Media Room
Latest News
All the latest news from the Industry and the Visit County Durham Grapevine newsletter.
Industry
Bishop Auckland Shines Bright as AGLOW Opens to Visitors
21 Nov 2023
Auckland Castle’s first large-scale Christmas event opens to the public on Wednesday 22nd November, dazzling visitors to the County Durham destination and kicking off the festive season in fabulous style. Open until 31st December 2023 (excluding Christmas Day) AGLOW is one of the largest...
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Industry
Durham city transformed into a giant art gallery
20 Nov 2023
The 2023 edition of the UK’s light biennial Lumiere closed in Durham on Sunday night, having welcomed tens of thousands of visitors to the event over four incredible nights. 120,000 free early evening tickets had been snapped up when released last month. Produced by creative company Artichoke,...
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Industry
Leap year date for 2024 North East England Tourism Awards
17 Nov 2023
The 2024 North East England Tourism Awards (NEETA) will be held on Thursday, February 29th 2024. Next year’s awards will once again be held at Newcastle Civic Centre and will be hosted by former BBC news presenter, Charlie Charlton. Tickets for the prestigious event are now on sale with...
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Industry
DDP Update
15 Nov 2023
A reminder that the latest Destination Development Partnership update is being held online tomorrow 16th November at 8:30am. This month guest speakers from VisitBritain will talk about the launch of their business support industry toolkit, the latest data, and opportunities available to tourism...
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Industry
Tourism Forum
15 Nov 2023
The North Pennines AONB Partnership's 2023 North Pennines Tourism Forum is set for Wednesday 29th November from 9:30am to 2:30pm at Kirkoswald Church Institute, Cumbria. The forum is aimed at tourism businesses in and near to the North Pennines AONB & UNESCO Global Geopark. Tickets are £10pp...
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Industry
How's Business Survey
15 Nov 2023
Please spare 10 minutes of your time to complete our latest How's Business survey. The results are important for us to see what is happening across the visitor economy and to analyse where there are key themes and issues. The results of the survey help form our future activity and to see how we can...
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Industry
Help the Swan
15 Nov 2023
The Bowes Museum needs your help to support the conservation of the iconic Silver Swan. The museum has less than 24 days to raise at least £18,000 to enable the Silver Swan to operate once again in a sustainable way, delighting visitors and inspiring generations of artists, makers, designers and...
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Industry
Nick Robinson and Ed Balls set to speak at Durham Cathedral Institute this December
15 Nov 2023
Nick Robinson and Ed Balls will be speaking at Durham Cathedral next month in a discussion exploring the future of democracy. People across the North East are invited to book a free ticket, join the debate and get involved by shaping the conversation and submitting a questions to the...
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Industry
Campaign aims to boost independent businesses in Durham City
14 Nov 2023
Durham shoppers will have the chance to win a share of £2,500 worth of vouchers thanks to an initiative aimed at supporting the city’s independent businesses. Durham BID’s Independent campaign will take place from November 17to December 22 – and more than 40 businesses have already signed up...
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Industry
Raby Estates explores sustainable future or ground breaking Rising development
14 Nov 2023
Raby Castle and Estate, in the heart of County Durham, is committed to sustainability as part of its highly ambitious two-year redevelopment and restoration plan, known locally as The Rising. The Estate has drilled two exploratory geothermal boreholes to identify whether a renewable energy source...
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Industry
Celebrating and protecting County Durham’s heritage
8 Nov 2023
Victorian gates from Euston Station, two ice houses and a deserted medieval village. All are among 340 heritage assets across County Durham that are to be promoted and afforded increased protection, having been put forward for inclusion in a local authority project. Durham County Council’s Local...
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Industry
Archbishop blesses new water fountain
8 Nov 2023
A new drinking water fountain in Bishop Auckland has been blessed by the Archbishop of York. The Archbishop of York blessed the water fountain in a small ceremony as part of his walking tour of the Diocese of Durham with the Bishop of Durham. The Life Way Water fountain was gifted to Durham County...
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Industry
Raby Estates hires manager to deliver sustainability vision
30 Oct 2023
Raby Estates has appointed a sustainability manager in a new role to set and deliver ambitious targets for environmental enhancement and meet the challenge of climate change. Victoria Cadman, an environmental scientist with over 25 years consulting and advisory experience for private and public...
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Industry
Visitor economy businesses urged to have their say on pressing workforce skills challenges
30 Oct 2023
As the North East gears up to achieve ambitious plans to double the size of the visitor economy in the next decade, recruitment and retention challenges also loom large. To ensure the industry is equipped with the skills it needs to thrive, businesses across the region are being urged to feed into...
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Industry
Romans spotted in Hardwick Park!
26 Oct 2023
A County Durham park is now home to a Roman village…of the virtual variety. The new augmented reality attraction, in Sedgefield’s Hardwick Park, gives visitors the opportunity to meet Roman characters, view buildings, solve puzzles, and make iron tools. It’s all experienced through a mobile...
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