, Oxford, Bath and the Cotswolds.ย The event was organised by Caroline Mills, freelance travel writer & photo journalist with her many helpers and local food/drink suppliers.ย Caroline has just written the third edition of Slow Travel Cotswolds.
Wotton Town Hall Teas were awarded a Highly Commended status in the Category of Volunteer Projects.ย Organiser Janet Walshe collected the award on behalf of the thousands of volunteers who have taken part in 30 years of fundraising.
Since 1993 dozens of local organisations have operated Town Hall Teas throughout the summer, and continue to do so.
Janet, who has managed the bookings since they began, stated:
โ Amounts raise in the beginning were very small and ย ยฃ27 was regarded to be a good day.ย Since those early days, the weekly summer event has grown and expanded, they now run from April to October.ย The demand for slots is very high and booking start each March for the following year.ย 2024 is fully booked and there are a few gaps to be filled for 2025.ย I keep multiple calendars to ensure everything runs smoothly.ย Itโs been great fun each year and hopefully others have enjoyed raising funds for their cause.ย There is now a small display in the Heritage Centre celebrating Town Hall Teas.ย If anyone wants to send us a photo (paper or digital) from their event we can add that to the collection.โ
An acknowledgement must go to Wotton Town Council. They have supported this initiative by supplying the Town Hall in Market Street ย free each summer Sunday for this worthy cause.
Wotton Heritage Centre was also nominated at the ceremony in a separate category for Visitor Information Centres but was pipped at the post by others for the prize.
Food and drink was provided by several Gloucestershire suppliers now featured in the Slow Travel the Cotswolds which is available from this website:
https://www.carolinemills.net/slow-travel-the-cotswolds
The event had the support of book publisher Bradt – an exceptional producer of independent travel guidesย https://www.bradtguides.com/
Our thanks go to Caroline Mills, freelance travel writer & photo journalist for organising this event with her many helpers and local food/drink suppliers.