A ROYAL guest was welcomed to a historic castle following the revitalisation of a market town.

His Royal Highness, The Duke of Gloucester KG GCVO, spent the afternoon exploring The Auckland Project, charity and visitor destination in Bishop Auckland, which is using art, faith and heritage to fuel long-term change and regeneration.

His Royal Highness toured the Mining Art Gallery, Bishop Trevor Gallery and Auckland Tower visitor centre, which were still under construction when The Duke first visited the project in 2017 and have since attracted more than 35,000 visitors.

His Royal Highness, who trained as an architect, will also be given a preview inside Auckland Castle, which is due to open to the public on Saturday, November 2, following a multi-million-pound conservation programme supported in part thanks to National Lottery players via the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

To commemorate the visit His Royal Highness will plant a fruit tree in the Castle’s Walled Garden, which is currently under development, and will be shown the sites of the forthcoming Spanish Gallery and Faith Museum, which will all open as part of The Auckland Project visitor destination in the coming years.

To commemorate the visit His Royal Highness will plant a fruit tree in the Castle’s Walled Garden, which is currently under development, and will be shown the sites of the forthcoming Spanish Gallery and Faith Museum, which will all open as part of The Auckland Project visitor destination in the coming years.

Head of parks and gardens at The Auckland Project Andy Nesbitt said: "The duke visited the castle to see the progress within The Auckland Project. He was quite interested in the gardens as a derelict garden from 2017 had been transformed to the one he had seen today."