A DELEGATION of 38 people from Westbury’s twin town, Château du Loir, will arrive in Westbury later this month.
The French delegation will visit the town from Friday 19th April to Monday 22nd April, where they will stay with local hosts and visit local sights.
On the Friday, the group will be welcomed with a reception at the Laverton. Saturday will be a free day spent with their hosts, before a celebration dinner in the evening. On Sunday, the group will visit the Bishop’s Palace in Wells.
While many of the delegation will have visited Westbury before and will enjoy re-affirming old friendships over the weekend, there are also some new visitors including Château du Loir’s new mayor and his wife.
A French delegation visits Westbury every two years, and in alternate years a delegation from Westbury travels to Château du Loir.
Jean Dew, chair of the Westbury and District French Twinning Association, says that the friendships built by the twinning have ensured its continued success. “You go and see the area and get to know the people and they’re all very good friends,” she said. “That’s why ours has stayed so successful. When we go to Château du Loir and walk through the town we meet people we know.”
“Twinning has gone quite corporate in lots of towns – if you want to apply for EC grants, you have to fill various requirements. We stay self-funding, and raise money all the year to host our visitors.”
Westbury’s twin town, Château du Loir, is situated between Le Mans and Tours in the region of Sarthe. Approximately the same size as Westbury, it also has a busy main road running through the town, it has an important railway junction and is in a beautiful rural area.
