A TEESDALE visitor attraction celebrates its first anniversary next week, having welcomed thousands of visitors through its doors.

Meet the Middletons, in Middleton-in-Teesdale, opened to the public on May 1, last year.

Visitors have come from as close as next door to as far afield as Australia and the US.

Meet the Middletons has several plans for this year, including the opening of a local history resource room.

General manager Grace Wallace said: "This idea has come from the fact that many visitors to the attraction are interested in researching the area and their family history.

"By providing an on-site resource for this type of research, it is hoped that their efforts could be made all the easier.

"This will also mean that Meet the Middletons can become a central place for the gathering of local history."

Other planned events include a quilting exhibition and a craft fair.

Following the sell-out success of a Richard Watson evening and an Edward Gargate evening, more evening events are also being planned to enable people to learn about past residents of the dale.

For details, or to join the Meet the Middletons mailing list, call (01833) 640333.