AN AMBITIOUS new, state-of-the-art tourist guide aimed at attracting thousands of visitors to the area received a more traditional launch - on horseback!

Thousands of copies of the Blackburn and Darwen Visitor Guide were delivered to Blackburn Town Hall by Thwaites Brewery's famous shire horses and are set to boost the town's annual number of visitors to half a million.

The glossy 21-page guide is packed with up-to-date information on what to do and see in the Blackburn and Darwen area - from guided walks to gourmet restaurants and sports to shopping facilities.

"The guide addresses the old fashion perceptions of East Lancashire," said Tony Openshaw, the council's Tourism and Marketing manager. "Blackburn is more than just an industrial town. It has a wealth of excellent shopping facilities and some beautiful surrounding countryside. We have Lancashire's only cathedral and a unique collection of millshops and markets, basically something for everyone."

The North West Tourist Board says Blackburn attracted 439,000 tourists who stayed overnight last year and spent £19 million.

Almost 8,000 guides are destined for 100 tourist information centres from Birmingham to Carlisle and are set to bring even more tourists to Blackburn according to Mr Openshaw:

"Rovers helped put Blackburn on the map and we're building on that reputation. This year we expect 500,000 visitors and £19.5 million pounds in tourist revenue."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.