About us
Our helpful staff are always more than happy to answer any enquiries, either in person in the office, by telephone or alternatively via this contact form.
Diving into Hallmark's history
From the humble beginnings of Ridgeway Antiques grew Ridgeway Fairs which held it's first event at the Leigh Community Centre way back in 1988, closely followed by Chalkwell Auctions which gave Trevor an in-road into each part of the market.
To begin with Hallmark Fairs were the arch rivals but then along came other new organisers who were more aggressive and predatory showing the organsiers of Ridgeway and Hallmark that they were better as allies than enemies. On the retirement of the Bakers in the mid 90's the two firms were merged and with Hallmark being the longest established it was sensible to retain that name.
Thus began an expansion of the circuit with lots of new venues, some successful and some not, but always something new to keep the market interested and interesting.
groups to China, Vietnam, Peru, Russia, Estonia, Mongolia and Tibet. Other firms then tried to copy the formula but without success. Two of the Paris Trails were accompanied by TV cameras for Meridian TV and the BBC. There have now been over 40 diverse trails and Trevor is privileged to be one of the very few foreigners allowed to guide groups in China and Tibet without a local guide.
Although the European Trails have diminished in recent years due to the ease of independent travel many people still ask about future plans so "watch this space" and you should find a new trip planned for 2013.