Take A Walk Around Town - a fascinating new way to explore Barnsley's untold stories
- 03/10/25
Come with us on A Walk Around Town – and immerse yourself in Barnsley’s untold stories.
As part of our Storying Barnsley programme to celebrate our community’s creativity, a new collection of beautifully illustrated card packs have been designed by artist Patrick Murphy and poet Ian McMillan.
There’s a pack for each of our Principal Towns of Cudworth, Goldthorpe, Hoyland, Penistone, Royston and Wombwell.
Each comes in a plastic wallet with a lanyard, inspired by Ordnance Survey walking maps, and is designed to accompany you on your own adventure around each town.
The packs guide you through surprising historical facts and contemporary landscapes, with each card highlighting a local location and offering a creative activity to do while you're there.
Patrick has dreamed up original, colourful artwork for each card, while Ian penned more than 70 poems - each beautifully weaving humour and emotion into its setting.
You can scan a QR code on the cards to access an interactive online map and easily find every location.
In this unique collection, favourite landmarks and lesser-known locations are celebrated along with local legends and fascinating stories.
The aim is to inspire people living in each town to take a fresh look around and discover something new about where they live, and to encourage newcomers to visit and explore.
You can take A Walk Around Town by picking up a special pack for free from the library in Cudworth, Hoyland, Goldthorpe, Royston, Penistone and Wombwell.
Ian and Patrick, who are both from Barnsley, held a series of workshops in each town so residents could share their stories and local knowledge.
As well as the fantastic A Walk Around Town cards, these community conversations also inspired the companion project ARtQuest for Barnsley.
ARtQuesters can scan a QR code in each town to reveal an awesome augmented-reality creature created by Patrick, which can be photographed and shared on social media.
Both projects are part of Storying Barnsley, Barnsley Council's three-year cultural programme to support artists to thrive, celebrate creativity around Barnsley.
Learn more about this project at https://www.barnsley-museums.com/projects/storying-barnsley/a-walk-around-town