The wait is nearly over to find out which design has won the Exmoor Flag design competition and earned its place in history as the first area encompassing a national park to have its own flag. The official Exmoor Flag will be unveiled on Wednesday the 29th of October during a ceremony at West Somerset Railway’s Minehead Station with the new flag arriving on a majestic steam locomotive into Platform One at 11.42am.

Following presentations of flags to the Mayors of Minehead, Watchet and South Molton, and of commemorative gifts to all five finalists and the grand prize to the winning designer by wildlife presenter Johnny Kingdom, the Exmoor Flag will embark on a tour of the region in a beautiful vintage bus provided by Quantock Heritage and proudly sponsored by local businesses.

Give a wave and a cheer as the bright yellow bus, adorned with the new Exmoor Flag, passes through Minehead town centre and calls in at Porlock around 12.45. The tour will continue on to Lynton where there will be a presentation to Mayor Tony Meakin outside the Town Hall at 1.30pm. The Exmoor Flag will then make its way across country to Parracombe (2.05pm), then on to Simonsbath for 2.40pm.

There will then be a raising of the Exmoor Flag by Mike Ellicott, Chairman of Exford Parish Council at the Village green at 3pm. The Exmoor Flag tour will then head down the Barle Valley to Dulverton where the town will celebrate with a ceremony to present Deputy Mayor Judy Ernest and Rev Andrew Thomas with our new flag outside the Town Hall at 3.30pm.

The final leg of the tour takes the vintage bus up the Exe Valley to Wheddon Cross where the flag-loving Landlords of the Rest and Be Thankful will greet the party at 4.20pm and enjoy a short celebration to welcome Exmoor’s new flag to the highest village on Exmoor. And finally as the shops and businesses close for the evening at 4.45pm, everyone can gather outside the Yarn Market in Dunster to truly say ‘hello and welcome’ to the Exmoor Flag – registered by The Flag Institute as an official United Kingdom flag and the only area encompassing a national park to have its own flag! The flag will represent and celebrate the greater area of Exmoor, beyond the National Park boundaries. It will be for everyone who loves living in and visiting this most uniquely beautiful corner of England.

Exmoor Flags and a small range of other gifts will be available shortly to purchase online at http://www.exmoorflag.co.uk/shop. For each purchase made a donation will be given to the Devon Air Ambulance and Dorset & Somerset Air Ambulance charities. Pre orders can be made via the website and an announcement will be made shortly with a list of local stockists across the region, wholesale enquiries welcome.

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The flag launch day is kindly being sponsored by local organisations and firms, including: West Somerset Railway, Minehead Town Council, Active Signs, Bampton Game, Butlin’s, Dark Sky Telescope Hire, Exe Valley Fishery, Exmoor Farmers Livestock Auctions, Exmoor Printers, Exmoor Stoves/GJ Strong Builders, Exmoor Trim, Minehead Marquees, Minehead & West Somerset Golf Club, Stags Estate Agents Dulverton, Stuarts Home Furnishers and Des & Vicky Belam. The creation of the official flag for Exmoor has been planned to coincide with Exmoor National Park’s 60th anniversary celebrations. Exmoor will be the first area that encompasses a national park to have its very own flag! The 5 finalist’s designs were shortlisted from 261 competition entries to go through to the public vote by a panel of judges, which included wildlife enthusiast Johnny Kingdom. Designs came from all over the world, from community groups and schools to individuals as young as 2 and as old as 93. A gallery displaying all the wonderful original designs is expanding daily on the Exmoor Flag website http://www.exmoorflag.co.uk/flag-entries. 858 members of the public voted for their favourite Exmoor Flag design, with 446 votes cast online and 412 received in the post .

As well as the honour of going down in history as being the designer of the new Exmoor Flag (Registered by the Flag Institute as an official United Kingdom Flag), the winner will be presented with the very first hand-sewn Exmoor Flag, made in Exford by Robin Ashburner, ex-president of the Flag Institute. In addition they will receive a beautiful wicker hamper, especially made by Paul Tuck at Exmoor Baskets & Hurdles, overflowing with Exmoor produce, products, an Exmoor Magazine subscription, vouchers for shops, visitor attractions and meals out. The prizes have all kindly been donated by local businesses keen to support Exmoor’s new flag (for the full list see http://www.exmoorflag.co.uk/competition-prizes).

GENERAL INFORMATION / CONTACTS The Exmoor Flag Project is funded by the EFP Team – Edward & Julie Christian and Tony & Ceri Keene, along with a small financial grant from The Exmoor National Park Partnership Fund. The Exmoor Flag is registered with The Flag Institute as an official United Kingdom flag. The Exmoor Flag is free to fly by all as there is no copyright restriction on its use.

Exmoor Flag Project Julie or Edward Christian Tel: 01398 323948 Email: info@exmoorflag.co.uk c/o Three Acres Country House B&B Brushford, Dulverton Somerset, TA22 9AR
http://www.exmoorflag.co.uk

http://www.facebook.com/exmoorflagcompetition