Over the weekend of the 4-5th September, we’re excited to be hosting an Optics Weekend at Fairburn Ings - pop along for some expert advice on binoculars, telescopes, and a range of accessories, including tripods and digiscoping adaptors! We asked our Retail Manager, Dawn, to tell us a bit more....

The upcoming Optics Weekend is a brilliant opportunity to have a friendly, no-obligation chat with one of our team and to get hands-on trying out some of our products - no matter what your knowledge, experience or budget, come along and see how we can help you. 

As a shop team, it’s always really lovely to be able to spend one-on-one time with our customers like this - getting to know what they’re looking for, and helping them to make the right choice from our ranges. We’re lucky to have a fantastic team at Fairburn Ings, including some brilliant volunteers who know a lot about the technical side of optics – they really do make it easy to understand, and are always happy to go into detail explaining what all the numbers and specs mean. This can really help you decide exactly what you want – for example, a pair of 8x32 binoculars can be a lot smaller and lighter to carry than a pair of 8x42, but they might not give quite as bright an image. Everything has pros and cons, and with optics it’s a case of finding the right balance, and what feels most comfortable or easiest to use. It’s a very personal decision, and there’s never any pressure to buy from us. We love giving customers the information and support they need, and when they do make a decision they’re happy with it’s a real highlight and source of pride for us.

Optics volunteer Andy preparing a scope!

So if you’d like to take advantage of our optics event, it’ll be running from 10am until 4pm each day on Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th September. Anyone is welcome to pop in, but if you would like to pre-book a timeslot, we’ll ensure we can prioritise you in busier periods. There is no time limit on a consultation - one person may only need ten minutes to make a decision, while others may take a couple of hours or several visits. And of course, if you can’t make it to the Optics Weekend, our shop is open 9.30am – 5pm daily, and the team is always happy to offer support and advice.

If you’d like to have a chat in advance of visiting, ask any questions, or pre-book a timeslot, please give us a call on 01977 628191. We look forward to seeing you soon!

- Dawn Butterworth, Aire Valley Retail Manager