2011, our launch year and looking to the future...

It was in June 2011 that the idea for Your Northumberland Guide appeared in my mind. At the beginning of the year I bought a Cottage in rural Northumberland as an investment for our future, a pension of sorts. Through setting up the Cottage I realised that there simply wasn't the information available online that I wanted to point prospective guests to. A detailed guide to the area, things to do, where to go and visit, the best places to eat and drink and all the local knowledge that I (and my family and friends) have built up over the years. I started putting all this information down on paper (of the digital kind) and before long I had quite a comprehensive guide to the immediate area surrounding the Cottage. From here the idea of Your Northumberland Guide was born, a free resource for anyone living or visiting the area, a way to promote all the things I love about the County and a way to share information.

It's been a long slog since then, writing each area guide page by page in what little spare time I could grab. Undoubtedly there is still a huge amount of work to be done before the whole County is covered to the depth that I am determined that it will be covered. The site has grown organically with many businesses contacting me and the level of support and the feeling of 'need' for such a site has just been huge. I've been overwhelmed by the response and how quickly the site has grown from being a simple idea to a site visited by thousands each month and a social network fast approaching 4,000 wonderful people. All in such a short space of time as well, since writing the first words in early July the sheer size of the task in hand has become extremely apparent!

Looking forward I will continue to work hard on the site through 2012 and develop the huge number of ideas I have to move things forward. New features and guides coming early in 2012 include:

• A completely revamped 'Events and What's On' Section
• A monthly newsletter covering the major events in the coming month (including cost effective advertising opportunities for local businesses)
• Complete area guides for all the County's main Towns and Villages
• Develop fully the 'Things To Do' section of the site
• Continue to promote and push Northumberland as an amazing place to live and visit

Lastly I would really like to thank everyone who has contacted me and got involved with the site so far, I always welcome feedback and ideas so please do get in touch if there's something you'd like to be included! It's been quite the unexpected journey so far, here's to 2012 continuing this exciting trend and to building new contacts and making new friends in this great County.

Wishing you all a very happy and prosperous new year!

Andrew
Your Northumberland Guide Creator