Barnard Castle records best ever year for tourists

Barnard Castle is a 12th Century fortress in the town with the same name

Barnard Castle saw its "best ever" year for tourists in 2021 after the town was thrust into the media spotlight amid the Dominic Cummings lockdown row.

The County Durham fortress saw 30,721 visitors, up 20% from 2019, according to English Heritage.

The Prime Minister's ex-chief aide drove to the town to test his eyesight before returning to London after self-isolating at his family's farm in 2020.

A boom in UK holidays caused by the pandemic saw tourism rise elsewhere.

Set high on a rock above the River Tees, Barnard Castle is a 12th Century fortress which belonged to Richard III.

Mr Cummings said he believed he had acted "reasonably" and within the law after making the 260-mile journey from London with his family to the same-named town.

Durham Police took no action. He later left his role at Downing Street.

Dominic Cumming gave a press conference after he drove to County Durham during the lockdown

Tourism bosses said visitor numbers rose at smaller, more local sites last year, with several reporting their best years since records began.

Many of the charity's hidden local gems, situated away from traditional tourist destinations, saw visitor numbers rocket by up to 82% in comparison to pre-pandemic 2019

Boscobel House in Shropshire, where Charles II famously hid from Cromwell's soldiers in an oak tree, also had its best ever year, with visitor numbers increasing by 82% compared with 2019, with 21,620 visitors.

Boscobel House in Shropshire also saw a rise in visits due to pandemic

Wrest Park in Bedfordshire recorded its best ever year with 151,249 visitors, up 12% on 2019, and Yarmouth Castle on the Isle of Wight - once one of Henry VIII's most sophisticated coastal fortresses - saw 16,891 visitors, up 22% in 2019, reporting its best year since 2003.

Aldborough’s treasures include a section of the original town wall and mosaic pavement

Meanwhile, several lesser-known historic attractions in North Yorkshire clocked up their highest visitor numbers in over a decade, including Kirkham Priory, which saw a 75% rise on 2019 with 7,749 visitors, Pickering Castle up 30% with 17,297 visitors and Aldborough Roman Site with 3,453 visitors, making it its best year since 2007.

Kirkham Priory saw a 75% rise on visitor numbers in 2021 compared with 2019

English Heritage, which looks after more than 400 historic buildings, monuments and sites across the country, also saw a surge in people becoming members.

Chief executive Kate Mavor said: "In the past, those lesser known, more intimate local sites in our care have often been overlooked in favour of our more iconic ones, despite having just as rich and important a history.

"This has been a long and hard pandemic but one silver lining appears to be that with people staying closer to home, they have discovered historic places nearby."