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At last! We’re open! We welcomed our first visitors on Wednesday 21 January, and haven’t stopped since opening the doors.

The day before had been a whirlwind of activity as we all pulled together to try to put the finishing touches to the centre. The shelves in the shop were frantically being filled, the final signs around site were going up and a hundred other last minute details were being taken care of.

The day ended at 9pm with a very tired group of staff sharing pizza around a table in the café.

The next morning, watching the first cars come through the gates, I don't think I was alone in feeling a mixture of nerves and excitement.

This was heightened when, standing at reception to welcome our first guests, I saw aÌý queue of around 30 who had formed outside! The next six hours were a bit of a blur for everyone, but after the first crowds had happily passed through the doors, we all relaxed and later, evaluating the day over a few glasses of wine.

We all agreed that it had been a wonderful success. Nearly 300 visitors came through our doors and we were particularly impressed to discover that we had a visitor all the way from South Africa.

With 2,500 visitors in the first week, it all bodes very well for our full site opening in March!

After months of telling people in person (and through the Saltholme blog) how brilliant the place is, it was amazing to finally let people in to see for themselves. All the hard work was worth it when we saw the great reactions from the visitors, many of whom have been watching with anticipation as Saltholme has developed over the last few years.

A big thank you from all the team for the messages of support and congratulations that we have received. It’s great to know so many people are behind Saltholme and we look forward to you all visiting us.

Keep an eye on the ‘Events’ page of our website for further information or call 01642 542075.