The AONB Partnership was delighted to announce at the Annual Conference that this year’s award would go to Barry Ayre. The occasion was however tinged with sadness as delegates were told that Barry had passed away just a few days before learning of his achievement.

Barry was a committed supporter of the AONB from the very start and one of the original members of the Landscape Trust. Many people would remember him as editor of Keer to Kent, a role he took on after his retirement from the Morecambe Visitor newspaper. He spent many an hour in the AONB office, helping out in all sorts of ways, over a period of 10 years. He then went on to publish a book entitled “From Keer to Kent” – a collection of some of the most interesting and popular articles published during his “reign”.

Barry was a keen walker and led many guided walks in the area, especially in Silverdale. Over the years, he had amassed an amazing archive of material revealing Silverdale’s interesting history and was always keen to share these stories with others.