A Lake District tourist attraction has been named as one of the most popular in the country.

Windermere Lake Cruises has been revealed by tourism body Visit England at the fourth most popular paid-for tourist attraction in England in 2008, and the second most popular outside London.

Only Westminster Abbey, Kew Gardens and Chester Zoo drew in bigger paying crowds than the Bowness-based business, which provides pleasure trips on the country’s largest lake.

The cruises proved more popular than world-famous attractions such as Stonehenge, Canterbury Cathedral, Roman Baths and the Eden Project.

Almost 1.2 million people boarded the Windermere boats last year, which was actually around 70,000 less than the previous year, where the attraction was England’s third most popular paid-for.

Nigel Wilkinson, managing director of Windermere Lake Cruises, said: “Obviously we are delighted that in the current environment we have been able to stay in the top ten paid-for but to be listed fourth is great.

“It is a great deal of credit to the staff who have worked hard to provide exceptional customer service.”

Mr Wilkinson said the company was also benefiting from having undertook numerous initiatives to expand their offer to customers – such as bringing out a walking book with routes linked by boat journeys, trialing a water bus service with waterfront hotels, expanding its jazz cruises and offering discounts to residents of Cumbria and Lancaster.

Mr Wilkinson said the company was also seeing growth in a fledgling tourism market sector.

“We have seen over the last two or three years a marked increase in Chinese visitors,” he said. “That is a market that is increasingly opening to overseas travel.”

The country’s most popular attraction is the British Museum, which drew in 5.9 million visitors – however, the museum is free to get in.

A spokesman for Cumbria Tourism said the cruises were an important draw for tourists coming into the county.

“It’s no surprise that Windermere Lake Cruises are among the top paid for attractions in England,” they said. “Windermere Lake Cruises are a well established company and have carried many generations of passengers over the years, offering a great service on England’s largest lake.

“Each year Windermere Lake Cruises carry over a million passengers making them the top visitor attraction in Cumbria. They are a huge asset to our county both in terms of their obvious appeal to visitors and their significant contribution to the Cumbrian economy.”

A NEW £1.7million scheme to encourage people from ethnic minorities to visit the Lake District and other national parks has been launched.

The Mosaic project will aim to improve figures that show that just one per cent of people who visit the countryside are from ethnic minorities.

The three-year Government-funded project will also create “community champions” to promote national parks.

Organisers said there many people from ethnic minorities who feel that they would not feel welcomed in the 10 national parks, and many who do not understand what a national park is.

Park authorities and youth hostels will now be asked to promote their services in urban and cultural centres and cater more for ethnic minority needs.

Mosaic project officer Kabeer Bostan has now started work to organise trips to the Lake District, Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors from places including Manchester and Newcastle.

He said: “There are many people from the BME (black minority ethnic) community that want to visit the national parks but can’t for whatever reason.

“There are perceived barriers, such as not knowing about access rights; social barriers, such as fearing either rightly or wrongly that they will not be made welcome; and physical barriers, such as transport or not knowing where to go.

“We want to make sure that those who want to use the national parks can do so and can encourage others to join them.”

Programme manager Nina Arwitz said: “It is a myth that people from ethnic minorities are not interested. It is just no-one has gone to the trouble of introducing them to what is on offer.”

Bob Cartwright, park services director at the Lake District National Park, said: “We think this scheme can be a big success, especially if it brings more people to the Lake District.”

Salim Mulla, the chairman of the Lancashire Council of Mosques, said: “This is a fantastic idea because the national parks are such a great asset for this country.”

Westmoreland Gazette

Lake District walkers can again complete a round-Derwent walk following the £78,000 replacement of a well known bridge.

The Chinese Bridge, near Grange, was dismantled and replaced with a modern version designed to be accessible to wheelchair users and prams. The work took six weeks to complete.

The bridge, over the River Derwent just west of Lodore Falls, is a vital link in the walking route around Derwent Water and features in the Lake District’s Miles Without Stiles network of accessible routes. The old structure closed on 6 July and an 80-tonne crane was used to lift the new bridge into position.

The modern structure is faithful to the original curved design, but uses steel beams supporting decking made from recycled plastic.

Angus Titterington, Lake District national park’s field team leader, said: “Although there are some small jobs still to finish, they should be completed in the next fortnight. There may be some slight disruption, but it will be kept to a minimum. We are proud and pleased to have the new bridge ready for use bang on schedule.

“A lot of effort has gone into providing a structure that is as attractive and well thought of as the original. Everyone involved with this has gone the extra distance.”

The bridge was paid for by a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the project was overseen by Bassenthwaite Reflections, a joint venture between the Lake District National Park Authority, Environment Agency, National Trust, Forestry Commission, Grampus Heritage and Training and Cumbria County Council.

Reflections head Martin Varley said: “This will make a big difference to countless numbers of people.

“The round-Derwent Water route is heavily used, but the old bridge was a frustrating obstacle for those with mobility problems. We are committed to helping provide access for all and this is an important milestone.

“The new version has ramps at both sides and a non-slip surface, making it user friendly for everyone. We’re over the moon it’s open.”

An official opening will take place in the near future.

The Lake District is the second most visited holiday destination this summer, according to a survey conducted by satellite navigation company Garmin.

The North West England region comes second only to capital London, two very different destinations showing a clear divide in the interests of British holidaymakers.

PR Fire reports that 11 per cent of Brits will be heading to the Lake District this summer, which is great news for the British tourism industry. Lake towns such as Windermere will be reaping the benefits as more British ‘staycationers’ opt for a domestic holiday to beat the recession.

Recent renovations have served to make the Lakes even more appealing to visitors, such as the replacement of the Chinese Bridge near Grange with a more modern version designed to be accessible to prams and wheelchair users. The bridge that crosses the River Derwent is vital for travellers completing the route around Derwent Water, and features in the Lake District’s Miles Without Stiles network.

From sheepdog trials to music festivals, events being held in the Lakes this summer are attracting a wide range of visitors. The Earth First! eco-action camp being held at Seathwaite near Borrowdale aims to instruct eco-warriors on skills such as raft building and understanding police tactics, while a group of UFO believers are making a pilgrimage to a mountain that it believes to be significant to extraterrestrials.

Although primarily renowned for its natural beauty and scenery, it seems that the Lake District has much to offer tourists from all walks of life.

Revel in the glorious autumnal colours of a Cumbrian wood this October half term whilst letting your brave little soldiers and mischievous misses expend their energy in a woodland adventure in which you can also play a full part.

Playdays in the Woods (playdaysinthewoods.com) provides woodland ‘expoditions’ for all the family. These start with a lovely mug of cocoa served around a crackling fire in base camp and end only when the imagination runs out.

Ideas and woodland magic are created through laughter-filled games such as animal pantomime, exploration and discovery beneath the stunning canopy of trees of one of two locations – Rydal Hall near Ambleside and Hay Bridge Nature Reserve near Coniston.

Activity games like Date With A Tree and Crows work up the appetite and once the tinder is collected and the fire lit, without the use of firelighters or matches, participants can tuck in to a delicious Woodman’s Platter lunch.

Another thrill accompanies the midday dining, as participants cook their own scrumptious twist dough bread over the campfire.

Then it’s on to the afternoon session running to 3pm, which includes den building, using purely woodland materials, and woodland crafts using simple hand tools.

A fabulous Playdays in the Woods experience costs £35 per person, including all materials, refreshments and lunch. It leaves families with memories to last a lifetime and a true sense of achievement derived from family bonding and teamwork.

A video showing clips of some of the activities can be viewed at playdaysinthewoods.com.

THE Lake District Cheese Company officially makes the UK’s best cheddar, after a triumphant win at the Nantwich International Cheese Show.

The creamery, which is owned by First Milk, the UK’s largest farmer-owned co-operative, won the prestigious Michelstown Cup which is awarded annually to the UK’s champion cheddar.

The Lake District cheddar brand came out on top at the show, the largest cheese show in the world, achieving the highest score out of over 300 cheddars. The creamery was also awarded a gold, four silvers, one bronze and a very highly commended.

Creamery manager Andrew Pearson said: “This is an amazing victory for both our 81 employees on site and our 350 Cumbrian producers who supply milk to the creamery.

“The prestige of this champion title reinforces our expert cheddar proposition and demonstrates the true quality and provenance of our cheddar.

“We have celebrated a number of successive achievements over the last couple of months and we are delighted to have won the pinnacle of cheese awards, the UK’s best cheddar.”

The Lake District Creamery enjoyed further success after being awarded Asda’s Customer Cheese Choice Award.

From the North West Evening Mail

Lake District tourism bosses are confident visitor numbers will not be affected by the wayward “barbecue summer” forecast.

The Met Office has been widely criticised after July downpours made a mockery of its statement made in April that the UK was “odds on” for a sunny summer.

Thousands of Brits are expected to take summer “stay-cations” following predictions the credit crunch and the weak pound compared to the euro would price holidaymakers out of trips abroad.

And the supposed heatwave was expected to make 2009 a bumper year for the UK tourism industry.

After a damp July and with forecasts for a soggy August, many tourists are expected to pull the plug on their UK holidays.

But Cumbria Tourism is not worried by this.

Accommodation bookings on the county tourism board’s website for the year to date are £250,000 up on the same period last year.

A Cumbria Tourism spokeswoman said: “Those bookings bode well for the coming months.

“It’s disappointing that the Met Office’s predictions are now not quite as optimistic, but it may well be that these too are not entirely accurate, particularly for our region.

“Cumbria is known to have its own micro-climate and forecasts for this area are difficult and can often be wrong, with us enjoying good dry weather despite expectations.

“Although, like the rest of the UK, Cumbria has had some heavy wet weather in July, we have also enjoyed some glorious sunshine and we are cautiously optimistic about the remainder of the summer season.

“Events like Chilli Fest and Lake District Summer Music are a real draw for visitors. People coming to Cumbria to make the most of the outdoors generally come well-prepared for all conditions.”

Jonathan Denby, owner of three Lakes hotels and chairman of the Lakes Hospitality Association, believes tourists do not expect sun in the Lake District.

He said: “Two years ago when we had that really hot summer people travelled here from East Anglia just for the pleasure of seeing some rain.

“Seaside resorts depend 100 per cent on the weather, but we are lucky in that respect – our guests tend to be weather resilient.

“People do book in advance and take pot luck on the weather.

“Bookings are not just made at the last minute after looking at the weather forecast.”

Mr Denby said, based on his experience, predictions that the recession would severely harm the hotel industry have not come true – and neither has the forecast that floods of people would holiday in the UK.

He said: “My hotels are actually up on last year but are not turning out to be fantastic – it’s just a nice, good, solid year.”

Jacqui O’Connor, press officer for Windermere Lakes Cruises, said rain has made no difference to custom.

“We have had a really good year, not just summer,” she said.

“We are still optimistic that the rest of the season will continue on the same high.

“All our boats have good covers and we are actually an all-weather attraction.

“If anything, we often say boats are the best places to be when it’s wet because you can be indoors and outdoors at the same time.”

Skelwith Fold Caravan Park in Ambleside is currently hosting a record number of holidaymakers.

And boss Henry Wild says demand is stretching well into September and October.

But Mr Wild thinks forecasters are giving a false impression by placing a single large cloud or rain symbol over an entire county on a weather map, and putting off potential visitors.

He said: “We’re not asking forecasters to bend the truth, but just to be more careful with their phrasing.

“The massive upswing in UK holidays this year is great news, not least because so many businesses and jobs in Cumbria are tourism-dependent.

“All we’d ask is that forecasters remember that part of Britain’s charm is our mixed weather, and that micro-climates often exist in areas such as Cumbria.”

A Met Office statement said: “We acknowledge that the weather we have seen through the last month has been disappointing, especially after the fine weather through June and the heatwave at the end of June and beginning of July.

“At no time did the Met Office state that Summer 2009 would be hot and dry throughout, or forecast a ‘scorcher’.”

North West Evening Mail