The Lake District could be granted the highly-prized world heritage status and join the Taj Mahal as one of the most iconic places in the world.

World Heritage Sites are chosen for their outstanding universal value to culture, history or science. The Lake District is one of 38 nominations from across the country unveiled by the Government as bidding for the status.

An independent expert panel will now be set up to assess each bid and advise ministers on which should be included in a shortlist submitted to UNESCO in 2011.

Tourism and Heritage Minister John Penrose said: “The UK’s heritage is world class and this list represents the unique variety and history present in all corners of this country and our overseas territories. We wanted a strong and varied list to eventually put to UNESCO and I’m delighted that so many wonderful, diverse places have been put forward.

“Any list that includes Jodrell Bank, the Forth Bridge, Blackpool and the Turks and Caicos Islands certainly doesn’t lack variety. But what all 38 sites have in common is a wow factor and a cultural resonance that makes them real contenders to sit alongside The Pyramids and Red Square in this most distinguished of gatherings.”

Earlier this year Government invited councils and others to bid. Places winning through will join the Taj Mahal, the Great Wall of China, The Statue of Liberty and more than 800 other sites on UNESCO’s list of the most iconic and important parts of the planet’s heritage.

The entire process can take between five and 10 years. After the bid is submitted to UNESCO by the UK Government, it will then be assessed by the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and the World Conservation Union (IUCN).

Holidaymakers staying in Lake District hotels in the coming months may see the area change shape.

This is because two conservation areas in the district – Caldbeck and Hesket Newmarket – are to be extended following a review of their boundaries by the UK’s leading environmental heritage consultants.

According to members of the Park Strategy and Vision Committee, both extensions will be designed to “support the existing character of the conservation areas”.

Meanwhile, a report from national park conservation and design adviser David James stipulated that the landscape, cultural heritage and wildlife of the two areas would be improved by “supporting the development of new approaches to celebrating cultural heritage, design and the built environment”.

Both conservation areas were designated as national park sites in 1983, with the programme of appraisal and review for Caldbeck and Hesket Newmarket commissioned for 2007.

Covering 885 square miles, the Lake District is the largest national park in England.

An exciting conservation project has been launched which will see 90 spectacular red kites released in the Lake District – the first time the birds have been reintroduced in the North West.

Following the issuing of a special licence from Natural England, the Forestry Commission North West England has begun a three-year project that will see the birds of prey released in Grizedale Forest.

The birds will be taken soon after hatching from Rockingham Forest, Forestry Commission woodlands in Northamptonshire, and brought up to Cumbria 30 at a time – 30 birds will be released each year for the duration of the three-year scheme.

The Grizedale programme will be the ninth reintroduction of red kites into different regions of the UK, and the final reintroduction phase in England.

Forestry Commission Wildlife ranger Iain Yoxall, project manager for the Grizedale Red Kite Release Project, said:

“I’m very excited about this scheme. I have a keen interest in birds and in birds of prey in particular.

“It is a real conservation coup for the area and it will help to establish the red kites in the largest region in England from which the species is absent, a process which could take decades naturally.”

Red kites were almost eradicated from the UK following persecution between the 16th and 19th Centuries. However they managed to cling on in mid Wales and their numbers recovered thanks to the actions of local conservationists.

Now the birds are beginning to thrive again following the conservation work undertaken by organisations like the Forestry Commission.

The red kites that will be introduced into Grizedale are the product of a reintroduction programme that took place in Northamptonshire in the 1980s.

The young birds will arrive at Grizedale between late June and early July and will then be held in special pens for up to two months where forest wildlife rangers will feed and water them until they are ready to leave.

Even after they have left the holding pens rangers will continue to feed the young red kites until they stop coming back because they have learned to fend for themselves – however special care will be taken to ensure the birds do not become accustomed to contact with humans.

All the birds will be wing-tagged with a colour and number and will be given leg rings. Around ten per cent will also be tagged with radio transmitters, which will help Forestry Commission staff to monitor the success of the release programme.

Mr Yoxall is confident the birds will prove to be a big hit with visitors to Grizedale.

“They are large spectacular bird and have a wing span of around five feet. They are stunning to see in the sky as they are also very agile. They will be an exciting thing for people to see and an added attraction for people visiting Grizedale.”

A special advisory group has been established, containing bird experts from organisations like Natural England, the RSPB and the British Association of Shooting and Conservation, to help ensure the project’s success.

Red kites are coloured chestnut red and have white patches under their wings. They are primarily a scavenger and feed mostly on carrion. They breed from around the age of two years and usually pair for life.

The Lake District is set to benefit from millions of pounds worth of funding for conservation work over the next four years.

The Environmental Land Management Service, ELMS, which has been hailed as one of the biggest management initiatives ever seen in the area, has already brought £2.5m to farm businesses taking part in the scheme over the past year.

Project co-ordinator Sam Lumb said ELMS was one of the most significant schemes ever under-taken by national park staff, and would make a ‘huge difference to the countryside’.

He said: “No one can over estimate its importance. It is seeing 42km of hedgerow planted and restor-ed, along with 12km of dry stall walling, 2,300 new trees, over 700 traditional gates and 35 farm buildings renov-ated.”

ELMS is now working on projects for 10 archaeology sites, with another nine in the pipeline, as well as hay meadow restoration, fencing for woodlands, riverbanks and steep gills, improve-ments to peat and breeding waders’ habitats and bracken control.

Mr Lumb said: “This funding is a considerable boost not just to our world renowned landscape, but to farm businesses and the local economy. In the long term, ELMS will benefit all those living and working in the national park, along with its 8.3 million annual visitors.”

The Lake District National Park Authority (LDNPA) anticipates that by working closely with Natural England and the National Trust, mulit-million pound funding from environmental steward-ship schemes could be secured. LDNPA rangers have been working alongside Natural England advisers, liaising with landowners and tenants to help identify schemes and apply for grants.

Rangers have received almost 200 inquiries from farmers and landowners and helped with 140 conservation plan applications.

Most of the Lake District’s farmland is currently in the Environmentally Sensitive Area scheme, which will end in 2014, but is expected to come into Higher Level Stew-ardship (HLS).

Mt Lumb said: “The focus is now on environmental stew-ardship through HLS.

“We are looking forward to exciting and rewarding times ahead.”

Westmoreland Gazette

Holidaymakers planning to visit the Lake District this year can experience one of the region’s latest trends – pie tourism.

The Western Lake District Tourism Partnership revealed that an increasing number of people have been visiting the village of Gosforth over the past two years to sample a local pub’s pies.

Rod Davies first added his supper pie – which includes steak, bacon and mushrooms – to the Gosforth Hall Inn’s menu in January 2008 and the dish has been a big hit among diners.

Several new pies have been added to the menu since, featuring ingredients ranging from wild boar, game and Moroccan lamb to venison, haggis and Stilton cheese.

Visitors can also sample a selection of Cumbrian ales at the Gosforth Hall Inn.

Commenting on the new craze, Mr Davies said: ‘We really believe that, as a village, we have invented the concept of pie tourism here in Gosforth and are delighted that so many people are making a pie pilgrimage to reach us here.’

Gosforth is located near Scafell Pike – England’s highest mountain – and Wastwater, the country’s deepest lake.

Opodo cheap flights, hotels and car hire – let the journey begin!

People staying in hotels in the Lake District over the next few months may notice that there are is more foliage around after a successful programme of tree planting was carried out during half-term.

Bassenthwaite Reflections, a lottery-funded organisation which sets up voluntary projects around the national park, revealed that more than 2,000 saplings and oaks were planted during the week-long scheme.

Project leader Rachel Graham explained that regular volunteers were joined by holidaymakers and mountain bikers in the area even stopped their journeys to lend a hand.

“Reflections is all about encouraging people to look after the landscape and this was a perfect example of our supporters going the extra distance,” she said.

The tree planting activity of last week is designed to restore a site spanning 3.5 hectares and is part of a wider programme to reintroduce native woodland to the region, as well as clearing invasive species that affect the landscape

A Windermere couple have backed their confidence in the region’s tourism appeal by investing £500,000 in revamping two hotels.

Will Howarth, and his wife Lyn, have splashed £250,000 on a refurbishment of the Windermere Boutique Hotel – formerly called 21.

The couple have upgraded all of the establishment’s 12 bedrooms with contemporary fittings and have created a more spacious lounge and a residents’ bar.

A similar amount has been pumped into the Aphrodites Lodge, in Bowness, creating a new spa area by enclosing an open-air swimming pool.

“Obviously the recession and indeed the floods have not helped the tourism industry here in the Lakes over the last year or so but we remain extremely confident about the future of our two hotels in Windermere,” said Mr Howarth. “That is why we are prepared to invest such considerable sums of money in them.”

Lake District tourism experts have met in Kendal to discuss how to make 2010 a successful year.

Representatives from some of Cumbria’s leading hotel firms and tourism organisations attended an event at business advisors Moore and Smalley’s Murley Moss headquarters.

Ian Stephens, chief executive of Cumbria Tourism, said the sector had reason to be optimistic.

“Despite recent events there are many favorable factors for making the Lake District and Cumbria a very desirable destination for the UK holiday market, and all the indicators we use in terms of web bookings and other forecasts are showing that 2010 can be just as good as the first three quarters of 2009.”

Colin Johnson, head of Moore and Smalley’s leisure and tourism team, said: “It’s clear that most tourism businesses are optimistic and are prepared to fight tooth and nail to make 2010 a success by being innovative with their product and pricing.”

A NEW guide book packed with information on what’s going on in Cumbria this year has been launched.

The free, 70-page Events 2010 Guide lists nearly 600 activities between February and Boxing Day.

The guide, produced by the Lake District National Park Authority and Cumbria Tourism, was launched this week when 250,000 copies were distributed in the region.

It covers activities such as festivals and cultural events and also includes information about more than 300 guided walks across the Lake District.

Andrea Runkee, of Cumbria Tourism, said: “The message is simple: If you intend spending any time in the Lakes this year, this is the must-have guide.”

The guide is available from tourist information centres, libraries, hotels and guest houses, visitor attractions, motorway service stations, airports and train stations.

A TV advertising campaign and website built around a new hit TV series are weapons in the Lake District’s fight to beat bad publicity after winter floods.

The Lakes Hospitality Association has launched a television advertising campaign for hotels and guesthouses in the Lake District and set up a special website www.lakewindermere.tv, designed to capitalise on the popular TV programme The Lakes.

The first of a series of adverts on ITV1 started on Tuesday this week and will go on air around the TV show and other well-known programmes, such as This Morning, ITV Early Evening News and Emmerdale.

The TV campaign will be shown in the Yorkshire and Tyne Tees area, where a large proportion of Lake District business comes from.

With the dedicated website, which is crammed with dozens of offers from hotel and guesthouses, the Lakes Hospitality Association will be able to closely monitor where inquiries are coming from.

The TV campaign is jointly funded by the Lakes Hospitality Association and Windermere Lake Cruises and hoteliers and guesthouses – The Howbeck and Windermere Suites, The Newby Bridge Hotel, Fairfield Guest House, The Knoll and The Coppice.

Jonathan Denby, chairman of the Lakes Hospitality Association, said: “The double-whammy of floods and snow cut the number of visitors to the Lakes by half. We need to show the world that the Lakes is fully open for business.

“At the time of the floods I asked the North West Development Agency (NWDA) for funding for a TV campaign to match the money given to Yorkshire Tourism of £30 million over three years. The NWDA were not sure of the efficacy of TV advertising, so we intend to demonstrate to them with our TV campaign – that TV advertising is just what the Lakes needs to bring back the tourists.”

The Lakes Hospitality Association is a trade association representing the interests of 500 accommodation providers and others associated with hospitality in South Lakeland.

Westmoreland Gazette