Wendy Coombey, MBE, Community Partnership and funding Officer, Diocese of Hereford

Wendy CoombeyWendy has worked for the Diocese for 20 years, supporting parishes to develop projects which meet the wider community needs, and encourage closer relationships between church and community. She is a member of General Synod and an elected member of the Church Buildings Council. Wendy represents the Diocese at a national level on church buildings issues and is a regular speaker at national conferences. In the 2018 New Year Honours List, Wendy’s work for the Church of England, both at a local and national level, was recognised with an MBE.


Jenny Beard

Jenny BeardJenny, Vice-Chair of Herefordshire Churches Tourism Group, and the project coordinator has a comprehensive track record in sustainable food and tourism business growth and the interchange of knowledge and skills within the public, private and educational sectors. Jenny has led numerous projects working with regional, national and European communities and organisations within the food and tourism sectors.


Liz Hill

Liz Hill has over 20 years’ experience within the travel and tourism sector. Starting her career as a travel agent and subsequently working for Visit Herefordshire as a tourism officer for several years. During that time, many work contacts have been made and relationships established to enable her to develop her own tour business Rural Concierge arranging organised heritage day trips, tours, itineraries and holidays by coach.

Along with Tony, Liz also manages the annual Herefordshire Walking Festival and is involved in a voluntary capacity within a variety of committees’ including; The Friends of Herefordshire Museums and Arts and Herefordshire Museums Forum.

For more information go to www.rural-concierge.co.uk


Tony Smith

Tony Smith worked for several years in an engineering role while studying for a BA in History and subsequently an MA in Museum Studies in 2018. After which Tony joined Rural Concierge to pursue a career that would utilise these skills within the heritage sector and allow a greater opportunity for involvement in project work.

Previous experience has included being an integral member of the Hereford Tourism Hub, welcoming visitors and being responsible for producing numerous visitor statistic reports.

In 2019 along with Liz, Tony was appointed as Churches Tourism Officer for Herefordshire and Shropshire and continues to be an enthusiastic Conservation & Engagement volunteer for the National Trust since

For more information contact: tourismofficer@visitherefordshirechurches.co.uk