A UNIQUE tour has been used to bring out the creative talents of young designers. Saltford Brass Mill has thrown open its doors to visiting schoolchildren for the first time.

Year six students from Newbridge Junior School, Bath, have become the first youngsters to be taken on an official tour of the building, the only surviving one of its kind in the country.

They had been asked to take inspiration from the monument to discover how the city's Brassmill Lane took its name. They then walked the Bristol and Bath Railway Path to see how local sculptures make the route even more enjoyable.

Local artist Katy Hallett now plans to work with the children to redesign the entrance to the popular path. She has asked the class to come up with models and sketches which will form the basis of the new structure.

A bid will then be made for funds to build the modern gateway, possibly in the spring of next year. Joan Day, secretary of the Saltford Brass Mill Project, has been delighted by the success of the first school visit.

She said: "It was a big experiment for both the school and for us, but the children were far more interested than we thought possible.

"We made a big effort to get the path and entrance ready in time from a safety point of view. We hope this could be the start of regular school visits to the brass mill."

The Avon Valley Partnership, which organised the event, is hoping the new design will make it easier for disabled people to use the path.

Recent research has revealed that is difficult for wheelchair users to make the most of the route.