WHEN Kendal Called, thousands of hungry music fans roared back. Kendal Calling, a boutique festival, nestled in the breathtaking surroundings of Lowther Deer Park, went off with a bang last Friday afternoon as Dub Pistols kick-started the Main Stage with a bombastic set of dub, ska and rap. “We love Cumbria,” announced singer Barry Ashworth, [...]
A FEARLESS team of monster hunters will set sail on Windermere in a fresh search for ‘Bownessie’. Lakeland hotelier Thomas ‘The Gladiator’ Noblett and celebrity psychic Dean ‘Midas’ Maynard will embark on their second journey into the depths of Windermere in search of the fabled monster. The two men led a team of investigators to [...]
AN all-action programme of events has been announced for the inaugural Ambleside Outdoor Festival. The event is to take place over four days in September at some of the Lake District’s most dramatic locations. Cyclists will be challenged to ride up The Struggle – the notorious one-in-four 1,489-feet climb to Kirkstone Pass – and there [...]
THE Lake District is vying with dozens of other UK locations to be shortlisted as a World Heritage site. The entire national park has been confirmed as one of this country’s 38 contenders for the status, conferred by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). Culture ministers now have the task of reducing [...]
A KENDAL giftware business has been honoured with a national award, presented at a glittering ceremony in London by the Prince of Wales. The Herdy Company, which sells ‘ethical’ gift products inspired by the Lake District’s Herdwick sheep, was named Small Company of the Year at the Business in the Community (BIC) awards last week. [...]
COMMUNITY leaders are seeking an urgent meeting with the Youth Hostel Association after it announced the shock closure of two South Lakeland youth hostels. Holidaymakers, community groups and local politicians expressed outrage at the plans to close the Kendal and Grasmere Thorney How hostels in the autumn. The move is part of a decision to [...]
A HUGE lorry blocked a narrow Lakeland road for more than five hours yesterday (Tuesday) when the driver followed satellite navigation directions. Police were called to assist the driver of a Co-op lorry when the vehicle became stuck at the top of Red Bank Road, in Grasmere, at 10.30am. Officers cleared the road at around [...]
A CASH-STRAPPED Lakeland treasure has been thrown a lifeline following a campaign in The Westmorland Gazette. Blackburn College has promised a no-strings-attached £10,000 to the Save the Armitt campaign, which will enable the Ambleside museum and library to re-open at Easter. The five-figure sum achieves the Gazette’s campaign target but will only bridge the funding [...]
THERE are just days to go until one of Cumbria’s biggest sporting events gets under way – and a row has already broken out in the wrestling ring. A competitor has threatened legal action if judges are not banned from adjudicating family members in bouts of Cumberland and Westmorland Wrestling at Sunday’s Grasmere Sports. Former [...]
Duck herding dogs, the world’s smallest sheep and a bevy of champion breeders made Hawkshead Agricultural Show a great success. Thousands of hardy Lakeland farmers and tourists showed their support for the popular event, which enjoyed a successful comeback after a two-year hiatus on Tuesday. “We’ve been cancelled the past two years because of the [...]
