A TOURIST attraction whose opening was delayed for nearly two years after a potential backer dropped out, opens its doors to the public today.

A £113,000 grant from Defra (the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) has enabled Meet the Middletons, in Middleton-in-Teesdale, County Durham, to open daily from this weekend.

The £500,000 visitor centre tells the story of a fictitious family in mid-19th Century Middleton, and offers interactive activities based around their lives.

The father and 12-year-old son work for the London Lead Mining Company and visitors can learn about the industrial history of the town.

They can also try activities which would have been done by the mother and nine-year-old daughter, such as picking vegetables, proggy matting and quilting.

There is information on the natural history of the dale and a video of a low-level flight from Cow Green Reservoir to Middleton.

The centre is run by the Middleton Plus Development Trust and employs six part-time staff as well as 21-year-old Grace Wallace, the general manager.

The trust's manager, Judith Mashiter, said: "I'm really pleased we've finally got there.

We had some businesspeople looking round and they were saying it's just the job."

Miss Wallace said: "We really want this to be a wet weather attraction and use it as a jumping off point to go out and discover other parts of Middleton and Teesdale."

The centre is also funded by grants from regional agency One NorthEast, the Countryside Agency and the Heritage Lottery Fund. Anyone who is interested in being a volunteer at the centre or wants more details can call (01833) 640333.

Published: 01/05/2004