Poodling Around

Jane Hunt

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PLACES & TRAVEL

A lifestyle podcast focusing on where to enjoy great travel experiences and days out in the UK (and sometimes abroad), plus news about cookery, pets and dog-friendly things to do, home and gardening and food and drink. Guests reveal all about their special venues, recipes, tips and events. Hosted by Jane Hunt, an award-winning UK-based PR.

10/01/2025

Wings Over Wartime Waves: the Story of RAF Blackpool and the Spitfire Visitor Centre

Born in Blackpool but largely unaware (until working on a new travel PR project), of the huge role that the popular seaside resort played in World War II, Jane Hunt interviews John Coombes, director of award-winning Blackpool visitor attraction, the Spitfire Visitor Centre. John describes how the atmospheric wartime-themed attraction came about and the history of its home - Hangar 42 - a largely untouched hangar, built in May 1939, where the steel walls might shake but also speak secrets of what happened here during the aerial conflict with Germany and World War II, particularly during the Battle of Britain. Listeners will see Blackpool through different eyes, after learning how the whole town was transformed during the War. They will hear about the men and women who came together in the resort to defend Britain from invasion and win the war. It's a chance to discover the role that Polish and Czech pilots played and why they called Blackpool home. You can also learn why the resort was the ideal place for a major RAF training base and what those supporting it endured and did for the common cause. From there, you will discover how the Spitfire Visitor Centre brings this all to life and what you can see there, whether you are an everyday visitor, a school pupil or someone with a particular interest in the military and armed forces. Hear about a 'world's only' simulator. Discover who wins in the junior battle of the sexes when it comes to certain aviation skills. Pick up a hint of a true bucket-list experience that you could enjoy in a Spitfire and appreciate why Google Earth can be a real friend, at times, when it comes to aviation history. Try to imagine life at RAF Blackpool, or on a bombing raid to Berlin - another brilliant simulator experience - and be fascinated by a true fact - why Blackpool pretty much escaped being bombed, despite having around 830,000 RAF personnel passing through it during World War II. Listen to this podcast and then treat yourself to a very different experience in Blackpool, or become a volunteer at the visitor centre and a key storyteller of a story that needs to be told. And, if you are from Blackpool, take pride in what you learn. Finally, this is the opportunity to discover why this visitor attraction is much more than just being about planes and is actually a custodian - or reminder - of national identity, in so many ways.

59 min
08/18/2025

Paragliding Parachutes Into Grasmere Sports

Ahead of the 2025 Grasmere Lakeland Sports and Show, Jane Hunt talks to Paul Abbott about a brand-new sport that is parachuting into the Grasmere Sports programme this year. This is the Grasmere Hike and Fly - a paragliding event that encompasses navigating between waymarks, to land and register a visit and then fly off again, around the course, and back to the starting point, on the Grasmere Sports showfield. Jane, again promoting this event with her company, Catapult PR, discovers why this is such an appropriate and suitable sport for inclusion at Grasmere Sports and what it will take to win the paragliding race. She also finds out more about who is competing and what the aim of putting this race on this year will be. Opportunities to get involved in other ways are also explored and Jane and Paul both hint at plenty of other reasons to visit the show in 2025 specifically and in a future year, if you can't make it this year.

44 min
08/07/2025

No Stone Unturned With a Stone-skimming Champion

Jane Hunt catches up with Alex Lewis, a Scottish student who also just happens to be a multi-title stone skimming champion, having won titles around the world. Jane first met Alex in 2018, as part of her travel PR and tourism PR promotion at Catapult PR. Having promoted the All-England stone skimming championships for about 10 years at that point, she soon recognised how Alex's performances on Lake Windermere, in Cumbria, were beyond phenomenal! Jane discovers all that Alex has done in his international stone skimming career since then, what it takes to be a champion stone skimmer and what lies in store in the coming months. She gets to the bottom of which are his favourite places at which to skim stones and his views about the future of stone skimming. And, she also picks up a champion's tips on how the average person should go about skimming stones and the required technique. With so many children having developed a love of skimming stones that has lasted a lifetime, this is an episode that will strike a chord with many, evoking the nostalgia of those wonderful days spent on the riverbank, lake side or beach.

43 min
06/17/2025

From Shipwrecks to a Sea Ogre: Undiscovered Cleveleys

Jane Hunt delves into Cleveleys' rich tapestry of history, myths and legends, as she provides insights into her very local coastal location of Cleveleys, on the Fylde Coast, near Blackpool, in England's north west. Jane highlights some of the amazing facets to Cleveleys that she has largely discovered in the course of her travel PR at Catapult PR. The podcast focuses on the numerous shipwrecks here, the tales that surround them and how these are remembered today, but also covers everything from a tsunami to the mystical world that can be explored by strolling along the promenade and hunting down intriguing sculptures. Discover a 'baddy' that the kids will just love, his instrument of destruction and the thing that helps prevent him carrying out his dastardly plan but also find out much more about the history of the town and other things to track down. With lots of interesting facts to discover, this episode is an eye-opener for those who only associate this part of the coastline with the Blackpool Illuminations and Blackpool's attractions It concludes with Jane pondering whether a message in a bottle would ever reach her favourite musician, Axl Rose, in Malibu, or just be washed up on the beach in nearby Fleetwood.

25 min
05/09/2025

Longing to Visit Longwood Gardens, USA

Ahead of World Topiary Day 2025, on May 11, Jane Hunt chats to Brianna Reid, a dedicated horticulturist at the glorious Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania. The reason? Well, unlike many other gardens in the USA, Longwood has its own topiary garden, for which Brianna is responsible on a daily basis. Jane, on the scent of a great visitor attraction story as ever, as a tourism PR specialist at Catapult PR, discovers the back story of topiary at Longwood Gardens. With Brianna, she explores how the French origins, love of travel and lavish lifestyle of the gardens' founding father probably contributed to a little bit of England and France being found at the heart of the Longwood experience. The pair talk about the first yew trees to enter this space and then a development in the 1950s, which made this a much greater vision. Whimsical topiary, formal topiary and the use of the topiary garden as a link between different gardens at Longwood, Pennsylvania, is all discussed. Brianna offers her personal insight into the garden, what she loves most, what secrets can be found there and what wildlife also call it home. There is a discussion about weather conditions and topiary and also wasps nests! Brianna's description should inspire many a tourist or local resident to want to experience this US visitor attraction for themselves. Jane compares and contrasts things at Longwood to the experience at Levens Hall and Gardens, the founder of World Topiary Day – a creative idea of Jane's, from 2020. This has dramatically underlined the existence of the world's oldest topiary garden there and helped drive more visitor numbers to this historic garden, located in the Lake District, Cumbria. Brianna explains the pride she feels in being able to play a part in World Topiary Day and also whets Jane's appetite for a visit to Longwood, by explaining all about the magnificent fountain experiences that can be enjoyed there. With Jane left speculating whether there is a show based around Guns N' Roses music, she concludes the episode by determining that Longwood needs to be added to a list of places and visitor attractions at which she really does need to poodle around in person.

34 min
04/09/2025

The Pawsitive Power of Bubbles

Jane Hunt, managing director of award-winning UK PR agency, Catapult PR, talks to the USA's very own Bubble Man, as John Reider becomes her guest and interviewee for this pet-focused podcast focusing on the pawsitive benefits of blowing bubbles for pets. Jane, as self-confessed bubble lover since her childhood days, makes an instant connection with John, who has shared the same love of bubbles since stumbling across a business opportunity that took him into the bubble-making sector. Jane discovers how this business started and then had to pivot fast during the pandemic, when its original customers could no longer enjoy what it had to offer. But the real joy of this conversation is what came next. Jane probes the business idea that proves that 'out of adversity comes triumph' and finds out how the pet sector beckoned for the Bubble Man. She discovers the magic that surrounds his range of bubbles for dogs and cats of all shapes and sizes and how a great product development idea made absolute 'scents' for our doggy and feline friends. Jane probes exactly what distinguishes the Atomic Bubbles Pet Bubble range (comprising Puppy Love Bubbles and Kitty Love Bubbles) and why these pet bubbles stand apart in the market place from other competitive products out there. She also focuses on the benefits of blowing bubbles for pets and how this could tackle two major issues for our furry friends - pet obesity and boredom. In fact, a blow-besity strategy might well be on the cards for pet owners across the world, following this chat! Jane offers pet owners an insight into whether or not bubbles might be right for their pet and also takes a look at the benefits of the latest scent, with the sort of aromatherapy benefits that even owners might enjoy after a long day at work. She then looks at where these brilliant products might be available, whether you live in the USA, UK, Europe, or somewhere else in the world. Getting their paws on them is something that Fido and Felix are sure to want to do, once they've tuned in to this episode. With Jane revelling at the prospect of bubble parties for pets and ready to board the next plane to the USA if there's one on the go, she then throws a very British thing into the mix, even it it means discussing a football club other than her own beloved Manchester United. She and John discuss the brilliant fan chant of West Ham United and its bubble connections. This episode is brought to UK pet owners during Pet Month, a month in which Jane's business, award-winning Catapult PR, last year brought the sector the findings of three years of research into what pet owners think about various topics. This was part of Catapult PR's involvement in the pet insurance and pet trade sectors, in which it has worked for many years and in which it has created award-winning PR. With pet stories never far away from Catapult PR's daily to-do list, whether that is creating a news story or a downloadable content guide, such as its Doggy Guide to Canine Castle Capers, this pet-themed podcast fits pawfectly into the UK PR agency's daily working life. Links for the episode are: https://atomicbubbles.com/ https://www.facebook.com/atomicbubblesstl Instagram.com/atomic_bubbles.stl https://www.catapultpr.co.uk https://www.linkedin.com/in/janekhunt/ https://www.youtube.com/@CatapultPR https://x.com/Catapultpublicr

41 min
03/20/2025

Snooping Into the Battlements Tour at an English Medieval Castle Hotel

In her latest travel and tourism-focused podcast, travel PR specialist, Jane Hunt, chats to Eilidh Wise, a member of the team at the incredible and awe-inspiring Langley Castle Hotel in Northumberland, England, which can potentially be regarded as the most authentic fortified medieval castle hotel in England. Located close to the Anglo-Scottish border, and just a stone's throw from the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Hadrian's Wall, hospitality provider, Langley Castle, has seen 675 years of history pass by. This is all very much on show to visitors who stay at the hotel - and who travel from all over the world to visit it - but this same Northumbrian history is also brought to life through daily Battlement Tours. As one of the leaders of this tour, Eilidh relays the castle's story in a compelling manner, whilst taking a group from top to bottom at the castle and pointing out features that are tied into the stories that surround its seven-feet-thick walls. In this podcast, Eilidh hints at the Northumberland castle's rich history, explores some of the exploits of the castle's former owners and what guests can hear about on this tour. As the tour is open to anyone who drops by to book on to it, so well worth exploring if you are poodling around the area. Eilidh also explains about the present owner – an American who bought the castle in the 1980s – and how he is the official Baron of Langley. His interest in the castle's history is explored, along with the artefact that he fairly recently bought and housed in the castle. There is also the fascinating story of St Bees Man detailed in this episode but did you know that this has a strong link to Langley Castle? If you know nothing about this archaeological find, you really need to find out more, especially as this story is one that really ticks the box of many of those who take the Langley Castle Battlements Tour. With details of the types of international visitor who love to visit Langley Castle, as well as an array of styles of wedding that can be held at the venue, from an elopement wedding to exclusive use whole-castle hire – and even Indian and Viking weddings – there's lots to think about and learn about. International listeners can also learn about some old-English ways of dealing with offenders and hear about the tragedy of Sycamore Gap, with its links to Kevin Costner. Inspiration about other things to visit and do in this part of Northumberland is also provided. This podcast episode is the latest in a series that conveys great things to do, see and explore within the UK, Europe and sometimes further afield, for those who like to discover new places and things. It introduces the listener to very different experiences, sometimes a little quirky, and offers tips and advice to those wishing to tread in Jane's footsteps or learn about the places she has encountered through her daily work in tourism PR and travel PR, at Catapult PR in the UK, handling PR and content-writing briefs for a wide variety of travel PR clients across England and even in Europe.

59 min
01/21/2025

Discovering the Secrets of the 'Other' Venice

Jane Hunt, managing director of travel PR and tourism PR award-winning PR agency, Catapult PR, talks to Ketty Zanutto, one of the business partners behind the inspiring Venice tour company L'altra Venezia, operating in Venice, Italy and run by passionate tourism professionals who want to allow visitors to Venice to benefit from their personal insight, as people who have been born and raised in the city. Ketty explains the ethos of L'altra Venezia and gives a sneak preview into what lies in store for those who head to Venice and want to see beyond the classic tourism hotspots, whilst also having interpretation and narrative that allows the top hotspots to be seen through different perspectives. She provides a flavour of some of the tours available, whether that is based around Venetian gastronomy, Marco Polo or artisans within the city of Venice and also highlights other ways in which her business can work with visitors. The talk moves to tours that are specific to particular types of visitor, from those who are wheelchair users, to the younger generation, who might just find a trip around Venice a little boring, without L'altra Venezia's help. The episode brings to light some lesser-known facts about Venice, its citizens, its place within history and movements such as the Renaissance. It also brings to the fore some of the things we really should all discover about a city with such a rich history and is an ideal listen for anyone planning a trip to see the famed canals, or anyone who just loves to know more about places around the world. With other quirky elements, such as details of what Venetian nobles would use to woo their ladies, the episode is a must for anyone simply wanting to escape a dreary winter's day, by focusing on a city that is vibrant and full of life, and others who are actually planning a trip to Venice.

33 min

A lifestyle podcast focusing on where to enjoy great travel experiences and days out in the UK (and sometimes abroad), plus news about cookery, pets and dog-friendly things to do, home and gardening and food and drink. Guests reveal all about their special venues, recipes, tips and events. Hosted by Jane Hunt, an award-winning UK-based PR.

Creator

Jane Hunt
Years Active

2021 - 2025
Episodes

45
Rating

Clean
Copyright

© Copyright of Catapult Public Relations Limited
Show Website

Poodling Around