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We're celebrating UNESCO World Heritage status….

We can now count the Lake District alongside the Taj Mahal, the Tower of London and the Great Barrier Reef. Thank you to everyone who has supported us on the journey so far. Read our Blog articles and discover what makes our beautiful landscape so special. Would you like to contribute to the blog? Get in touch, we’d love to hear from you, contact us


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Visualising OUV

The reasons why the English Lake District is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, or what our Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) is, are complicated. They are both tangible and intangible and this makes explaining them difficult. So when the chance comes along to try and explain OUV via professional photography, you should really grasp the opportunity quickly.

10 Mar 2020
 
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125 years of the National Trust

Sunday 12th January is the National Trust’s 125th anniversary. Happy birthday! The National Trust was established back in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Canon Hardwicke Rawnsley. They shared a belief in the importance of historic places and green spaces, and fought to preserve them for everyone’s ‘enjoyment, refreshment and rest’. Today the National Trust is Europe’s largest conservation charity, with 5.6 million members, 65,000 volunteers and 14,000 staff, caring for over 250,000 hectares of farmland, 780 miles of coastline and 500 historic properties, gardens and nature reserves, for everyone, for ever.

12 Jan 2020
 
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Coffee picked in one World Heritage Site, and roasted in another

Here is an example of a local business capitalising on the English Lake District’s World Heritage status, that is truly world-class. Farrer’s of Kendal have launched World Heritage Coffee. Their first limited edition of World Heritage Coffee is Finca El Edén which was launched at 2019’s Westmorland County Show. Farrer’s have sourced beans grown in the Coffee Cultural Landscape of Colombia, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, then roasted them in the Lake District.

16 Sep 2019
 
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World Heritage business toolkit

One of the legacies of the Cumbria Tourism England's World Heritage Story - The North project, was the creation of a business toolkit. This publication provides businesses with an introduction to the English Lake District World Heritage Site and how it could help them.

06 Sep 2019
 
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Two years and counting...

Tuesday 9th July 2019 was the second anniversary of the English Lake District's inscription as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

11 Jul 2019
 
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Rail Recovery campaign

Cumbria Tourism has launched a £285,000 marketing campaign aiming to rebuild visitor confidence in train services and positively inspire potential visitors to the English Lake District.

03 Jun 2019
 
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World Heritage Day 2019

Thursday 18th April is World Heritage Day. World Heritage is the shared wealth of humanity, both natural and cultural. Protecting and preserving these valuable assets needs the collective efforts of all communities. This celebratory day provides the chance to raise awareness about the diversity of cultural heritage and the efforts that are required to protect and conserve it.

16 Apr 2019
 
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England’s World Heritage Story: The North

England’s Northern World Heritage Story: The North is a VisitEngland Discover England Fund project led by Cumbria Tourism. Its primary goal is to raise awareness of and increase visitor numbers to the six UNESCO World Heritage Sites in across Northern England - Saltaire, Hadrian's Wall, Durham Castle & Cathedral, Studley Royal Park & Fountains Abbey, Liverpool Mercantile Maritime City and the English Lake District.

11 Apr 2019
 
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2018's World Heritage UK conference

The English Lake District is part of a UK family of 31 World Heritage Sites, from St Kilda in the north, to the Cornish Mines in the south. This family even extends beyond the UK’s shores to a handful of overseas territories, in the Atlantic and all the way to the Pacific. This group comes together once a year for the annual World Heritage:UK conference.

19 Oct 2018
 
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Reflecting on the Lakes

Poet Tony Walsh's celebration of the Lake District World Heritage Site and National Park.

17 Aug 2018
 
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Join us on a virtual tour across the Lake District World Heritage Site!

It’s official - the Lake District National Park has been granted World Heritage Site status. So to celebrate, this summer we're inviting visitors to Cumbria's shows and festivals to join us on a free 360 virtual tour of this iconic cultural landscape. First up, the BirdHIVE experience returns to Kendal Calling in Lowther Deer Park, 28 - 30 July, with brand new 360 VR Lake District scenes.

20 Jul 2017
 
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UNESCO visit takes bid a step closer

Last week we completed a major milestone in the Lake District’s nomination to be a World Heritage Site, with two expert assessors from UNESCO’s cultural heritage advisory body visiting us. It was a near impossible task to do this wonderful place justice in just a week, but the Lake District National Park, together with a range of organisations from the partnership, pulled together a fantastic programme showcasing three key themes of the bid: identity, inspiration and conservation.

11 Oct 2016
 
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How the 'cultural landscape' continues to inspire today

The dramatic Lakeland peaks, lakes and landscapes have been providing creative inspiration for generations and Lakes Culture has continued to seek out the talent in recent years too, with a series of stunning artworks that captivate imaginations across the county.

21 Sep 2016
 
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Get set for a virtual flight through stunning Lake District

From today (26 August 2016), fans of the Lake District National Park will be able to soar like a bird, scale a mountain and ripple across the top of a lake – within just three minutes, by experiencing BirdHIVE – a 360 degree virtual flight tour of the iconic Lake District.

26 Aug 2016
 
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Join us on a virtual tour to find out why the Lake District deserves World Heritage status

We’re looking forward to launching Bird HIVE, a 360 degree virtual flight tour of the iconic Lake District, at Kendal Calling and Lakes Alive festivals this summer in support of the World Heritage bid. Festival goers are being given the chance to soar like a bird, scale a mountain and ripple across the top of a lake, within just three minutes, taking a bird’s eye view of four iconic Lake District locations.

25 Jul 2016