ALISON'S TOURS
FAQS
(Frequently Asked Questions)
What does "Blue Badge" mean? What does a Blue Badge Guide do? What qualifications do you have? Why are you different from other tour guides? I've seen guided tours advertised, but the tour guide doesn't have the Blue Badge; does it matter? I don't want a guided tour, just a walk around the town - could a Blue Badge Guide help me? How much do you charge? Who do you work for?
"Blue Badge" refers to the oval badge worn only by those guides who have been selected, trained, examined and registered. A Blue Badge Guide represents the best in tourist guides.
The Blue Badge was established to ensure that you benefit from the highest standards of quality and professionalism in tourist guiding. Blue Badge Guides offer you a wealth of experience and expertise that is respected by discriminating travel agents throughout the world.
WHAT DOES A BLUE BADGE GUIDE DO?
Whether you live here, or are a regular visitor or it is your first time here, a Blue Badge Guide will bring Britain alive in an entertaining way for you. Blue Badge Guides come from all walks of life but what we have in common is our desire and ability to entertain and inform. Many guides are experienced in meeting special requirements, such as guiding the disabled visitor or children, or guiding in a foreign language. Blue Badge Guides work magic on foot, in cars, on coaches, on trains, on boats ...... in fact, anywhere and everywhere!
WHAT QUALIFICATIONS DO YOU HAVE?
In my case, I followed a year's course of study at Cornwall College in Camborne and passed three written examination papers and a practical examination accredited by South West Tourism (formerly West Country Tourist Board). At that time, South West Tourism produced a Training Policy Document which set a common standard for the training courses held in colleges at Salisbury, Bath, Exeter and Camborne and appointed two tutors to oversee and monitor Guide Training throughout the region to ensure that the standards were maintained throughout each course and in the final assessment procedures.
All Blue Badge Guides throughout Britain receive the same rigorous training and examination procedure. Until recently the syllabus was overseen by the national tourist board (ie for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) and the regional tourist boards but since the creation of the Institute of Tourist Guiding in 2002 training has become their responsibility.. We all have the same basic grounding in National Knowledge. In England, this covers the following subjects:
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We also receive the same high level of training in guiding skills, communication skills, tour planning, group management, map reading, safety and the law as applied to guiding, skills specific to foreign visitors and guiding techniques for walking tours, coach tours and on or in large sites e.g. cathedrals, Stonehenge, Avebury, historical remains, etc.
As the country is divided into tourist board regions, each Blue Badge Guide qualifies within their region. In the case of the course I was on, we received a broad introduction to the whole of the West Country: Gloucestershire,Wiltshire, Dorset, Somerset and Devon with additional emphasis and detail required for Cornwall.
WHY ARE YOU DIFFERENT FROM OTHER TOUR GUIDES?
Apart from the specialist and rigorous training, we are also required to abide by a code of professional conduct, and maintain public liability insurance, currently standing at £5 million. Many people who work as tour guides have no training at all and are not regulated in any way; neither are many of them insured. If in doubt, please ask about their insurance cover. To see whether they are qualified, you could use the Institute of TOurist Guiding's REgistration checker.
Blue Badge Guides take pride in constantly updating their knowledge to enable you to enjoy Britain’s immense, unique and varied heritage. Further training programmes are available to us, and we can take "endorsement" courses which are approved short courses to enable us to specialise and qualify further in a particular subject or subjects, to the same high standard as the original Blue Badge Guide course.
I'VE SEEN GUIDED TOURS ADVERTISED, BUT THE TOUR GUIDE DOESN'T HAVE THE BLUE BADGE; DOES IT MATTER?
Of course you are entitled to take a tour with anyone you wish, but please bear in mind that with a Blue Badge Guide you are assured of a high level of professional expertise and in depth knowledge at all times. We are bound by a strict code of conduct and we are fully insured. With an unqualified or untrained guide, it's hit and miss. They may be very good indeed, or they may be a complete disappointment. It's a risk you take, as you will not know until your tour has ended whether you will be satisfied. There are very many specialists with superlative knowledge in their own field, but they may be lacking in guiding skills. For example, they may not speak clearly, or turn their back on you at the most interesting point of the tour so that you cannot hear, or they may start talking before those people at the back of the group has had a chance to catch up, you may all be looking into the sun as your guide talks to you, or they may be down wind of you and their voice will be carried away so that you cannot hear them. Some some may unthinkingly put you in danger, for example when crossing busy roads or gathering you in a place where there is not enough room on the pavement, so some of you end up in the road. If they are uninsured, and the unexpected happens, it could ruin more than just your visit. With a Blue Badge Guide you can rest assured that you will be satisfied with every aspect of your tour. In the very unlikely event that your guide did not live up to expectations, you also have an organisation to lodge a complaint with (although there is no Complaints Department, as such, for obvious reasons). Blue Badge Guides get it right. We do our research and we don't make things up. Of course, we don't (and can't) know everything and we are honest about that. If we can't answer a question and your question is important to you, we will look up the answer and let you know. It's a good way for us to broaden our knowledge as none of us know what we don't know until we are asked a question we can't answer!!!!!
You may find that your guide is a Green Badge Guide or has had training at NVQ (National Vocational Qualification) Level 2 or Level 3 which is not the same as the Blue Badge. However, they they are qualified guides, but in a more limited capacity geographically. Their standards are as high as Blue Badge Guides and they are entitled to become either Affiliate (at Level 2) or Associate (at Level 3) Members of the Institute of Tourist Guiding.
If taking a guided tour by car, it is absolutely essential to ensure that your driver-guide is legal. In addition to "hire or reward" insurance (which is not the same as ordinary car insurance), in most areas of Britain it is necessary to have the vehicle annually checked for safety by the local authority and for it to be properly licensed by that authority. Your driver-guide should also hold a "private hire" licence issued by the local authority which is only issued after the driver has undergone a police check and a medical examination. If a person is offering driver-guided tours with just their ordinary car insurance and their ordinary driving licence, they are likely to be breaking the law, and if an accident should occur, their insurance will be invalid.
Of course. A guided tour can be as long or short as you want - on foot, by car, by coach ......... whatever you choose. Many towns have Blue Badge Guides or Green Badge Guides offering town walks. The local tourist information centre will be able to tell you how to get in touch with them. There are Blue Badge Guides for every type of visitor and every type of tour. We are punctual, reliable and we thrive on the unexpected.
We can help with all sorts of local information and assist with all manner of things, from lost passports and travellers’ cheques and the British telephone to how to get a doctor’s prescription. We can track down that elusive theatre ticket, book exotic restaurants and seek out esoteric antiques. We will do everything we can to make sure you catch your plane, train, car or ship. We’re used to travelling, and understand your schedules.
Blue Badge Guides are happy to help you plan your specialised tours - just ask!
There is a Blue Badge Guide in every corner of the British Isles, from Land’s End via Wales to John O’Groats, from the Isle of Man to Jersey and Northern Ireland.
It varies, depending on the length and complexity of the tour, the number of days, the number of people, the type of tour and the amount of specialised research I may have to do beforehand.. Please enquire for a price.
The majority of Blue Badge Guides are self-employed (they work for themselves) although they are regulated by the Institute of Tourist Guiding.
For further information, pleas visit the websites of the following organisations:
The Guild of Registered Tourist Guides
The Guild was established in 1950 as the National Professional Association for Blue Badge Guides. Members are bound by a strict Code of Conduct which guarantees you the highest quality service
The Driver-Guides Association is a professional body formed in 1982 to maintain the highest standards of Blue Badge driver-guiding throughout the United Kingdom.
The Institute of Tourist Guiding
In the most important development since the introduction of the Blue Badge qualification a little more than fifty years ago, the Institute was launched in April 2002 as the standard-setting body not only for Blue Badge Tourist Guides but for the whole tourist guiding sector.
General Information for Overseas Visitors
General Information for UK Visitors
Institute of Tourist Guiding Code of Conduct
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