Bathurst and the English town of Cirencester have historical ties and a burgeoning friendship and the respective camera clubs are making the most of the relationship.

Bathurst Camera Club committee member Alan Sadleir said they were approached by the Cirencester Camera Club with the idea of a friendly photography competition.

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Although the ink is still fresh, the relationship with Cirencester goes back years.

Lord and Lady Bathurst visited Bathurst in 2015 and Cirencester student Alice Chandler came to the city for several weeks in 2018.

"The way I see it is we're both victims of COVID, we're locked up and we can't do much and so photography is something we can practise at home or in the shed or get out and do it on our own," he said.

"Monday night we're having a two hour Zoom meeting from Cirencester and the photos will be put up, they'll be judged, there'll be a message from Lord Bathurst or he may even turn up himself."

Lord Bathurst resides in the Bathurst family home which has been in Cirencester since 1705.

Bathurst was named after the family in 1815 - hence the strong historical ties between the two communities.

Bathurst and Cirencester councils formalised their friendship last year after a number of years of growing ties.

"I think we can really capitalise on that and have a healthy competition between the two areas," Mr Sadleir said.

"It's a group of people that have been affected by COVID, we have a common interest in photography and a common sense of belonging because Bathurst is named after Lord Bathurst and we want to preserve that."

A total of 40 people have entered the photography competition.