Town’s history to be brought to life with new heritage trail

Fakenham town mayor George Acheson. Picture: Ian Burt (Image: Archant)

Fakenham Town Council has received an EU grant of £33,500, as well £8,000 from North Norfolk District Council’s Big Society Fund, to produce the Fakenham Heritage Trail, along with town council funding.

The trail will lead people on a tour of 29 of the town’s most iconic sites and will also include two town maps, one by Fakenham Library and one by the town sign, with plans to landscape the area by the library in order to improve the entrance to the town centre.

Each site will feature a heritage plaque along with a QR code and web page details that will enable anyone with a smartphone, tablet or laptop to discover more about the site.

Mayor of Fakenham George Acheson is thrilled that the council has been given the funding and believes that the trail will attract people to the town.

He said: “What I wanted to do is to get people who come to north Norfolk to come to Fakenham.

“I think the town has a lot more going for it than people recognise. The idea was to provide trade for the town.

“A lot of work has gone into it and a lot more work has to be done now.”

Photography from the Fakenham Archive will also be available for the trail and for the visually handicapped, a spoken version is planned.

There will also be a booklet to describe the trail, though in less detail and with fewer pictures than the website.

Guided tours of the trail are planned during the summer months, with guides also offering talks to residents of local care homes.

An extra part-time groundsman will be employed by Fakenham Town Council to keep it in a tidy state and Fakenham College and Fakenham Academy are also supporting the trail, with pupils set to test it with a view to it becoming part of the humanities syllabus.

Fakenham Town Council is hoping that the trail will be opened by July.