BRAND new colourful fingerposts and maps are helping to brighten Watchet for visitors.

A new website, lovewatchet.co.uk, has also been launched which showcases all that is exciting and fun to so in Watchet, and there is also a new Paleo Quest which takes visitors on a tour of the town's fossils and geology.

The projects have all been going live throughout the summer and the idea is to help reinforce a lively and brightly-coloured Watchet brand so that the town is seen as fun place for families to explore.

Watchet Visitor Centre Manager, Louise Body said: “We are extremely fortunate that funding from Western Somerset LEADER has allowed us to work with some exceptionally talented professionals to help us attract visitors to Watchet.

"Our aim has always been to be able to show all the fantastic things there are to do in Watchet; from fossil collecting to coast walking to its burgeoning arts scene, to all the wonderful independent shops and cafes and we hope that these new tourism projects will inspire a visitor to stay longer in our lovely town.”

New eye-catching interpretation boards in the Watchet Visitor Centre also celebrate the variety of things to do in the town and uses interactivity to capture the imagination of younger visitors with games such as ‘smell it, feel it’ where you have to either smell a ‘Watchet inspired’ smell or put your hand into a ‘feel it’ bin and guess what might be inside.

Watchet Coastal Community Team chairman and Watchet mayor, Cllr Peter Murphy says: “Tourism is a crucial element of Watchet’s economy, with the closure of the Paper Mill in 2015 it is now the single most important industry.

"Watchet’s Coastal Community Team, which is made up of local businesses, organisations and voluntary groups are working hard to plan a future for Watchet which encourages prosperity and resilience.

"These projects are an important part of helping to make that happen and we are delighted to see the projects that we have planned for some time now in place. This is a great example of what communities can achieve if we work together.”

The funding from LEADER was initiated by Watchet’s Coastal Community Team and administrated by Onion Collective CIC in order to improve Watchet’s tourism economy.