Walton dad launches ‘Scouse travel guide’ helping thousands in the pandemic
A dad from Walton launched a “Scouse travel guide” which has amassed thousands of fans on social media for helping people find places to go to remain positive during lockdown.
As the third national lockdown continues, pubs, restaurants, shops and more have had to shut their doors, leaving people with fewer chances to socialise offline.
People are allowed to leave their homes for daily exercise, but lockdown rules state that this should be done close to home. With activities and days out limited, many people are looking to reconnect with nature or discover safe places to walk close to home, while the restrictions are ongoing.
Anthony Bird, 32, and his girlfriend Leanne, 33, started an Instagram account dedicated to providing detailed recommendations of hikes and experiences for people to try themselves, plus guidance on food and drink recommendations and trips further afield for when normality resumes.
Dad-of-one Anthony told the ECHO : “We started going on walks on the weekend regularly but we found it difficult finding all the info and would always worry what we needed to put in the Sat Nav; where do we park, do we need to pay for parking etc.
“So we started posting all the information people needed to try it themselves.”
And it took off. Within a year, Anthony and Leanne’s Scouse Travel Guide Instagram page boasts more than 19,000 followers.
Anthony, from Walton, continued: “People love going on walks in nature and it’s so good for your physical and mental fitness but these walks aren’t advertised and it’s not as straight forward to search for them online as you’d like, so I can imagine a lot of people just give up or just go on the same walks that they’ve already been on.
“Hopefully with the page it encourages people to get out and try new places.”
The couple have just had a daughter together so are both enjoying some time off from work with her.
Of the page’s success, Anthony and Leanne were both stunned.
He said: “The growth on the page has really surprised us. I remember at the beginning when we were happy with 1,000 followers and each milestone still gets us really excited.
“It’s also really nice to see a few high profile accounts following too. It inspires us to post more frequently and motivate people to get out there themselves.”
In the wake of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Anthony said: “Due to the lockdown, we are trying to focus on walks that are closer to home so that people are aware that you don’t have break restrictions to get out and exercise.
“We’ve also been sharing posts from similar accounts that have information about local walks and PT accounts that encourage people to home exercise.”
Sarah Tomkins is a reporter for The Limited Press. She has previously worked for the Forbes. As a contributor to The Limited Press, Sarah covers emerging International developments and trending technology related stories.
