West Cork town's connection to Winnie the Pooh books explained in new heritage trail 

A new heritage trail and open air museum project has launched in West Cork, championing the history of Dunmanway through immersive location-based activities.

The initiative, entitled Stories on the Street, combines heritage plaques, digital storytelling and walking trails to allow the public to explore the town’s history via smartphones.

The Cork County Council-funded project features 12 heritage installations at locations throughout the town, each linked to professionally produced audio content.

These short podcasts, recorded by local school children for The Time Travellers Guide, and by local historians and townspeople for Echoes of the Past, can be accessed via QR codes.

Beginning at Market Square, the two themed heritage trails guide visitors through centuries of local history, uncovering stories that range from industrial innovations and sporting achievements to circus performers and literary connections.

Among the installations is a plaque dedicated to John Duffy & Sons Circus, whose winter headquarters were based in Dunmanway from the 1930s to the 1960s.

Located at the site of the former Circus Depot, the trail stop explores the circus family’s long-standing relationship with the town, and delves into a local rumour that circus elephants were buried behind the depot.

Another stop, at Atkins Hall, traces the story of the Atkins family, whose influence stretched from eighteenth-century tanning and manufacturing in West Cork to groundbreaking genetic research in the 21st century.

A further discovery made throughout the creation of the project was the town’s connection to one of the world’s best-loved children’s books – Winnie the Pooh.

A plaque at St Joseph’s Burial Ground explores links between Dunmanway and the family of Christopher Robin, the inspiration behind AA Milne’s stories.

The trail reveals how members of the de Selincourt family, relatives by marriage of Milne, retired to Dunmanway and are buried locally.