Helena Dollimore

The hon. Member is right that schoolchildren must be able to access the exhibition. They should not be put off by the price of a ticket to the exhibition or a train ticket—or even a flight in his case. It is really important. I speak as someone who went to local state schools and was lucky enough to go on and study history at university. Who knows who we could inspire by allowing schoolchildren to see the exhibition? We want schoolchildren to see the exhibition, but we also want to encourage visitors to the exhibition in north London to take a further step back in time and visit 1066 country, the place where it all happened. I am urging many of our transport providers to make sure that we can make it easier for tourists to visit 1066 country during this important moment, and that includes urging Southeastern to look at how it can make it quicker for tourists to visit our area by train. This also extends to visitors from abroad, and that is why I have been campaigning to bring back international trains to Ashford International, to encourage our European neighbours across the channel to visit us in 1066 country and in Hastings and Rye, and to make that visit easier. Hopefully, this time they will be armed with buckets and spades rather than bows and arrows, and they will certainly receive a much warmer welcome than they did in 1066. Not only is 1066 country rich in history, but it is rich in landscape, heritage and culture. We might be tucked away on the south coast, but we punch well above our weight in our visitor and tourist experience. From Hastings museum to Hastings castle, Hastings contemporary gallery, Rye heritage centre, Camber Sands, Rye harbour nature reserve, Hastings country park and many more, we have so much to offer people wanting to visit. With next year marking the 1,000th anniversary of the birth of William the Conqueror, we will celebrate this Year of the Normans with special events across Hastings, Rye and the villages. I would like to see one of the many replicas of the Bayeux tapestry put on display in Hastings. I cannot think of any better place to be named the UK’s town of culture, which Hastings hopes to be named next year.