Lake District

One of Britain’s biggest and most innovative seasons of outdoor arts events will take place across Cumbria again this spring and summer, set against the county’s beautiful and varied landscape and heritage.

This year’s Lakes Alive programme of events will run from 29 April to 5 September. It is Cumbria’s unique contribution to the Legacy Trust UK programme, which was set up to help build a lasting cultural and sporting legacy from the 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.

The mainly free shows will include modern circus, dramatic outdoor theatre, contemporary dance and exciting, fiery processions.

Lakes Alive is created and directed by Kendal Arts International with Manchester International Arts. Julie Tait, the director of Kendal Arts International, says: “Lakes Alive is an ambitious four–year Cumbria–wide programme. Last year we set ourselves the objective of making the county a centre of excellence for street arts and we are already well on the way to making that a reality.

“Over 75,000 attended the events in our first year and by 2012 we will have brought at least £4 million of new arts spending into the county. We’re very excited by this year’s programme. As well as the top UK acts, Lakes Alive in 2010 will feature work by outdoor arts companies from across the world including Spain, France, Holland, Germany, Austria, India and Australia.”

There will be a chance to get a taste of Lakes Alive ahead of the full season at the Welcoming the Light event in Carlisle on Saturday 13 March, as part of Illuminating Hadrian’s Wall. A fiery parade will be accompanied by street artists and musicians and led by the incredible Heliosphere balloon with a performer suspended beneath it performing aerial acrobatics.

The Lakes Alive season will formally open in the atmospheric ruins of Furness Abbey near Barrow from 29 April to 2 May, with evening performances of a new show created by critically-acclaimed South Asian Dance Company, Akademi. The show has been specially commissioned by Lakes Alive.

A series of events across the May half term holidays will start with a thrilling outdoor animation festival in Whitehaven showcasing the town’s historic harbour on 29 and 30 May, including a dramatic procession with fire, light and giant illuminated fish by Spanish artists Sarruga.

From 3 to 5 June We Built This City will give people a chance to take part in a public construction extravaganza in the centre of Carlisle. Using thousands of big cardboard boxes and the energy and ingenuity of kids and families, Polyglot Theatre from Australia will help build a magnificent city.

Accompanied by live music buildings will go up, be pulled down, be redesigned, extended, walked through and jumped on, and reconstructed. At the end of the day, everybody can have fun knocking down and squashing the whole city into a recyclable heap of cardboard rubble.

In the south of the county Barrow will welcome some of the best and most exciting modern circus acts from Britain and overseas from 4 to 6 June. Zircus Plus, a unique International Circus Festival, will put on an amazing show at several locations across the town.

On 23 and 24 July German group Theater Titanick, one of Europe’s leading outdoor performance companies, will stage a stunning, large-scale show involving illusion, fire, water, music and dance at Carlisle Castle.

From 28-30 July a number of Cumbrian woodlands will play host to an afternoon of shows that have been specially created for woods or with a woodland theme. Into the Woods at Grizedale, Whinlatter and Talkin Tarn will provide an afternoon of outdoor family adventure with a difference.

Also during the summer holidays (dates TBC), The Cabaret of Dr Caligari, a show created especially for Lakes Alive in 2009, will tour towns in West Cumbria providing an afternoon of cabaret with music, dancing, comedy and spectacle for a family audience. The chaotic Dr Caligari conjures oddities, eccentrics and acrobats out of thin air to entertain the audience, but once out of the box they refuse to disappear!

On Sunday 1 August in Penrith there will be a new international street festival featuring puppetry, strolling characters, comic creations and more from across the globe.

On 30 August highly respected French artists Commandos Percu will stage a dazzling extravaganza of sound, fire, light and colour at Maryport.

The season of events will culminate in Mintfest, one of the country’s largest street arts festivals, which takes place in Kendal at the gateway to the Lakes. Running from 2 to 5 September the festival will include a host of the very best street artists from across the world, including new work commissioned by the UK street arts consortium Without Walls.

Further details about all the shows will be available at www.lakesalive.org.

Lakes Alive is one of three annual programmes commissioned for WE PLAY, the Northwest cultural legacy programme for the 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. WE PLAY is funded by Legacy Trust UK, an independent charity set up to help build a lasting cultural and sporting legacy from the 2012 Olympic Games. The project is led by the Arts Council England Northwest on behalf of a new regional partnership. Lakes Alive is sponsored by the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) and has also received funding from Arts Council England and the Northern Rock Foundation.

Moira Swinbank, the Chief Executive of Legacy Trust UK, says: “Legacy Trust UK is delighted to be funding Lakes Alive, which has already made a considerable impact on Cumbria’s cultural landscape and will continue to build a lasting cultural legacy for the area with the fantastic line-up for the 2010 programme.

Peter Mearns, Executive Director of Marketing and Communications at the NWDA said: “Lakes Alive has fast become a much anticipated programme of world-class events, attracting visitors to Cumbria from far and wide. It’s a fantastic opportunity to showcase the region to a wide audience and adds a whole new dimension to the visitor experience. 2010 promises to deliver another unique collection of events which will no doubt provide a great boost to the region’s visitor economy.”

The Lakes Alive season is also supported by a wide range of other organisations including every council in Cumbria, the Lake District National Park, Cumbria Tourism, Carlisle Renaissance, Carlisle Tourism Partnership, Barrow Regeneration, the Forestry Commission and companies including K Village.

Theatre by the Lake, Keswick, Cumbria
5-14 March 2010

Now in its ninth year, this lively and entertaining ten-day festival offers fresh air and fresh ideas to rejuvenate both mind and body. The packed programme includes talks, discussions and performances as well as book launches, a poetry competition and special exhibitions.

2010 highlights include: Lynn Barber, Martin Bell, Ken Bruce, Horatio Clare, Jeremy Hardy, Brian Keenan, Penelope Lively, Steven Pinker, Mark Vernon, Fay Weldon and Shirley Williams. Tickets start at £7 for individual events. Discounted day tickets available. Young person’s standby tickets available for £4.

For a free programme call 01803 867373 or email admin@wayswithwords.co.uk.

The Lakes Aquarium on Windermere has closed as a result of the recent floods in Cumbria.

A statement on their website reads:

‘Lakes Aquarium has regrettably had to close until the early New Year, due to the adverse weather conditions and flooding that has hit Cumbria within the last week.

We hope to resume normal operation as soon as possible and regret any inconvenience caused by circumstances out of our control.

Lakes Aquarium confirms that its creatures were largely unaffected by the flooding, but are being cared for and monitored on a daily basis.’

His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales will visit Keswick today (Friday 27th November) in a Regal show of support for victims of the flooding in Cumbria.

The Prince will mark his visit by joining BBC personality, Julia Bradbury in switching on the town’s Christmas lights in a special ceremony to get the message out to visitors that Cumbria is open for business again.

He will meet residents, community organisations, and view an area affected by the flood in the small Lake District market town to see how affected businesses are rapidly getting back on their feet and re-opening after the unprecedented weather of November 19.

Cumbria Tourism, the lead organisation for tourism in the county, is keen for visitors to understand that many areas are largely unaffected by the floods and that it is safe to visit.

The countdown to Christmas and the New Year is a peak time in the tourism calendar in Cumbria and worldwide coverage of the worst hit area has triggered a series of ‘knee-jerk cancellations’ countywide with some concerned visitors aborting planned holidays as far ahead as spring 2010.

Special phonelines have been set up to reassure visitors on 01539 825070 and there are regular updates for anyone planning a visit on www.golakes.co.uk.

One in every five jobs in Cumbria relies on tourism and the industry brings in £1.1 billion a year to the largely rural economy which relies on over 15.3 million visitors a year. Many other non-tourism businesses like shops, cinemas, garages, trade services and petrol stations in the area rely on the tourism pound.

Cumbria has over 14,000 rooms to stay in across the county so a very small proportion of the overall stock was actually affected.

A renowned Lake District rally comes of age next month when 100 cars and 5,000 spectators are expected at an epic forest spectacular.

Grizedale Stages Rally – to be held on 5 December – first hit the woodland tracks in 1988 and attracts top competitors, including world championship contenders and British title holders.

Rights of way will be closed as drivers battle it out through Grizedale Forest and Broughton Moor.

All footpaths, bridleways and trails between Coniston Water and the Hawkshead-Satterthwaite Road, and two others at Broughton Moor, will be out of bounds during the event. The Forestry Commission will also be closing most permitted paths, cycle routes and open access land around the route.

Signs will outline path closures and the Lake District National Park’s access advisor, Claire Redhouse, apologised for any inconvenience.

She said: ‘We really have no option but to put public safety first. It would present a serious risk if people were to carry on using the rights of way during the rally.’

World championship competitors Guy Wilks and Matthew Wilson, along with ex-British rally championship winners Paul Bird and Steve Petch, have all taken part in the classic event.

Recreation ranger for the Forestry Commission, Katie Jarvis, said: “The rally is a great event to watch, but for those who would rather walk or mountain bike there are alternate routes east of the Hawkshead to Satterthwaite road.

‘Although the North Face trail is closed for the day, a mapped alternative taking in Claife is available from our visitor centre and bike shop. On Sunday, it will be business as usual.’

Closed paths and tracks will be marked with notices. They will re-open as soon as possible after the event.

Spectator car parks will be signposted from Hawkshead. Visitors should avoid using roads in the Nibthwaite area on the day.

More details on the rally route and car parks can be found on www.grizedalestages.co.uk.

Around 12,000 years of Lake District human history is about to be revealed in a new exhibition showing how the landscape developed.

‘Unlocking the past, understanding the present’ will open at Penrith Library on 19 October 2009

Supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund, the exhibition will run until 23 November 2009.

To attract families, a special fun day is planned for Saturday 21 November, when there will be ancient artefacts to look at and even handle, pot making, and the chance to dress up and learn about Vikings.

Lake District National Park’s archaeology and heritage adviser, Eleanor Kingston, explained, ‘The idea is to provide a taster to those with little or no knowledge about how this spectacular area was shaped by our forebears. The exhibition goes back to the end of the Ice Age and shows what happened over 12,000 years was not just a natural process. We tell the story in nine fascinating panels. Visitors can enjoy interactive experiences and touch some interesting objects.’

The North West’s top tourism businesses and professionals were honoured in Blackpool last night.

The 2009 Northwest Tourism Awards ceremony was held at Blackpool Tower and organised by the Northwest Regional Development Agency.

18 winners received awards fro BBC presenter Ranvir Singh:

• Bed and Breakfast of the Year – The Ashton, Lancaster
• Large Hotel of the Year – The Lowry Hotel, Manchester
• Small Hotel of the Year – Gilpin Lodge Country House Hotel, Windermere
• Self Catering Holiday of the Year – Hall Hills, Dalston, near Carlisle
• Holiday Park of the Year – Castlerigg Hall Caravan and Camping Park, Keswick, Cumbria
• Large Visitor Attraction of the Year – Imperial War Museum North, Manchester
• Small Visitor Attraction of the Year – Arley Hall & Gardens, Northwich, Cheshire
• Taste of England’s Northwest – Low Sizergh Barn Farm Shop, Kendal, Cumbria
• Tourism Experience of the Year – Farmaggedon, near Ormskirk, Lancashire
• Tourism for All – Kerridge End Holiday Cottages, Macclesfield, Cheshire
• Tourism Event of the Year – Blackpool Illuminations
• Public Space Award – Pier Head Public Realm and Canal Link, Liverpool
• Tourist Information Centre of the Year – Wigan TIC
• Travel Journalist of the Year – Stephen McClarence, The Observer
• Outstanding Contribution to Tourism Award – Nigel Haworth, Northcote, near Blackburn
• Excellence in Business Tourism – Arena and Convention Centre, Liverpool
• Excellence in Customer Service – Christina Dixon, Jurys Inn, Liverpool
• Sustainable Tourism Award – Arena and Convention Centre, Liverpool

Each will represent the North West in next year’s national tourism awards.

The 2009 Northwest Tourism Awards will be held at Blackpool Tower on September 28.

The event will be hosted by BBC presenter Ranvir Singh and is being organised by the Northwest Regional Development Agency.

The finalists are:

Large Hotel of the Year

Carden Park Hotel, Golf Resort and Spa, near Chester
Castle Green Hotel, Kendal, Cumbria
Preston Marriott Hotel, Preston, Lancashire
The Lowry Hotel, Manchester
Malmaison Liverpool, Liverpool

Small Hotel of the Year

Peckforton Castle, Tarporley, Cheshire
Gilpin Lodge Country House Hotel, Windermere, Cumbria
Mytton Fold Hotel and Golf Complex, Ribble Valley

Bed and Breakfast of the Year

Harrop Fold Farm, Macclesfield, Cheshire
Storrs Gate House, Bowness-on-Windermere, Cumbria
The Ashton, Lancaster, Lancashire
Brooklands Lodge, Sale, Greater Manchester
The Ambassador Townhouse, Southport, Merseyside

Large Visitor Attraction of the Year

Tatton Park, Knutsford, Cheshire
Walby Farm Park, near Carlisle, Cumbria
Blackpool Tower and Circus, Blackpool
Imperial War Museum North, Manchester
Liverpool Anglican Cathedral, Liverpool

Small Visitor Attraction of the Year

Arley Hall & Gardens, Northwich, Cheshire
Wordsworth House and Garden, Cockermouth, Cumbria
Helmshore Mills Textile Museum, Helmshore, Lancashire
Museum of the Manchester Regiment, Manchester
Acorn Farm, Liverpool

Self Catering Holiday of the Year

Kerridge End Holiday Cottages, Macclesfield, Cheshire
Hall Hills, Dalston, near Carlisle, Cumbria
Clough Bottom Farm Cottages, near Clitheroe, Lancashire
Blue Rainbow Apartments, Manchester
Premier Apartments Liverpool, Liverpool

Holiday Park of the Year

Castlerigg Hall Caravan and Camping Park, Keswick, Cumbria
Sunset Park, Hambleton, near Blackpool

Business Tourism Award

Carden Park Hotel, Golf Resort and Spa, near Chester
Warwick Mill Business Village, near Carlisle, Cumbria
Ribby Hall Village, Wrea Green, near Blackpool
The Lowry Hotel, Manchester
BT Convention Centre, Liverpool

Taste of England’s Northwest

Walk Mill, Chester
Low Sizergh Barn Farm Shop, Kendal, Cumbria
La Locanda Ristorante Italiano, Gisburn, Lancashire
The Modern, Urbis, Manchester
Delifonseca, Liverpool

Tourism Experience of the Year

Roman Tours, Chester
Silverband Falconry, Penrith, Cumbria
Farmaggedon, near Ormskirk, Lancashire
Costumed Performers, Museum of Science and Industry, Manchester
Art in the Age of Steam, National Museums Liverpool, Liverpool

Customer Service Award

Janet Bradshaw, Tatton Park, Knutsford, Cheshire
Jennifer Taylor, The Archway Guest House, Windermere, Cumbria
Hannah Lee, The New Holly, near Preston
Mahendran Mayan, Renaissance Hotel, Manchester
Christina Dixon, Jurys Inn Hotel, Liverpool

Sustainable Tourism Award

Carden Park Hotel, Golf Resort and Spa, near Chester
Langdale Leisure Ltd, Ambleside, Cumbria
Malkin Tower Farm Holiday Cottages, Blacko, Lancashire
Radisson SAS Hotel Manchester Airport, Greater Manchester
Arena and Convention Centre Liverpool, Liverpool

Tourism for All Award

Kerridge End Holiday Cottages, Macclesfield, Cheshire
Ullswater Steamers, Glenridding, Cumbria
Sandcastle Waterpark, Blackpool
The Trafford Centre, Greater Manchester

Tourism Event

Nantwich Food and Drink Festival, Cheshire
Westmorland County Agricultural Show, Milnthorpe, Cumbria
Blackpool Illuminations, Blackpool
Manchester Pride, Manchester
Creamfields, Merseyside

Public Space Award

Cockermouth Market Place Regeneration Scheme, Cumbria
County Square Environmental Enhancement Scheme, Ulverston, Cumbria
Pier Head Public Realm and Canal Link, Liverpool

Tourist Information Centre of the Year

Congleton TIC, Cheshire
Coniston TIC, Cumbria
Cleveleys TIC, Lancashire
Wigan TIC, Greater Manchester
St Helens TIC, Merseyside

Travel Journalist of the Year

Chris Moss, Time Out
Craig Fleming, Blackpool Gazette
David Atkinson, Freelance
Paul Croughton, The Sunday Times
Stephen McClarence, The Observer

The world’s first organised fell race took place in Grasmere, Cumbria, in 1850. And almost 160 years later between Thursday September 17th and Sunday September 20th 2009, the first Commonwealth Mountain and Ultra Distance Championships take place in Keswick, Cumbria.

The tradition of fell running, developed especially in Britain and Italy involves starting in a mountain village or town, running to the top of the mountain and returning to the start.

The Commonwealth Mountain and Ultra Distance Championships will include races in this discipline and in the Alpine discipline which involves running to an uphill-point only. Races will start from Fitz Park in the centre of Keswick and ascend the slopes of Latrigg and Skiddaw, the hills overlooking the town.

Over 120 athletes are competing in the championships from the following nations: New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Scotland, England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Malawi, India, Gibraltar, Kenya, Sierra Leone, Zambia and the Isle of Man.

There will also be two ultra distance races during the Championships; a 100k road race and a 24-hour race. The 24-hour race starts at midday on 17th September and takes place entirely within Fitz Park, with runners completing laps of a 1km course around the park. Runners will continue through the night and the following morning, with the finish at midday on Friday, September 18th.

The International Association of Ultra Runners (IAU) and the World Mountain Running Association (WMRA) proposed to stage a joint Commonwealth Championships for ultra distance and mountain running. It was accepted by the Commonwealth Games Federation and was decided that the first such event would take place in Keswick.

Cumbria County Council together with the NWDA organised event funding, alongside national sport governing bodies.

The four-day event will also feature a variety of amateur and fun running events and cultural activities. The organisers considered other potential venues but chose Keswick because of the ideal natural terrain and the town’s association with mountain running – Keswick hosted the World Mountain Running Masters’ Championship in 2005.

World rock climbing prodigy and Lake District lad, Leo Houlding, is to unveil the new £6 million visitor facilities on the Forestry Commission park at Grizedale Forest, near Hawkshead and Ambleside in Cumbria on Friday 18 September.

Leo, 28, who grew up in the Lake District, is well known for his adrenaline packed exploits and can be found participating in almost any high-adrenaline, high-risk and high-adventure activity.

After six years in development, outdoor lovers can now look forward to a new 21st century visitor experience at Grizedale, complete with modern information centre, improved educational facilities, café, shop, North Face Mountain Bike Trail, bike hire centre (Grizedale Mountain Bikes) and the popular high-wire assault course Go Ape.

Leo Houlding, who has a true love for life, wild places and the extreme, says ‘This exciting revamp of Grizedale’s facilities is continuing to build its reputation as a world-class venue for adventure, with an even greater range of outdoor activities on offer. The Grizedale Project is a great example of how the Forestry Commission and its partners are working hard to meet the expectations of today’s visitors in a way that is environmentally and socially sustainable.’

The programme of sustainable changes at Grizedale is designed to improve the quality of the visitor experience and support the local economy.

Chairman of Forestry Commission, Lord Clark of Windermere, and Steven Broomhead, Chief Executive of the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) will also be lending their support to the Grizedale Project and speaking at the launch. The NWDA invested £2.6m into the project.

Steven Broomhead said, ‘As one of the top four attractions in the Lake District with 250,000 visitors each year Grizedale makes a significant contribution to the rural and visitor economy. Our investment into this project aims to build on Grizedale’s success with a high quality visitor attraction that will attract more visitors to the area, whilst complementing the unique qualities of the forest and surrounding area, and will ensure that Grizedale remains a must-see regional and national visitor attraction.’

Grizedale’s forest based art programme ‘Art Roots Grizedale’ is also aiming to inspire and engage people with the development of art in Grizedale Forest and forge new links between contemporary visual art, sculpture and the forest environment.

The Grizedale Project has been made possible by grants from the NWDA, Cumbria Vision, the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund North West Action Plan Partnership, the Lake District National Park Authority Sustainable Development Fund and Defra Rural Enterprise Scheme.

In developing the Grizedale Project, the Forestry Commission has placed a high priority on safeguarding and enhancing the environment, protecting the special qualities of the area. The project will also help rural businesses achieve long-term year round financial sustainability by encouraging visitors to stay longer, spend more per visit, and extend visits during the spring, autumn and winter seasons.

The ‘Grizedale Wanderer’ bus allows visitors to leave their cars at home by offering new service to the south of Grizedale, terminating at Haverthwaite and connecting with the X35 Barrow to Kendal bus route.

Grizedale is an important part of the local economy, supporting more than 200 jobs in the South Lakes area. The project will help safeguard and create new jobs at the forest.