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 this to a shortlist of 10 locations for submission to UNESCO.

If successful, the Lake District will enjoy the same status as the Great Wall of China, the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt and the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and tourist numbers could rise significantly.

Britain has 28 World Heritage sites, including Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, the Tower of London and Fountains Abbey near Ripon.

The Lake District’s natural beauty and the area’s cultural heritage could also be a vital element in its World Heritage bid. In particular, its links with William Wordsworth and other Lakeland poets are likely to be seen as significant.

Richard Greenwood, development director at Cumbria Tourism, said: “We are surely one of the main contenders to make the shortlist that government will submit to UNESCO next year. The Lake District is England’s largest national park and is one of the most widely recognised UK destinations on a worldwide scale. If, and there is evidence to suggest that it could, World Heritage status reinforces this and adds kudos on an international stage, then we certainly welcome this and the economic benefits that it could potentially bring. However, we still maintain that widespread involvement of industry and community is needed throughout the process to enable everyone to have their say.”

Other sites hoping for a place on the shortlist are Blackpool, the Norfolk Broads and the Forth Bridge in Scotland. The UK bids will be considered by UNESCO next year.

Sting guitar sold at auction for Cumbria flood victims

Mitchells of Cockermouth had originally hoped to top a quarter of a million with its two-day Fine Art Sale last week, but with unprecedented levels of advance commission bids and requests for telephone bidding, it soon became clear it was going to make much more.

As the hammer fell on the final lot last Friday a £362,000 total was recorded, making it Mitchells’ best sale for nine years and the second best ever in the lifetime of the Saleroom.

The most valuable lot, a painting by Cumbrian artist Sheila Fell, Haymaking at Millers Farm 1, was sold to a telephone bidder for £23,000.

One of the most attractive lots in the sale was an ivory and marble figure circa 1910 which reached £3,800. Other interesting lots included a bass guitar signed by rock musician Sting which sold for £1,450 in aid of the Flood Recovery Fund, a Beatrix Potter letter sold for £3,000 and a small Wordsworth manuscript sold for £600.

When asked what had made the difference to the Sale, auctioneer and Saleroom Director Mark Wise said: “We had a large number of quality lots including the entire contents of Dalkeith House, the estate of the late John Hall of Newcastleton.

“We also attracted a lot of media attention and we now put high quality photographs of all the lots on our website so people can view and make a bid remotely if they wish. The Saleroom was buzzing. It’s the busiest I’ve seen it for years. People came from far and wide which is really encouraging in the current climate and given recent events. It’s good to help bring more visitors into the town.”

The success of the Fine Art Sale will also be welcome good news to tell HRH Prince Charles when he visits Mitchells on Wednesday as part of his tour of the town, which was badly damaged by floods last November.

Cumbria Tourism has launched a Daffs Watch Appeal to encourage people to look out for the yellow perennials, which usually flower in February.

“It’s virtually unheard of not to have seen a single daffodil in the Lake District by the middle of March,” said chairman Eric Robson. “It’s an industry of its own, with visitors coming here just to see them growing by the lakesides. The up side is that because they are late, they should be out and looking their best for the Easter holidays.”

One of the most famous places to see daffodils in the Lake District is Dora’s Field, next to St Mary’s Church, in Rydal, near Ambleside, which was home to William Wordsworth who wrote the world- famous poem Daffodils. The field was named after Wordsworth’s daughter, Dora, who died in 1847, and is usually adorned with thousands of daffodils by this time in March.

Horticulture Week, a gardening magazine, has reported that it is the latest that daffodils have bloomed in the Lake District for 30 years. Dove Cottage curator Peter Elkington lives at the neigh-bouring Rydal Mount and Gardens, which is Wordsworth’s former home and a visitor attraction open to the public. He said there were daffodils around, but no signs of a bloom in Dora’s Field.

There were also unopened daffodils at Ullswater, but none of the blooming heads which insp-ired Wordsworth’s acclaimed poem. It was written after the poet enjoyed a spring walk by the lake with his sister Dorothy. She was the first to write about the flowers, describing them in her journal – while the poet wrote his own version published in 1804.

Residents can Tweet any sighting of the flower, or email pictures of the first daffodils of 2010, to daffs@golakes.co.uk

The auction at Mitchell’s of Cockermouth will feature the manuscript that includes lines from the Lake District Romantic poet’s work “The Excursion” that was written at Rydal Mount on December 9 1841. It had previously been on loan to the Wordsworth Trust.

Also included is a letter from Beatrix Potter (Mrs W. Heelis) to “The Herdwick Sheep Enquiry Keswick” in 1943 in which she refers to sustainable farming and the cost of rearing Herdwick Sheep.

Other interesting lots include a rare silver tea caddy of the Keswick School of Industrial Estates expected to make between £2-3,000. A number of items have also been donated to raise money for the Cumbria Flood Recovery Fund, including a Fender bass guitar donated and signed by musician Sting, who has a home at Grasmere, and a framed limited edition print of the now stricken Calva Bridge at Workington.

Renowned local artist Sheila Fell features in the sale with an oil painting “Haymaking at Millers Farm 1” expected to make between £15,000-£20,000. Mitchells currently hold the world record price for a previous painting by the same artist “Farmland at Aspatria” which sold for £32,200 in 2009. A number of paintings by celebrated artist Edward H. Thompson will also be for sale.

Telephone: 015394 33002
Email: info@rydalmount.co.uk
Website: www.rydalmount.co.uk

Telephone: 015394 35544
Email: enquiries@wordsworth.org.uk
Website: www.wordsworth.org.uk