VISITORS to Eastnor Castle and the village of Eastnor will be able to see a lot more than usual next week as they host a one-day event to celebrate the European Year of Cultural Heritage.

On Thursday May 24, from 11am until 4pm, Eastnor Castle will join forces with a number of other village attractions to offer a Village Open Day marking the arrival of Europe’s ‘Private Heritage Week’ in Herefordshire.

This will be playing a part in the European Year of Cultural Heritage, supported and sponsored by the EU. The idea is to highlight the importance of Europe’s cultural heritage and encourage people to visit and discover it.

Eastnor Castle and other attractions, including Land Rover Experience, Eastnor Pottery, Eastnor Forge, Roger Oates Designs, Norton Armouries, the Church and Old Rectory Garden and Clencher’s Mill in the village will all be opening their doors to visitors.

James Hervey-Bathurst, owner of Eastnor Castle said: “I am grateful to those who are joining us to open for this special occasion. We are showing rooms at the Castle not normally open to visitors and will be donating at least half of our net income for the day to the appeal to restore the 13th century tower of Eastnor Church”.

Anthea Mcintyre MEP said ”I welcome Eastnor’s initiative. It has taken a number of years’ lobbying to get this project launched at the European level and I look forward to visiting Eastnor to see these attractions, a number if which are not normally open to visitors."

Tickets are available from Eastnor Castle and are priced at £12 per person (£11 if purchased online). This ticket price includes entry to all of the open attractions.

More information can be found on the Eastnor Castle website at www.eastnorcastle.com