CHILDREN from a village nursery have been dressing up in Victorian costume as part of a visit to a castle's Christmas grotto.

Mrs Lynne Linsley, manager of the Small World nursery at Staindrop, said she usually tried to introduce the youngsters, who range from babies to school age, to a different Christmas theme each year.

"This year we heard that nearby Raby Castle was taking Victorian Times as the theme for its festive grotto," said Mrs Linsley. "So we thought it would be an ideal opportunity to capitalise on what the children had been learning about."

The 36 children were dressed in period clothes, with the boys in flat caps and waistcoats and the girls in long dresses. Several of the outfits were made by Mrs Nicola Schaible, whose daughter Claudia attends the nursery, while others were made by staff, with help from parents.

During the visit to the grotto the children had a chance to look at the costumes of the staff, who were also dressed to represent the era. On the way to visit Santa in his grotto, they looked through the lighted windows of some buildings that had been given a Victorian makeover.

Mrs Linsley said the young ones were happy to wear the clothes for the visit as they had already been wearing them to nursery.

"We also turned the house corner into a Victorian playroom to give them a better understanding of what life was like then," she added.