Shoppers backed Barney in the run-up to Christmas with many of the town’s traders celebrating a successful festive period.
And the feeling is a day out in Barnard Castle can mean an escape from a circuit of an out-of-town shopping mall.
“Lots of customers were telling me they were able to do all of their Christmas shopping here in Barney,” said Elizabeth Chamberlain, who sells her handmade jewellery on The Bank.
“It’s really impressive that people feel there’s so much choice available here – and it’s a much nicer experience than going to Teesside Park!”
The nationwide craze for Jellycat gifts has been a boon for Allium, according to Donna Dobson at the Horse Market gift shop.
“We’re the only place that sells it in Barnard Castle and there’s a bit of a shortage, so everything we’ve had was going straight out of the door,” she said.
Some traders were more cautious. At Brookes Tailor, Fiona Brookes felt that the town as a whole was busy but added that this did not always translate into sales.
“Footfall has been good this year, but overall it doesn’t feel like we’ve had as many sales as last year,” she said.
“But I think Barney is fairly buoyant. We just need to encourage people to circulate around the whole town. We’re seeing new shops opening and we’re trying to work together to build that reputation as a shopping destination.”
And at Niche, Victoria Jeavons also feels that the town is on the up. “Most of the shops are back in use, which really helps,” she said.
“The late nights were successful, the town did a good job of the Christmas lights and it helps to make a whole package for people to come for a wander.”
Two of the town’s newer businesses were happy with their first Christmas in Barney.
“I’d say it’s been a success,” said Josh Jenkins at Teesdale Toys. “The late nights worked pretty well, especially the second one. And our online trade picked up as well.”
And at Crème de la Crust, Piotr Faliszewski was keeping busy right up to the big day.
“We had a lot of advance orders for cakes, but we’ve been busy on top of that,” he said. “Even on Christmas Eve we saw a lot of people popping in to get a few slices of cake.”
