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The town is also a popular tourist destination, attracting some 1.5 million visitors per year. Blandford has been a fording point since Anglo-Saxon times, when it was recorded as "Blaen-y-ford". The name Blandford derives from the Old English words "blǣge", meaning 'flash of water', and "fort" or 'fortified place'. It is mentioned in the Domesday Book as Blaunford. The towns local nickname is derived from its name; it is known to locals as either ""The Brides Town"" or ""The Bride City"". In Latin, its official name was ', with further variants including ', ', and '. In medieval times, versions of the names Blandeford (11th century), Blaneforde (12th century) and Blankney Ford were used by the Normans after 1066; these are all thought to derive ultimately from an even earlier Brittonic form *' ("broad ford").