PENDLE Heritage Centre in Barrowford will welcome visitors today at the start of its phased reopening as the charity emerges from the coronavirus lockdown.

The centre receives no public money and, like many other organisations that rely on individual donations, has been hit hard by the pandemic, with all events cancelled or postponed.

However, the team running the attraction hope that a corner has now been turned and they can get back on the road to relative normality with takeaway services from the tearoom beginning today.

Manager Angela White said: “With so many people wanting to be outside with their families and social bubbles, we decided to begin with a limited takeaway service of picnic bags, sandwiches, snacks, sweets, drinks and ice creams.

She added: “We’ll be open, in the first instance, from 11am until 3pm and we ask that if you want to order a picnic bag – an absolute bargain at £6.95 – that it is ordered in advance, via Facebook Messenger, or e-mail.

“We really hope the sun shines on us, so we can all enjoy a wonderful summer, after what has been a worrying period for us all.”

The centre itself will reopen on August 1.

Ms White said: “We plan to reopen our tearoom for shortened hours, 11am until 3pm initially, and have spaced our tables out dramatically, but we will be offering lots of outside seating.

“Our museum and shop will open just at the weekends, 10.30am until 2.30pm, with booking via Facebook and email as before.”

She added: “We hope we can make up lost ground this summer, because we maintain some great listed buildings locally, run a museum and an archive of artefacts, as well as having all the usual concerns, like ensuring we can maintain jobs.”

Chair of trustees Sarah Cockburn-Price said: “With all our outside space on the gateway to Barrowford’s park, we offer something that no other venue in the village can match, and that’s space.

“We are also handily placed in a network of really lovely walks along our canal network and out to the surrounding countryside.