by Alan McGuinness

The Brian Blessed voiceover for our own open top tourism bus will cost £4,000.

The actor’s booming tones will guide visitors around some of the Towns’ most notable attractions under a pilot scheme run by the council.

As a result of Medway’s best ever year for tourism, which saw 470,000 visitors, the council have decided to trial a bus which will link eight destinations.

These are: Medway Visitor Information Centre, Rochester railway station, Chatham bus station, Fort Amherst, The Royal Engineers Museum, Dickens World/Dockside Outlet Centre, The Historic Dockyard and Chatham railway station.

A council spokesman said: "This includes his fees, studio production/hire fee and providing us with a finished commentary for the bus.

"Brian Blessed has performed at the Central Theatre previously and is happy to work with us on this project as a supporter of tourism and a keen historian. The commentary is being scripted at the moment."

Labour leader Cllr Vince Maple said the expenditure was not "sensible".

He said: "No one’s going to come to Medway to hear Brian Blessed’s voice. I’m sure the Rochester town crier’s fee would have been far less than that."

Finance chief Cllr Alan Jarrett (Con) defended the fee. He said: "It was a question of getting the right voice. Of course, we could have got any old voice for 50 quid but it wouldn’t have cut the mustard.

Tourism is worth £292 million to the Towns’ economy a year, and more than 6,000 people are employed in tourism related businesses.

The tours, which will depart hourly from 10am up until 5pm, will start and finish at the visitor information centre.

They will begin in June.

The route that the bus will take around the Towns

An adult ticket will cost £5.50, concessions £4.50 and children £3. A family ticket is priced at £13.

These will be valid all day, meaning visitors will be able to hop on and off and explore attractions at their leisure.

The council is hoping to promote the bus tour at train stations and the attractions themselves. The project has been allocated funding of £30,000.

Tourists will be able to join the tour at any of the eight stops mentioned above.

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