By John Williams and Izzy Hawksworth via SWNS
Teenage tour guides are being hired to show fans around Harry Styles’ home town after an influx of visitors.
Some 5,000 fans – known as ‘Harries’ – have descended on the quaint Cheshire village of Holmes Chapel to follow the footsteps of the pop megastar in the past year.
The village has even produced its own map of the two mile tour which the local railway station ticket officer gives away for free.
Now local leaders are planning official tours with guides hired to show adoring fans sights such as the bakery where he worked as a teen and a Chinese restaurant he once took Taylor Swift.
Harry Styles Aesthetic GIFfrom Harry Styles GIFs
Applicants will need a genuine interest in the village, its history and links to Harry Styles and have excellent communication and storytelling skills.
Peter Whiers, chairman of Holmes Chapel Partnership, said: “We aim to start official tours of Harry’s Home Village on Saturday mornings in June and weekdays in July, August and September, and will be recruiting Harry Styles fans from sixteen and over to act as local guides.”
The partnership printed special walking maps last year for the mile-long pilgrimage because of road safety issues.
The route takes in Harry’s former home, his old school, Mandeville’s bakery where he had a Saturday job and ends at railway viaduct where he had his first kiss.
Whiers said the Harry Styles Walking Map had resulted in a big increase in visitors and businesses seizing the opportunity to cater for them.
He added: “It has been an incredible year with over 5,000 visitors and four TV crews making the pilgrimage as the Harries continued to arrive in Holmes Chapel.
“Even the worst of the winter months has not stopped them from braving muddy banks and wet fields to pay homage at Harry’s Wall at the viaduct.
“But we now think it is time for Holmes Chapel to increase what we can offer to the young visitors and ensure they return home with a memorable experience of Harry’s village.”
The brickwork at the base of the structure where the star is said to have enjoyed his first kiss is covered with a mass of messages and the names of teenage followers.
The partnership expects the demand for tour guides will be so great it is holding a half-day assessment session on April 20 to recruit up to sixteen for the role.
It will also publish as a follow-up to the walking map a tour brochure showing where Holmes Chapel memorabilia, gifts, food and drink can be purchased.
