"The British Are Coming"
First Published in the Roanoke Rapids Sunday Herald on March 24, 1996
Who would ever think that a group of adventurers from England, of which half of them are visually impaired, would want to visit Northeastern North Carolina and send 10 days canoeing, camping and exploring the Roanoke River Region.
But that is exactly what will be taking place April 10-24. Eight members of the Adventure Group of The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association from England will begin their trek in Weldon and finish up in Plymouth. During their visit they will be treated to the best of the region with southern hospitality being served up along the way by the communities that the British will explore.
The canoe/camping adventure has been planned for these British tourist by WOW-Working On Weldon and Martin County Travel and Tourism, More specifically, the numerous detail and correspondents have been handled by Ross Steckley of WOW and Crystal Baity of Martin County T&T. The co-sponsor of the trip is Spirit of Adventures, in England, an experienced adventure travel planner.
During the two weeks that the Britons are state side they will explore the region via the Roanoke River and get in on several celebrations that are common to both our British and American heritage. They will discover what happen between England and the Colonies, from an American prospective, and what happen when we in America turned on ourselves.
Their timing will allow them to be in Historic Halifax on the nights of April 12 and 13. April 12 is Halifax Day.
While in Halifax they will be given guided, tours of the site and will enjoy the activities of an 18th century American Militia Camp and an 18th century British Army encampment. There will be narrated military drills and demonstrations of 18th century cooking, dancing and crafts.
The Halifax County Cooperative Extension Service will give a presentation on rural farm life in Northeastern North Carolina that will include exhibitions on the crops that are grown here and not grown in England.
When the river adventures arrive in Williamston they will be treated to a performance by the North Carolina Symphony.
In Plymouth, the British will be arriving just in time for The Living History Weekend and witness events reenacting the Battle of Plymouth.
In addition to the celebrations included in this trip, other towns will have the opportunities to show off their communities as well.
In Weldon the British will be treated to a picnic lunch at the Roanoke Canal Aqueduct and a walking tour of the historic district.
While in Roanoke Rapids the Britons will tour the Roanoke Rapids Dam and learn of its control over the Roanoke River and how electricity is made. Then the Adventures will be interviewed for the radio program "Touring Halifax County" on WZRU Public Radio.
The tourist will be given a tour of Fort Branch in Hamilton and will spend some time in Windsor exploring the Cashie River and the Cashie River Walk.
One may wonder how did this trip come to be and how did Weldon get involved in the planning of this trip.
It all began as WOW was exploring the viability for an outfitter/canoe livery to operate on the Roanoke River. With Ross Steckley serving as the planner, Bunny Johns, the President of Nantahala Outdoor Center in Bryson City, which offers the white water rafting trips in the mountains and plans other adventure trips around the world, was invited to Weldon to assist in this exploration.
Several round table discussions were held, mixed in with an aerial tour of the river between the Roanoke River Dam and Halifax, site visits to the landings in Weldon and Halifax and a canoe trip down the river between Roanoke Rapids and Weldon.
In follow up discussions with Johns, she discussed with Steckley that she had received a request from Spirit of Adventures in England to plan a 10 day canoe/camping trip on a flat water river somewhere in the U.S. The trip was to be made up of participates of which some would be visually impaired. Johns stated that since we were looking for an opportunity to develop the potential of the river, this would be a good opportunity for us to get started.
Wow, what a way to get started!
It just so happened that The British Are Coming Adventure present itself at the same time as the beginning development of the Roanoke River Project. It has been quite a challenge to develop the river adventure when there are currently no established public camp sites on the river or reliable estimates of how long it will take to get from one point to another. It has required the planners to get on the river for some test trips, identify potential camp sites, then contact land owners for permission. Cooperatives have been formed with large landowners such as Georgia-Pacific and the Nature Conservancy.
It has also forced the community leaders to really examine what they have in there area that they would be able to promote to tourist. The British Are Coming Adventure has been a good experience for the Roanoke River Project planners because it has helped to identify how much work is needed to promote the region as a destination to tourists and demonstrate to small communities that there can be a viable future in tourism development.
The Roanoke River Tour is an outstanding example of the cooperative effort of dozens of leaders in the five counties that border the Roanoke River from Roanoke Rapids to Washington NC. Its mission is to actually demonstrate and document that a cooperative effort of various interest groups, each sharing the Roanoke River can promote and successfully host tourist while making money when all is said and done. In addition, to ensure that each person or group assisting in the effort and those that paid for it will want to do it again and tell others about it.
Steckley, the tour planner stated that he "was very pleased with the generosity of the area. Examples such as the cooperation of a local church, Roanoke Baptist, who has unselfishly offered their brand new 15 passage youth van to shuttle the adventures around. It is only due to this type of volunteer involvement that an unique project of this magnitude can bring over $15,000 into our area. Many thanks need to go out to over 30 individuals and firms working together to promote the areas rich natural, historic and cultural resources".
One of the goals of the Roanoke River Project is to develop a network of scenic highways, interpretive trails, bike routes, nature tours and canoe trails. Eventually there will be regional maps displaying all of this information with access points to the sites and suggested tours with details of how long it would take to experience the adventure.
If only the project had this material ready now, the planning for The British Are Coming Adventure would have been easier. But that's the best part of the adventure. It will help to make for a better plan to develop and promote the Roanoke River Region.