Established in 1992, the South West Film & Television Archive collection spans from 1893 to the present day containing more than 250,000 items. Formed from a variety of depositors, including broadcast news and programmes material from the Westward and TSW archive. In 2018 the archive collection transferred to The Box in Plymouth.
I am not a Hippie, I am a Traveller
(Today South West)
Understanding the Traveller's ethos.
Travellers are living on an unauthorised encampment on common moorland belonging to the Rosecraddoc Manor estate in Cornwall. Trespassing is considered a civil matter, not a criminal offence, but solicitors for the landlords have issued a 14 day notice to leave the site. The Travellers have agreed.
Resenting the term 'hippies', the Travellers have invited local residents to come and see their way of life in an effort to be understood. One man argues his point of domestic tourism within the South West with overnight trips in caravans representing 19% of the total of trips in England. If tourists can do this en masse every summer, he says, why can they not do the same throughout the year?
A local landowner with grazing rights believes Travellers should be kept away from open countryside and be provided clean and safe fixed Gypsy and Traveller settlements.
Although there are a number of authorised private sites in Devon, there is still a serious shortage of sites for Gypsy and Travellers across the country as a whole. This has led to groups camping on land that they do not own, or at times developing land without planning permission.
At present (2022), approximately one in five Gypsy and Traveller caravans in England are on unauthorised sites. 90% of submitted Traveller planning applications fail. With the current cost of living crisis meaning more people are unable to break into the property market or even afford to rent, more and more people are taking to living in their vehicles.
Nowadays there is much less of a distinction between hippies, the Traveller community and van dwellers, those who just need a comfortable bed for the night. In Bristol alone, there are an estimated 200 people living in vans in the parks surrounding the city, and due to a legal loophole, if MOT'd and road-taxed the vehicles cannot be made to move on (unless it is a caravan).
Uncover some of the quirkier folk in the South West.
Our archives are full of larger-than-life characters, each with their own unique story to tell. From the entrepreneurial kiss-o-gram to the Christmas Lunch in June enthusiast, these locals are guaranteed to entertain and inspire. From a rebel pensioner resisting a hosepipe ban to a lady who loves to walk her pet deer, get ready to meet some of the most memorable and eccentric individuals to have graced the south west news.