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rachmackay.bsky.social
Rachel Mackay
@rachmackay.bsky.social
520 followers 92 following 120 posts
Head of Hampton Court Palace. Author of Delivering the Visitor Experience. Dundonian, dog owner, dancer. (That last isn’t true but I needed a D word) therecoveryroomblog.com
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rachmackay.bsky.social
Rachel Mackay @rachmackay.bsky.social · Nov 14
Here’s my book 📕:

Delivering the Visitor Experience, the best (okay, only) step-by-step guide there is to creating, delivering and developing the visitor experience in museum and heritage sites 😄

Would ❤️ to hear what you think!

www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/1783...
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Rachel Mackay @rachmackay.bsky.social · Aug 17
A Welsh escape this weekend enjoying beaches, hills, BBQs and lush landscapes 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿
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Rachel Mackay @rachmackay.bsky.social · Aug 5
#GotchaDay

Can’t believe it’s a year since I brought this fluff ball home 🧡

Yes I deliberately wore the same top
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Rachel Mackay @rachmackay.bsky.social · Jul 25
Flora and I had fun hanging out with London Fire Brigade and the RNLI as part of #WorldDrowningPreventionDay at Hampton Court Palace

As a riverside palace, so important for us to help engage our local community in water safety 💧
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Rachel Mackay @rachmackay.bsky.social · Jul 22
What are the new frontiers of VEX I would talk about if I was writing Delivering the Visitor Experience today?

Find out in my new piece for @blooloop.bsky.social

blooloop.com/museum/opini...
Three new challenges in visitor experience
Rachel Mackay identifies three fresh challenges in visitor experience since she published her book Delivering the Visitor Experience in 2023.
blooloop.com
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Rachel Mackay @rachmackay.bsky.social · Jun 14
We’re well into the 2025 run of the Hampton Court Palace Music Festival - always one of my favourite times of year! James, Rag n Bone Man and Tom Jones have already knocked it out of the park (palace) - tonight it’s the turn of Bananarama!
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Rachel Mackay @rachmackay.bsky.social · Jun 9
It’s dahlia time in the Gardens!
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Rachel Mackay @rachmackay.bsky.social · Jun 4
Spent a wonderful day at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard and @maryrosemuseum.bsky.social as part of our HRP Ops Leads away day
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Rachel Mackay @rachmackay.bsky.social · May 15
Looking forward to being in Theatre 2 at 13:00 @museumsandheritage.com Show today - come and hear us talk about our new philosophy of visitor engagement!
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Rachel Mackay @rachmackay.bsky.social · May 4
Going all out for Flora’s birthday today - meeting up with her siblings this afternoon! 🥳 🎂
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tudorcook.bsky.social
Richard Fitch @tudorcook.bsky.social · May 3
You can't put a better bit of butter on your knife!
#ShowingMyAge

Weekends of cookery are back at Hampton Court Palace all year from today. Tudor preservation methods are the topic for the year, and the first few weekends are butter making.
A man dressed in Tudor clothes kneading fresh made butter to remove the buttermilk before storing. Behind him is a large sixteenth century fireplace and in the front of the image is a replica sixteenth century butter making dash churn
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Rachel Mackay @rachmackay.bsky.social · Apr 27
There have been many power struggles over the centuries at Hampton Court Palace, but none more tense than that between Flora and her pigeony nemesis.
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Rachel Mackay @rachmackay.bsky.social · Apr 24
Peak blossom time at Hampton Court
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Rachel Mackay @rachmackay.bsky.social · Apr 22
I’m horribly fickle when it comes to Hampton Court tulips:

Here are today’s faves 🌷
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Rachel Mackay @rachmackay.bsky.social · Apr 12
Or these, quite frankly, bonkers Mariettes!

I INSIST you visit soon and choose your favourite! 🤩
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Rachel Mackay @rachmackay.bsky.social · Apr 12
Or the blousy decadence of the Don Pedro…
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Rachel Mackay @rachmackay.bsky.social · Apr 12
Like these sharp, crisp, citrusy bursts of Spring, Clusiana Crysantha…
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Rachel Mackay @rachmackay.bsky.social · Apr 12
My favourite bit is always the Lower Orangery Garden, where we showcase rare and unique tulips…
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Rachel Mackay @rachmackay.bsky.social · Apr 12
It’s the first weekend of the award-winning #TulipFestival at Hampton Court!
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Rachel Mackay @rachmackay.bsky.social · Apr 7
Hampton Court is really starting to bloom now 🌺
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Rachel Mackay @rachmackay.bsky.social · Mar 23
An MA student asked me a question last week and afterwards, I felt like I’d answered it in a really unhelpful way!

I’ve tried again on LinkedIn, so posting it here too, with alt text.
A MA student on a placement this week asked me about my career path and I realised afterwards that I’d made it sound all very simple. Which probably wasn’t very useful advice! When you have a job you love it’s easy to forget all the wasted applications and unsuccessful interviews. But for anyone who is struggling in the sector, I think it’s important to acknowledge the hard bits and the rejection too. Cracking in can be tough! So here’s a list of all the organisations who said no to me 😂 There are probably many more I have forgotten, but actually, I don’t consider any of them wasted. Spending time getting to know another organisation in the sector is always useful, and you can get surprising benefits from doing so (for example, I’d never listened to Jimi Hendrix before; now, I love his music 🎵) And yes, my current employer is on there, because I had to knock on the door a good few times before they eventually gave up and let me in 😂 So if your rejection list is longer than your acceptance list, please don’t despair. Only the right one has to say yes. National Museum of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Postal Museum V&A (South Ken and East) Freud Museum Handel & Hendrix National Trust English Heritage National Trust for Scotland Tower Bridge Gunnersbury Park Museum York Museums Trust Science Museum Southbank Centre Historic Environment Scotland Arundel Castle Garioch Heritage Centre Museum of London Royal Collection Trust Strawberry Hill House Historic Royal Palaces
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Rachel Mackay @rachmackay.bsky.social · Mar 22
Nice to see the first signs of life appearing on the Great Wisteria
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Rachel Mackay @rachmackay.bsky.social · Mar 18
The Palace is looking amazing tonight for the dress rehearsal of our new after dark audio tour, #StillTheHours 🎧

This is something very special ⏰

Find out more ⤵️

www.hrp.org.uk/hampton-cour...
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Rachel Mackay @rachmackay.bsky.social · Mar 16
A bit of spring colour in the Gardens at Hampton Court
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Rachel Mackay @rachmackay.bsky.social · Mar 15
Such good timing! Have a fab day x
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Rachel Mackay @rachmackay.bsky.social · Mar 14
Just finishing a fab couple of days in Liverpool, learning at the Association for Cultural Enterprises conference.

So much great content and a wonderful city to explore!
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