A BRAND new visitor guide showcasing all the Bradford district has to offer has been launched to inspire people to explore the area and make the most of their visits.

Twenty thousand guides, designed in Bradford by Festival Productions, are being distributed throughout the district, nationally through Visitor Information Centres, at selected Travelodge and Premier Inn hotels and at motorway service stations.

Latest statistics show tourism in the district is worth more than £696 million.

According to the 2018/19 Cambridge Report, there were 12 million trips to the district and £696.3 million was spent in the area as a result of tourism - up from £680.6 million in 2017/18. The report also revealed there are nearly 15,000 jobs supported by tourism in the district. The guide, which encompasses the whole of the Bradford district - from the city centre to Haworth and Bronte Country, Ilkley and UNESCO World Heritage Site Saltaire, is packed with ideas of where to go, what to see and where to eat.

Councillor Sarah Ferriby, Bradford Council’s Executive Member for Healthy People and Places, said: “These new guides really showcase the fantastic things that there are to see and do in the district and are aimed at inspiring both locals and visitors to get out and about and enjoy the great things on offer. The district is going from strength to strength in terms of tourism which is a growing industry for us.”

The guide, which has been supported by Bradford’s place marketing group and Bradford Business Improvement District (BID) is also available online at www.visitbradford.com/visitor-information.

Here are just some ideas in the guide to inspire your next day out in the district.

l The National Science and Media Museum.

The museum explores the science and culture of light and sound technologies and their impact on our lives. Its galleries and exhibition spaces help illuminate world-famous collections in photography, film and television.

The museum also houses three cinema screens, including an IMAX theatre.

l Bolling Hall Museum

This is one of Bradford’s oldest buildings and was for many years the home

of two important land-owning families, the Bollings and the Tempests. During the Civil War the household supported the Royalist cause and Bolling Hall was a stronghold

during the ‘siege of Bradford’.

Nowadays it is a heritage museum with rooms furnished and decorated to give a taste of life at different periods of the house’s 500 year history.

l Undercliffe Cemetery

With grand monuments, elaborate tombs, finely decorated obelisks and extravagant mausoleums is a must-see. The historic cemetery, which was favoured by rich and famous Bradfordians, also has fantastic views over the city.

l The Shipley Glen Tramway

It's the oldest working cable tramway in Great Britain. Built in 1895, it carries passengers to Shipley Glen through picturesque woodland.

Other highlights: Haworth's charming Main Street and the Bronte Parsonage Museum, the Bingley Five Rise Locks, Salts Mill, Ilkley's Cow and Calf rocks, Cartwright Hall and Lister Park, the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway, Little Germany and the Bradford Industrial Museum.