Are you concerned about cookies?
You’ve arrived on our Cookie Information page, so we guess you may be concerned about them or maybe you are not sure what they are.
Let us explain about cookies
Cookies are small text files used for remembering information that is saved by your browser on to your computer by websites as you visit them. Cookies are not viruses and they cannot scan your system or search your computer for private information. They are a long-standing web technology that is mostly used to enhance the way your browser interacts with websites and works for the benefit of both website owners and visitors. Nearly all modern websites use cookies.
When you first visit the site you will see a cookie advice box letting you know that this site uses cookies. You can “Okay, Thank You” and continue to browse the site or you can choose to “Find Out More” which brings you to this page. By continuing to browse this site your are giving your consent for this site to place cookies on your computer for your browser to use. If your are unhappy with this then read on as further information is given below, including help to turn off the use of cookies in your browser.
If you are still unsure about cookies please read on below where you will find information about the cookies used on this site and how you can block them completely if you wish.
So, what about the cookies used on this site?
The EU have stated that websites must:
(1) Tell visitors that their site uses cookies
(2) Explain what the cookies do
(3) Obtain your consent to use cookies
We have provided the information below so you can make an informed decision about the cookies used on this site and given you tools to block cookies or details for blocking all cookies from your browser settings using the comprehensive cookie management facilities provided with popular browsers.
First Party Cookies
Websites have no memory, first party cookies such as session cookies are used by the website you are visiting (first party) to track your navigation through the site. What this means is any choices or actions you make during your visit are remembered, such as adding a product to an online shopping cart, without a session cookie to remember you had done that your cart would be empty when you got to checkout.
Third Party Cookies
Third Party Cookies are generated by websites other than the one you are visiting (third party) and are usually part of a hosted service, such as Google Analytics or an online video player from Youtube or Vimeo both of which are used on this website.
Most modern browsers offer the ability to block just third party cookies only or to delete them on exiting the browser. See below to learn more about the third party cookies used on this site.
Google Analytics
This site uses Google Analytics which is a service provided by Google to help millions of website owners like us. Google collect anonymous data for its Analytics service (i.e. they do not capture your name, contact details or billing information). They do this by using cookies to track visitor interactions, such as how many people in an area visited our site or how many people visited a certain page and the average amount of time spent on that page.
We and many other companies use the analytics data Google provides to help us improve our website and the service we provide to our site visitors and customers. However, if you are unhappy about this, Google provide a facility for you to opt out of being tracked by Google Analytics
You can also read their privacy policy:
- Google – Privacy Policy
Social Media plug-ins and third-party cookies
In the last few years the Internet has become increasingly social. It’s no longer just about searching for information but people now want to share what they are doing with their friends and love to tell them if they find something interesting or useful.
Cookies that help us do this:
- Facebook – Privacy Policy
- ShareThis – Privacy Policy (social sharing buttons)
We also use video on this website which streamed from a hosting service such a YouTube and Vimeo.
- YouTube – Privacy Policy
- Vimeo – Privacy Policy
The privacy for these cookies will vary from company to company which is why the specific links have been included.
What we don’t do
- Collect any personally identifiable information (without your express permission)
- Collect any sensitive information (without your express permission)
- Pass data to advertising networks
- Pass personally identifiable data to third parties
Granting us permission to use cookies
On installation all modern browsers are set to accept cookies in some form or another, with this in mind we have provided a method, in the form of a cookie notice when you arrive at the site, for you to decide whether to Allow or Block cookies. To help you make this decision we advise you through a link in the cookie notice to this page so you can make a better informed choice.
Do you want to stop cookies from websites being saved on your computer?
As we have said above, cookies are used on this site to make the site work better. We are committed to using cookies responsibly. However, if you are really anti-cookies then you can either choose to not use our site or perhaps better still (bearing in mind that most websites use them) you can configure your browser to block all cookies for all sites or just from the sites you are concerned about. This is really the only way to stop the use of cookies.
Most modern browsers will also let you clear your cookies when you close them, this way you get the full use of all website functionality whilst knowing that no cookies will be stored by your browser once it is closed. This would mean you would need to log back in to any online accounts, such as Facebook, Instagram, etc. but would be a good compromise.
To help you manage cookies, we have provided links to help pages showing how to manage and delete cookies for popular browsers (We are not responsible for external content and these pages may be moved by their respective owners):
