Coronavirus: Mid Wales National Cycle Museum will 'ride out' pandemic
As even the big boys of the tourism industry throughout the region feel the impact of the Covid-19 crisis, one museum off the beaten track said the pandemic "couldn't have come at a worse time".
Staff at the National Cycle Museum would usually be preparing for their busiest months, welcoming visitors and attending shows that bring vital income into the museum's pocket, but had to close in line with lockdown restrictions.
Based in the Art Deco Automobile Palace in Llandrindod Wells since its formation in 1997, the attraction houses the UK's official collection of bicycles throughout the ages, including more than 250 cycles dating back to 1819.
Freda Davies, curator at the museum, said: "For us, the coronavirus couldn't have come at a worse time.
"As did all museums in the country, we closed under government instruction and at the moment we don't know when we're going to be able to reopen."
Mrs Davies added that a number of shows and events planned at the museum on Temple Street have been cancelled, including a sale which kick-starts the attraction's fundraising efforts.
She added: "We normally have our Annual National Cycle Jumble in the spring time. It was scheduled for April 4 this year. We've had to postpone that until September 19 and we hope that can go ahead – it usually starts of the season for us in terms of funds.
"Our busy months are really from now onwards. The coronavirus has affected us financially. It couldn't have come at a worse time."
Despite the £20,000 annual costs to run the museum, Mrs Davies said they will be able to "ride it out" until they can reopen the doors.
"In April our visitor numbers usually pick up, but we'll ride this out," Mrs Davies said.
"We don't have big pots of money to use but hopefully the visitors will make up the loss in the months we can reopen.
"It's been here 23 years and we're used to running on a tight budget anyway. It usually costs about £20,000 a year to run.
"We do have applications in to get grants from various bodies to help and I'm sure a lot of tourist attractions are struggling at the moment.
"The staff have been keeping busy. There's emails that come into the museum that myself and another trustee respond to – we also pass some onto our historian.
"There's also various admin jobs that I've been able to do from home to ensure we can reopen when we are given the opportunity."
