The new season of talks by Millom and District Local History Society starts tonight with a look at early visitors to the town.

Jonathan Powell takes the topic Millom and the Victorian Tourist for his illustrated presentation from 7.30pm in the Millom Methodist Church on Queen Street.

The talk follows a short annual meeting and all are welcome.

Mr Powell will look at accounts of the first people who were able to travel on the local railways and the new tourism industry that grew up to supply their needs.

Although not an obvious tourist destination, Millom became part of an elaborate Victorian distribution network of tourist souvenirs.

As an example, Wards Stationers in Millom became agents for Goss crested china.

These small souvenirs came in hundreds of different shapes - from jugs to fireplaces and from suitcases to shell cases - each with the name of the places and a real or imagined coat of arms.

The theme of railways and transportation is continued in some of the later talks in the season.

Talks arrange so far at Millom include Janice Wilson, on October 6 with a look at Suffragettes in Cumbria and Dr K. M. Petys, on November 3 with an exploration of Dialect and Accent in Britain.

The talk on December 1 is by David Alison on Isle of Man Transport.

There is a break from meetings in January before the visit of Dr Rob David, on February 2 for a talk on Eritrea Railways.

Bill Myers will be the speaker on March 2 with a talk called A Horrible History of Railways in Cumbria: deaths, crashes and criminal activity.

April and May talks will be announced later and on June 1 Bill Myers will bring the programme to a close with a look at Forty Years of Change in Millom.