#LakeDistrictBid Advent Calendar Day 7 - Because of the great big mountains

The mountains in the Lake District may not be the highest in the world - or even in the UK - but, as they say, size isn't everything.  There really is nowhere quite like it.  Even though they are all found within a relatively tiny geographical area, they are all so very different - from the jagged ridges of Blencathra to the boulder strewn summits of Scafell Pike and the smooth rounded flanks of Skiddaw - the fells have something to offer you whether you're a gentle stroller, a hardened hiker or a full on rock climber.

Though mountaineering legends such as Sir Chris Bonington, who have visited the far flung corners of the planet and scaled it's highest peaks, will testify that the fells can hold their own against some of the most dramatic landscapes on the planet, UNESCO World Heritage Status would give us a platform to broadcast that message around the globe.

Click HERE to visit the Lake District National Park Authority website where you can learn more about the whole process of making the bid and register your support to show the folks at UNESCO that this is something that matters to everyone who loves the Lake District.

Blencathra

Striding Edge

Route to Scafell Pike

View from High Street

View from Place Fell

Dow Crag

Skiddaw

Click HERE to go back & start from to Day 1.

#LakeDistrictBid Advent Calendar Day 6 - The Cumbrian Coastline

Cumbria has a coastline.  Those of us living here know it, but not many people come here for the beaches.  The boundary of the area incorporated in the Lake District bid for World Heritage Site Status encompasses (and I wrote that whole sentence just so I could use the word "encompasses" - such a fab word!) some spectacular coastline.  Trust me - if you don't fancy a hike take the train from Grange-over-Sands around the coast to Carlisle - absolutely flipping stunning! (See this blog from a few years ago if you don't believe me).

Anyway, one of our favourite bits of coastline is Eskmeals Dunes - a beautiful Cumbria Wildlife Trust nature reserve.  Check out the pictures below - utterly breathtaking spot and well worth a visit (though do check in advance as bits of it are also used by the MOD)

Gaining World Heritage Site Status is important for the Lake District for so many reasons.  Please click HERE to visit the Lake District National Park Authority page and register your support for the bid.

Click HERE to go back & start from to Day 1.

#LakeDistrictBid Advent Calendar Day 5 - Fine Stooooone Rings!

Yeah, I know it's 24 reasons to back the #LakeDistrictBid and not the 12 days of Christmas, but I couldn't resist!  UNESCO World Heritage Site Status will help to protect all of our wonderful stone circles and get them recognised on the world stage.

Below is Castlerigg dating from 3200BC, but you could also choose from Long Meg & Her Daughters, Swineside, Birkrigg, Grey Croft, Kinnisde and loads more - in fact there are about 50 of them to work your way through if you're up for it.

#LakeDistrictBid Advent Calendar Day 4 - Because of the industry

It may look all green and pleasant now, but the Lake District has had a surprisingly industrial history which has left its mark on the landscape.  Quarries and mines are dotted around all over the region and some of the remnants of that industry are surprisingly pretty.

I've just picked out 2 below: Stott Park Bobbin Mill to the north of Newby Bridge is a superb place to visit to see how the bobbin industry once dominated the region, and Kentmere reservoir which was built to regulate the flow of water along the River Kent so that the 7 watermills depending on it never stopped turning.

Stott Park Bobbin Mill

Kentmere Reservoir

There are dozens of others I could have mentioned - Honister Slate Mine, Shap Quarry, the graphite mines south of Derwentwater (which also left their mark on our language by giving us phrases such as "black market") etc. etc. etc.  We could even go back as far as the Neolithic axe factory in the Langdale Valley - proving that ever since man set foot here, we've been making use of the natural materials all around us.

There's an axe factory in them thar hills!

Please click HERE to register your support for the bid for UNESCO World Heritage Site Status.
Click HERE to go back to Day 1.

#LakeDistrictBid Advent Calendar Day 3 - Because of the Lakes

It's not called the Lake District for nothing - oh no - we've got lakes, plenty of 'em, and right now the glorious Cumbrian weather is keeping them well topped up.  A few folks have been asking why we need World Heritage Site Status - well here are the answers direct from the Lake District National Park Authority.

As we researched our book we understood more and more how often this landscape has been, and continues to be, under threat and how spectacularly difficult it is to balance the needs of the farmers, the ecologists, the tourist industry and the local population.

And why do we want to protect it?  Well, here are 15 wonderfully watery reasons.

Wast Water (with hiker!)

Bassenthwaite lake

Buttermere

Coniston Water

Elterwater

Ennerdale Water

Grasmere

Haweswater

Thirlmere

Ullswater

Windermere

Derwentwater

Crummock Water

Loweswater 

Rydal Water

Please click HERE to register your support for the bid.
Click HERE to go back to Day 1.

#LakeDistrictBid Advent Calendar Day 2 - Because it's healthy

Researchers from Warwick Business School have recently confirmed something many of us already suspected - that people feel healthier when they are in a more scenic area.  In an experiment involving well over 1.5 million people, they identified that those who lived in areas rated as more scenic reported their health to be better when answering a question about their health on the 2011 census. (The full scientific report is here for those who enjoy such things).

The Langdale Pikes - medicine for the soul.

And scenic doesn't just mean green - those places considered as most scenic had a good balance of grey, brown and blue as well as the green.  The good news for non-hikers is that you don't even have to climb up into the scenic stuff in order to benefit (though obviously a little exercise won't do us any harm), simply being surrounded by scenic views is good for your health.

By gaining World Heritage Site Status the LDNPA would have access to more money which could be invested in the region to protect and benefit the environment, the wildlife, the history and the jaw dropping scenery.  The Lake District will be healthier, the locals will be healthier and everyone who visits it will be healthier - seriously, what's not to love?

Click HERE for more info & to register your support for the bid
Click HERE for Day 1

24 Reasons to back the #LakeDistrictBid Day 1 - Because we're worth it!

In 2016 the Lake District will bid for UNESCO World Heritage Site status - the bid is being managed by the Lake District National Park Authority and to qualify we need to satisfy at least 1 out of 10 criteria laid down by UNESCO.  The full list of 10 is here, but we're not aiming to satisfy the bare minimum of just 1 criterion, oh no, we're going for 3:

2: to exhibit an important interchange of human values, over a span of time or within a cultural area of the world, on developments in architecture or technology, monumental arts, town-planning or landscape design;
5: to be an outstanding example of a traditional human settlement, land-use, or sea-use which is representative of a culture (or cultures), or human interaction with the environment especially when it has become vulnerable under the impact of irreversible change;
6: to be directly or tangibly associated with events or living traditions, with ideas, or with beliefs, with artistic and literary works of outstanding universal significance. (The Committee considers that this criterion should preferably be used in conjunction with other criteria);

LDNPA's Richard Leafe, Sir Chris Bonington
& Herdy co-founder Spencer Hannah

There are loads of people working together to make this happen.  Mountaineering legend Sir Chris Bonington is giving the bid his full support, and those fabulous folks over at Herdy have designed a logo which will be smiling at us throughout the campaign.

In the run up to Christmas we (me & Steve) will be posting an advent calendar of blogs, each day highlighting another reason why we believe the Lake District should be recognised as a World Heritage Site alongside the Taj Mahal, the Great Barrier Reef and the Grand Canyon.

You can learn more about the bid and show your support by clicking here.

So, what's today's reason?  Simply because we're worth it - and if you don't believe me, check out the video below.