RABY Castle, the ancestral home of Lord Barnard, would normally be packed with visitors at this time of year, the height of the tourist season.

But the great halls and parkland have been empty all year, another victim of the foot-and-mouth epidemic.

The decision not to open as usual this Easter was taken in an effort to protect livestock on agricultural land which surrounds the estate.

When neighbouring farms did become infected, the priority changed to the 400 deer, which have roamed the land around the castle since Norman times.

The deer were fenced in and access to the estate was carefully controlled.

Even paper round and milk deliveries were stopped and carried out by an estate member.

No permanent members of staff were laid off, but none of the casual or seasonal staff have been able to return to work.

So the news that the castle and gardens are to reopen tomorrow, following a lengthy risk assessment by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), has come as a great relief.

Many of the guides who can now return are local farmers' wives, who have been badly hit by the epidemic.

Some still feel unable to return because of the risks, but others are delighted to be able to resume a job they love.

Barbara Littlefair, whose dairy herd has been wiped out, said: "It will take me and my family a long time to get over this, but this is a good step for me.

"Coming back to Raby will get some normality in my life."

Muriel Robinson, who has worked at Raby for the past 34 years, said: "For the past five or six months it's just like being in prison, because we've been restricted in where we can go and we can't have visitors. I can only describe it as waiting for a bereavement.

"But this will be good for the whole area, because the stress has been horrendous."

Estate marketing manager Catherine Turnbull said the reopening of the castle is a boost not just for the estate, but for the community in general.

She said: "We've had to take a very sensitive view of things, but we're delighted to open and I think it will form an important part of tourism in Teesdale.

"Local services like bed and breakfasts and shops have been affected and I think it will contribute to returning things back to normal."