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As well as enjoying the grounds and
the castle itself, visitors can take part
in activities such as archery, falconry
and Magical History Tours
a great mediaeval market town – the area’s
a sleeping beauty,” he continues. “It has
to wake up. I need to attract tourists to the
north east of England, which isn’t visited a
lot – most people go directly to Scotland –
and develop it from a place people visit for
a few hours to somewhere they’re going to
spend a few days.”
Perdrier believes the greenery, landscape
and history make Alnwick and
Northumberland the perfect place to
escape to from the city. “There’s huge
potential to attract tourists from London –
this is the castle where Harry Potter was
fi lmed! And we have the gardens.” London
to Alnwick is only three and a half hours;
the one drawback is the lack of hotels in
the area, but Perdrier has started discussions
with different stakeholders to work
on hotel development of the site and construction
will start soon with a completion
date of two to three years. “Alnwick, as a
destination, could be on the national map
in three years and the European map in
fi ve years,” he says confi dently.
Perdrier’s priority in achieving this is to
understand the region and the residents.
“I’m French and coming to a remote area
in the UK,” he points out. “I need to learn
about the people and the Percy family
[who have owned the castle for 700 years].
I can’t do this alone, I need everyone who
lives here to get involved.” Perdrier is the
fi rst to admit this is very different to anything
he’s done before. “Although it’s still
people management, I’ve never had to
involve a town within a certain strategy,”
he says. “It’s one thing to bring a team of
employees and directors into a strategy
– you’re the boss and they have to follow
because they’re paid to. When you talk to
a community, it’s different. You can’t tell
them they have to do something, they need
to believe in it and want to do it. That’s the
most diffi cult part – convincing them they
can do it. If there’s one thing I can bring
them, it’s the belief that it can be done.”
Perdrier’s been impressed by the
enthusiasm and commitment of the locals.
“Before I came here, many people said
that the locals wouldn’t want to change
what they’ve been doing for 50 years, but
I haven’t seen these people. Everyone I’ve
met has been warm, open-minded and welcoming.
They basically said, ‘tell me what
you want and we’ll go for it’.” Their enthusiasm
is being embraced and Perdrier’s
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