Lake District Foundation launches new visitor giving scheme

The Lake District Foundation has launched a new visitor giving initiative to help protect and care for the Lake District National Park.

The Lake District Foundation is encouraging visitors and locals to make a donation to help look after this spectacular place for now and in the future, by offering the opportunity to sponsor a place, project or person – or by making a one-off donation.

This type of donation and fundraising activity was run by the Lake District National Park but will now be carried by the Lake District Foundation on their behalf.

Richard Leafe, Lake District National Park, Chief Executive, said: “We are delighted to be working with the Lake District Foundation to carry out this unique way of raising funds to help look after our paths, gates and fingerposts. This charity is suitably placed to take on this activity, they are part of the Lake District National Park Partnership and they raise funds for conservation, environmental and cultural heritage projects across the Lake District. The money which is raised via this scheme will allow for more people to enjoy exploring the Lake District National Park now and in years to come.”

The Lake District National Park maintains more than 3,100km of footpaths and bridleways. The impact of over 19 million visitors each year, combined with the Cumbrian climate, means the National Park are constantly carrying out improvements and maintenance.

Sarah Swindley, Lake District Foundation’s CEO, said: “We are excited to be working in partnership with the Lake District National Park to present this visitor giving opportunity. Giving people the choice to sponsor a place, project or person, through the National Parks work programme, allows individuals to leave a lasting memory in a World Heritage site in celebration or in remembrance of a loved one. We have created a new easy-to-use donation section on our website to allow people to select what, where or who they’d like to sponsor. We welcome all donations and thank everyone in advance for their support.”

Those who are interesting in making a donation have a number of different choices:

Sponsor specific items – you can view the available items in a particular area via an interactive map and select the item you wish to sponsor. These items include gates, fingerposts and bridges starting from £250 to £1,000+. All have the opportunity to add a personalised plaque
Sponsor any item – you may simply wish to make a donation for any gate, fingerpost or bridge with a personalised plaque but don’t have a preference of where in the Lake District.
Sponsor a Park Ranger – the Lake District National Park Rangers work to maintain and improve access, protect wildlife and support local communities, farmers and visitors. It’s a rewarding job but help is required to fund the work on the ground, from £15+.
Sponsor an Apprentice – the Lake District National Park have a 100% success rate for apprentices moving into employment after training. Sponsoring an apprentice could help fund their training and equipment from £10 for a new pair of hard-wearing work gloves.
Make a donation – our mountains take you to new heights in the Lake District. You can help keep them that way. A small donation makes a big difference, for example £5 could pay for a native tree sapling, £10 could help repair a metre of footpath and £25 pays towards a metre of dry stone wall.

To donate any amount, visit the Lake District Foundation website at https://www.lakedistrictfoundation.org/sponsor-the-lake-district-national-park/

Charity Auction Success for the Lake District Foundation

The Lake District Foundation are celebrating after hosting their first ever charity auction on Friday evening to raise funds for the Keswick to Threlkeld Railway Path reinstatement.

The evening was held at the Lodore Falls Hotel and raised over £4,000 from the 19 lots available on the night and still counting. There were over 90 guests who attended the evening from all over the UK, including special guests Alan Hinkes OBE, Ricky Lightfoot and Sean Conway.

Sarah Swindley, Director of the Lake District Foundation was thrilled with the fundraising event; she said

“We are absolutely delighted with how the evening went and how much support the Lake District Foundation has had, to make our first ever charity auction happen. We’d like to say a huge thank-you to everyone involved from the businesses and individuals who donated prizes through to those who attended and bid for items on the night. We are pleased the evening has helped generate funds for the Keswick to Threlkeld path and raise further awareness of the ongoing campaign.”

PFK Auctions, one of the oldest auction houses in the region, ran the bidding on the night. The most popular lots included a mountaineering day with Alan Hinkes, an adventure day with Sean Conway and a running experience with Ricky Lightfoot. The 3 bespoke bracelets made by Brian Fulton from Fulton Jewellers in Keswick, Alan Stones framed original lithograph and a collectors set of Lake District Pound notes also raised a significant amount on the evening.

For those who were unable to make the evening, there is still an opportunity to bid for special items online at www.32auctions.com/keswicktothrelkeld until 30^th June. The lots include a bespoke 70’s Herdy, a Fell Top Assessor for the Day experience, a VIP behind the scenes tour at Bremont HQ with luxury accommodation in Henley and even the chance to sponsor oaks trees with a plaque along the route of the Keswick to Threlkeld Railway Path.

The funds raised will go towards reconnecting the Keswick to Threlkeld railway path, some parts of which were severely damaged during the floods in 2015.

Two of the old railway bridges that crossed the River Greta were washed away and one bridge left at risk of collapse and around 200 metres of the path surface disappeared into the floodwaters.

In December 2017 the LDNPA were delighted to announce a major funding boost to the project – a £2.5 million grant from Highways England and a partnership with the Lake District Foundation to jointly fundraise the shortfall of around £3 million.

Local Support for Keswick to Threlkeld Railway Path Fundraising

Local support is building for the Keswick to Threlkeld Railway Path Fundraising with two large donations announced this week.

At their February Meeting Threlkeld Parish Council agreed to donate £1,000 to the fundraising campaign to help reconnect this popular route between Keswick and Threlkeld.

This donation was swiftly followed by a donation from Keswick Rotary and Keswick Lions. £1,000 from the Flood Fund set up jointly by Keswick Rotary and Keswick Lions following the devastating effects of Storm Desmond in December 2015.

The donations will go towards reconnecting the Keswick to Threlkeld railway path, some parts of which were severely damaged during the floods in 2015. Two of the old railway bridges that crossed the River Greta were washed away and one bridge left at risk of collapse and around 200 metres of the path surface disappeared into the floodwaters.

Heather Askew, Fundraiser for the Lake District Foundation said “These donations from local organisations show the strong level of support for this much-loved route. We hope that these two donations will be the first of many from local sources. We have started working with a wide range of businesses and community groups on different ways to raise this money, including some exciting events coming up.”

If you would like to get involved with the fundraising for the Keswick to Threlkeld Railway Path you can contact Heather at [email protected].