Poet and artist create cards for exploring towns

The cards have been created by poet Ian McMillan and artist Patrick Murphy

A series of illustrated cards featuring local legends, poems and maps have been created to encourage people in South Yorkshire to explore their home towns.

As part of the Storying Barnsley programme, the illustrated card packs have been designed by artist Patrick Murphy and poet Ian McMillan.

The collection includes cards for Cudworth, Goldthorpe, Hoyland, Penistone, Royston and Wombwell, each of which come in a plastic wallet with a lanyard, inspired by Ordnance Survey walking maps.

Mr McMillan, who wrote 70 poems for the cards, said the project, which was titled A Walk Around Town, had allowed him to rediscover places "on my doorstep and a few strides or a bus ride away".

He said: "Working on these brilliant Storying Barnsley projects has allowed us to dig deep into the community fabric of each town, uncovering gems of stories that we can't wait to share further.

"I hope everyone will enjoy the journey of discovering Barnsley's untold stories as much as we have."

The project was inspired by the stories of residents who took part in a series of workshops during which they shared their local knowledge.

These workshops also inspired Mr Murphy to create an augmented-reality creature for the project, which can be found by scanning a QR code and can be photographed and shared on social media.

Mr Murphy said: "Through our series of community workshops, we uncovered all sorts of surprises - a forgotten airfield, a local link to Wordsworth, whispers of secret tunnels, even lions and unicorns tucked away in town crests.

"It's incredible what you discover when you look at your surroundings with curious eyes."

Residents can scan a QR code in each town to reveal the animal and the cards are available for free from each town's library.

Storying Barnsley is a three-year cultural programme, funded by Arts Council England and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport through the Cultural Development Fund, to support artists and celebrate creativity around Barnsley.

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