A NEW booklet featuring Barnard Castle’s most notable attractions is to be circulated around the North East in a bid to bring more visitors to the town this summer.
Some 5,000 copies of the brochure, named simply Barnard Castle, have been printed and will largely be distributed in towns and villages within a comfortable drive from Barnard Castle.
It forms part of the recently announced Making Barney Brighter scheme which was formed on the initiative of town mayor Cllr Sandra Moorhouse.
She said the booklet was a collaboration involving local businesses, a dale photographer, the town crier, who provided the wording, and Barnard Castle School ,which did the design and layout. Cllr Moorhouse added: “We will put some round the town and in the shops, as well as towns within a maximum two hours [drive] from the town.”
Town crier and town councillor Ian Kirkbride added: “The philosophy is someone sitting in a cafe in Kirby Stephen will pick it up and think it will make a nice day out.” Cllr Moorhouse said they would also “swap” booklets with places like Amble, in Northumberland.
Cllr Kirkbride said of the Making Barney Brighter scheme: “There is no tourist information board, basically we are Barney's information board.” The cost of the printing was covered by adverts from local businesses, with the photographs provided free by dale wildlife photographer David Williams and the layout and design being done by Andy Farrell of Barnard Castle School. School headmaster Tony Jackson said: “We have a responsibility. We are the second largest employer in the town and what benefits us benefits the town, and what benefits the town benefits us.”
