Bamburgh Castle owner plans discount entry rates for local residents

The news was revealed by castle owner William Watson-Armstrong at a meeting of Bamburgh Parish Council.

He was responding to a call from deputy chairman Andrew Bardgett for concession rates to be given to local residents.

Mr Watson-Armstrong said: “We are going to have a new season ticket soon. We do have one at the moment but it’s not fit for purpose.

“Once that is up and running we will look to see if it’s possible to allow locals cheaper or more convenient access in to enjoy the site.

“It’s everyone’s site, not just ours, so we don’t necessarily want to charge locals full price every time they want to get in.

“The difficulty with that is deciding who is local and where does it stop?

“You can’t just do it for anyone who lives in NE69 because 53 per cent of those are holiday homes and they are our customers.

“I don’t know how it is going to work and don’t want to promise anything but we are looking into it.”

The discussion was prompted by the relocation of the Tommy ‘There But Not There’ silhouette from the war memorial to the castle, where visitors would have to pay to see it.

Coun Bardgett asked: “Would it be possible to have a concession for Bamburgh residents? I don’t imagine many of us pay to come into the castle very often other than when friends and relatives come.”