12 February 2021
Repairing the Lake District paths, gates and bridges, maintaining our boats and going green at our visitor centre, are just some of the things our team are doing during lockdown to look after the National Park and prepare for visitors back when restrictions ease. Take a look below at some of the highlights.
A slate slab bridge over Easedale Beck had cracked, in summer last year our rangers temporarily built a timber frame around it to keep people in the area safe. This year, our rangers completed the job and replaced the cracked bridge with a two metre long slate slab that was given to us by the National Trust and Burlington Stone from Moss Rigg Quarry in Tilberthwaite. The edges of the slate were straight and flat, so our team carefully chiselled and cut it to add some character, they then used a digger to lift it into place. The bridge is now back to in keeping with the local historic environment and helping people safely cross the beck.
Our Visitor Centre, Brockhole on Windermere, is currently undergoing low carbon improvements whilst the site is closed. We have been converting our heating system from gas to water with Lake Windermere being our source to help reduce our carbon emissions. In addition, we have installed insulation and replaced some of the single glazed windows at Brockhole with new double glazing to improve the thermal efficiency of the building. These improvements to our site have helped us reduce our carbon dioxide emissions whilst making a more comfortable environment for our staff and visitors ready for when we can reopen.
Our invaluable team of volunteers have been continuing to help us with repair and maintenance work. Here is our volunteer, Tony who added a waymarker to a farmer’s gate above Dalemain to help people navigate their way more easily.
Our Coniston Boating Centre team have been carrying out maintenance and repair work on our visitor boats. This has ranged from minor repairs such as gel coating and fibre glassing to full rebuilds and rewires of older boats and motors. Our visitors will have an even better experience when we reopen.
We look forward to welcoming you back soon, but for now, please continue to stay home, stay safe and exercise locally. Take a look below at some ideas you can do to bring the Lake District to you.
Light up your February with a spectacular array of online events celebrating the wonders of the night sky. If you are a first-time stargazer, wishing to expand your knowledge further or even searching for fun family activities during half term, the Dark Skies Festival can be enjoyed by everyone. Take a look at the events and dates here.
Bring the outside inside with live footage from around the National Park. There are a number of webcams that have been placed in the Lake District, so don’t miss a sunset or sunrise in the landscape during the lockdown. Take a look at them over on our website. To enjoy even more Lake District landscapes, head over to our Instagram @lakedistrictnpa.
To help us feel even more connected with the outdoors, Terry Abraham delights us with ‘Life of a Mountain: a year on Helvellyn’. Terry joined our Fell Top Assessor, Zac on one of his daily ascents up Helvellyn to report on the ground condition to help keep local walkers safe during the winter weather. Watch the short film on iplayer.
