THE Almonry Museum in Evesham has enjoyed a ‘very good’ second quarter despite the overall number of visitors being down on the same period last year.

Centre manager Tonia Byrd told members of Evesham Town Council on Monday evening that the Almonry had enjoyed a busy summer and new activities introduced recently including signing up to take part in a CBBC relic trail and a Victorian Day, had been successful in attracting new faces.

However, the number of adult and senior visitors visiting the Almonry this quarter was down.

The number of adults dropped from 650 to 531 and the number of seniors decreased by more than 200, falling from 858 to 657.

There was better news in that the number of children visiting the Almonry over the same period was well up on last year.

A total of 549 children visited the museum, an increase of 139 which was mainly down to the recent Heritage Open Day where they could gain free entry.

Mrs Byrd added that the number of group visits was also up significantly and that the new Fright Night event had been a success.

“Guests pay us £50 to spend the night in the Almonry as part of the Fright Night. It was highly successful and we have another planned for December 4,” she said.

Councillor Richard Jones asked Mrs Byrd if there were any plans to increase the entry fees to the museum. “I’m not talking about a huge increase but it’s something to think about,” he said.

Mrs Byrd said she would rather the fees remained at their current rate for the time being.