Hefted newsletter #8: March 2025
Despatches from Cumbria and the Lake District, from the team at Countrystride and Inspired by Lakeland
We’re splitting our monthly mammoth bulletin into more regular, smaller despatches. In today’s news round-up; Wanted! A new tenant for Brockhole; Save Windermere win; Historic footpaths saved; New record for the 214; and the curious relationship between action hero Jack Reacher and ASDA in Kendal.
The gather: Pick of the Cumbrian headlines
Cumbrian farmers have expressed shock and anger at the sudden closure of a major nature-friendly payment scheme. The government has stopped new applications for the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) without warning or consultation, leading James Robinson from Strickley near Kendal – chair of the Nature-Friendly Farming Network (see Countrystride #132) – to tell the BBC it is “closing the door on farmers”. Westmorland and Lonsdale MP Tim Farron described the announcement as “a bitter blow that is unbearable for our upland farmers” and said the government had “broken its word to farmers and all who care about nature.” James Rebanks expressed his thoughts on Twitter/X thus: “The UK government’s relationship with farming is borderline abusive: Produce cheap; Stop producing cheap; Produce nature; We will pay for it; Oh no we won’t; Apply for green transition; No more public funds; New taxes; Get big; Don’t get big; Grow farms big; But we’ll tax you if you do. This is La La Land.” More from the BBC.
Closure of the SFI comes two weeks after farmers and countryside campaigners welcomed the environment secretary’s promise to increase payments under the Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) scheme, which rewards farmers for managing key habitats, restoring landscapes and boosting biodiversity. Food security and rural affairs minister Daniel Zeichner said a revised version of SFI would be announced in the coming months.
Wanted: a new tenant to run Brockhole. The Lake District National Park Authority (LDPNA) is marketing the lease of its flagship visitor centre, complete with 19th-century White House and 30 acres of land, formal gardens and lake frontage. Brockhole was the UK’s first national park visitor centre when it opened in 1969 after LDNPA bought the property in 1966. But its running costs have become unsustainable, according to LDPNA chief executive Gavin Capstick. He blamed Government cuts to national park funding for the decision, which will see nine Brockhole staff made redundant and the White House closed to the public. On-site tenants Zip World and Windermere Lake Cruises are unaffected by the changes. More from The Westmorland Gazette.
Financial challenges may also reduce opening times at three English Heritage Sites in the county. Following the charity’s proposal to close Furness Abbey in winter, other sites earmarked for possible winter closure include Lanercost Priory near Brampton, Brougham Castle near Penrith and Stott Park Bobbin Mill west of Windermere. More from the BBC.
Just weeks before judges rule on the legality of plans for a new zip-wire and adventure attraction in Elterwater Quarry, another controversial zip-wire development – at Honister Slate Mine – has been given the green light. Although plans for the new attraction were previously signed off in 2018, Lake District planners have subsequently approved a modified dual-purpose zip-wire that will offer a thrill ride to visitors, while extracting slate from a mine opening. The plans faced objections from Buttermere Parish Council and Friends of the Lake District. More from The Keswick Reminder.
Wild campers may be moved on by police and risk fines if they leave litter and damage habitats in the Lake District this summer. New powers signed off by Whitehaven & Workington MP Josh MacAlister are designed to deter illegal ‘fly campers’ from anti-social behaviour such as discarding equipment, lighting fires and failing to erect tents behind the intake wall to allow other countryside users to enjoy unspoiled views. Though wild camping is technically illegal in the Lake District, it is generally tolerated when campers behave responsibly. More from Cumbria Crack.
Save Windermere is celebrating a “truly historic moment” in its battle to keep raw sewage out of England’s largest lake. After environment secretary Steve Reed pledged to work towards ensuring that “only rainwater” would enter Windermere, campaign founder Matt Staniek thanked all volunteers, individuals and organisations that stood with him, but warned that the mission to save England’s largest lake for future generations is just beginning. More from Big Issue.
A number of much-loved woodland footpaths in Hayton Wood near Brampton are a step closer to being saved. Walking charity The Ramblers has won a key legal battle against a landowner trying to keep local residents off paths they’ve enjoyed for decades on the grounds that they stopped using them temporarily during the foot-and-mouth crisis of 2001 (the law recognises a right of way if it has been used by the public for 20 years without interruption). Judges agreed with The Ramblers, that lack of use during foot and mouth should not be considered “interrupted use”. Had the decision gone the other way, the charity warned it would have set “a bleak precedent”, putting other paths not used during the foot-and-mouth crisis – or even Covid-19 lockdowns – at risk. The Ramblers is now seeking a definitive map modification order so the paths can be added to the map. More from The Ramblers.
Coniston’s seven pubs, beautiful scenery and friendly villagers could be just what the doctor ordered, according to a promotional video made by residents to recruit a new GP. Faced with the possible loss of its medical practice when the current postholder retires this summer, the community has worked with local filmmakers to produce a one-minute movie showcasing the joys that life in Coniston has to offer. More from Cumbria Crack.
Tom Hollins has set a new record for a self-supported round of the Wainwright fells. The consultant anaesthetist from Yorkshire took eight days, nine hours and 44 minutes to summit all 214 Wainwrights in the last week of February, beating the previous record of 14 days and 11 hours achieved by James Forrest in September 2020. As such he now holds the fastest time for a winter self-supported round and a self-supported round. Tom’s feat comes just weeks after he came second in the Montane Winter Spine Sprint. More from Grough.
Fears of “Lake District-style overtourism” are contributing to a row highlighting wider questions about the role and efficacy of national parks in the UK. The debate over proposals to create a new Galloway National Park in southwest Scotland has been described as “more divisive than the Scottish referendum vote”, exposing flashpoints between landscape, local communities and tourism. “You think dog poo on the pavement is bad?” said a campaigner on the ‘no’ side, quoted in The Guardian. “Try wandering up any remote little area in a national park. Your faith in humankind gets lost.”
A glimmer of hope for Lake District residents who fear the Airbnbification of neighbourhoods; owners of a five-bed Keswick guest house have lost their appeal against the Lake District National Park Authority, whose planners had refused permission to let them turn the guest house into a short-term holiday let. The Planning Inspectorate upheld the LDNPA planners’ decision to refuse permission for change of use due to concerns about the impact of increased noise and disturbance on neighbours. More from the News & Star.
Thirty women will attempt to pull a car to the top of Kirkstone Pass on Mother’s Day to raise money for hospice care. Taking part in the Ambleside Car Pull – back after a five-year break – the women, aged between 23 and 62, intend to drag the vehicle 3.1 miles from Ambleside town centre to the highest point of England’s highest road pass on 30 March. “Pulling a car three miles up a fell is nothing compared to being diagnosed with a terminal illness,” said fitness instructor Ursula Brendling, whose team of superwomen will raise money for St Mary’s hospice in Ulverston while attempting to break their own 2019 record of one hour, two minutes and 27 seconds. More from Cumbria Crack. Donate at justgiving.com/page/ursula-brendling-1729788699921?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL
Orange is the not-so-new blue at Whitehaven harbour, where the seawater has been a murky brown since 2022 (see Hefteds past). In the latest attempt to stem the flow, Network Rail has announced plans to drain a “saturated” railway tunnel between Whitehaven and Corkickle and replace tracks that may be partly to blame for iron ochre seeping into Queen’s Dock. More from the BBC.
The former kitchen garden of the Workington manor house where Mary Queen of Scots once took refuge is to find new life as a community hub with a pottery studio and café. Work will soon begin on Hall Garden, a £1.9 million project led by the charity West House, which supports people with learning difficulties. It is due to open in the autumn. More from the BBC.
Lakes Brew Co hopes to open a second tap room in Ambleside before Easter. The award-winning Kendal-based craft brewery, founded in 2021 by four former Hawkshead Brewery colleagues who reunited after redundancy, plans to move into The Old Mill on North Road – formerly The Giggling Goose Café. It will showcase its own beers alongside local spirits, non-alcoholic drinks and locally-sourced food. More from The Westmorland Gazette.
Multi-million-selling thriller writer Lee Child has revealed he came up with the name for his protagonist Jack Reacher – also star of a hit Amazon Prime show - in the Kendal branch of Asda after an elderly lady asked him to reach up and grab something from a high shelf. More from The Westmorland Gazette.
A Cold War underground shelter in Dent that sold at auction last summer for £48,000 looks set to become a tourist attraction. According to planning documents, the new owner intends to use it for open days, school visits and by-appointment viewings. More from the BBC.
Cumbria Wildlife Trust is celebrating a record seal count at South Walney. It used a drone to record 563 grey seals at the South Cumbrian nature reserve between September and March, the highest number ever recorded. “The growth of the grey seal colony at South Walney is a great conservation success story,” said the Trust’s marine conservation officer Beth Churn. More from Cumbria Crack.
Sheep rescue of the month: Two sheep have been pulled from quicksand near Greenodd. After a member of the public alerted Furness Coastguard, the team from Bay Search & Rescue raced against time to pull the sheep from the mud before they were drowned by the incoming Spring tide. More from The Mail.
And finally… When a piece of driftwood was not what it seemed, amateur detectives from the West Cumbrian coast went to heart-warming lengths to reunite it with its rightful owner. More from the BBC.
New! Countrystride #146: The lead mines of Nenthead
...in which we visit the far northeast of Cumbria to explore the remarkable history and remains of the Nenthead lead mines.
In the company of geologist and Nenthead Mines trustee Pete Jackson, we learn about the earliest mineral prospecting in the area, where 'the old men' sought out lead in becks, waterfalls and, latterly, artificial hushes.
Arriving at a centuries-old stone leat – still working – we consider the unusual addition of flag coverings, and nature's steady reclamation of spoil heaps.
Entering the hill at Carr's Level, we consider the boom years of the London Quaker Lead Company, and the values that gave rise to social housing and an early form of sickness pay.
Moving deeper into the mines – and through the evolution of extractive technologies, from hand-picking to dynamite – we proceed to the great depression that made Nenthead a truly European operation, where British, Italian, French and German miners mixed, mined and lived together.
We end our journey atop the mind-blowing 300-foot Brewery Shaft, where Pete describes the five-mile subterranean canal – once a tourist attraction – that links Nenthead to Alston.