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A little more than 120 years ago, John Bickerstaffe, one time Mayor of Blackpool visited the Great Paris Exhibition and was so impressed by the Eiffel Tower that he returned home with a dream of building a similar tower in the resort.

With £2,000 of his own money he gathered together a local group of investors and in February 1891, the Blackpool Tower Company was born. Three years later the tower was completed and ever since has been one of the country’s top tourist attractions.



To find out more we sent our Web Communications Co-ordinator Matt Hartnett out again to check out the Tower and other nearby attractions. He was accompanied by Heather Clough and two friends from Blackpool and their eight-month-old son. Their visit was on a cold but bright January afternoon.

The weather though was quickly forgotten with the warmth of the welcome inside the tower building. Parking was no problem with plenty of nearby pay and display parks all providing easy access to the tower.

Matt writes: “The attraction has three different parts to it; a 4D cinema, the exciting lift to the top of the tower itself and then the special interaction once at the top. We were all struck by the helpful and friendly staff which made the visit even more enjoyable.

We all enjoyed the cinema which was my first experience of 4D and I would recommend this to anyone. We enjoyed the lift to the top and once there, the view was amazing. We were helped because it was such a clear day and we all looked out across the Irish Sea towards the Isle of Man. It is said you can even see Ireland on a clear day.

At the the top of the tower there is a glass ‘walk of faith’ floor which allows you to see right down to The Promenade. The more nervous visitor can be assured that only a section of the floor is actually glass.



Elsewhere within the complex there is Jungle Jims, the Circus, the Dungeon and, of course, the world famous Tower Ballroom now such a major feature on ‘Strictly Come Dancing’. There is also a large gift shop selling everything you might want related to the tower. There is also the chance to have a photograph taken when you first arrive.

We all enjoyed our visit and we agreed that Blackpool Tower has something for everyone whether they are in a family or a large group. We all decided we would return for another tower adventure.”

Attraction costs:
Adult £12.60 Child £9.60 Family £39.60 (two adults & two children)


Rating: 5 out of 5
Review by Matt Hartnett,
South Lakeland Parks Website Co-ordinator

Did you know?
Blackpool Tower is 518 ft high and cost £290,000 to build and it took five million bricks, 2.500 tonnes of iron and 93 tonnes of cast iron to complete the construction. The iron and steel were constructed and designed in such a way that if ever the tower was to fall, it would fall into the sea. A time capsule is buried at its base.

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So the Olympic Torch route through South Lakeland has been revealed.

On the afternoon of June 21st, the torch will arrive in Grasmere – then travelling along the A591 to Ambleside.

Local events have been planned at this point of the route, including a tea party in Borrans Park.

The Torch will then set sail down Windermere to Bowness Pier, arriving just before 8pm, where a huge event to mark the occasion is being staged on the Glebe.
After spending the night in Bowness the Torch will set off from Kendal Castle on the morning of June 22nd – heading through Kendal and Milnthorpe before entering North Lancashire.

Here’s the South Lakeland route in more detail:
The torch will come from Keswick to Grasmere along the A591 arriving in Grasmere at approximately 5.38pm. The Torch will then leaves Grasmere and continue on the A591 to Ambleside.

Grasmere Primary School is tying its sports day in to coincide with the Torch’s visit. The sports day will be held at Broadgate Meadow so that the local community can be involved. The sports day will be followed by a British style afternoon tea picnic. Children will be performing traditional British Isle songs and special piece of music will be commissioned to welcome the Torch’s arrival.

To celebrate the Torch’s visit to Ambleside local schools and community groups are planning several events. Including a tea party picnic in Borran’s Park which will feature music and the park ‘dressed’ for its arrival and areas planted in the Olympic colour. Pupils from local schools will also perform an especially composed song welcoming the Torch to Ambleside.

After this the Torch will board Windermere Lake Cruises boat MV Tern at Waterhead Pier and will sail down Windermere to Bowness Pier where it will disembark. at 7.57pm where it will be centre stage of a series events planned at the Glebe featuring celebrities, dignitaries, music and food from Taste Cumbria.

The Olympic Torch Relay celebrations will take place in Bowness on the evening of 21 June. The event will give the local community and visitors to the area a chance to welcome the Olympic Flame and share in the excitement and celebrations that the Relay will bring.

The evening will finish off with a breathtaking performance organised by Lakes Alive in conjunction with Les Commandos Percu with the world premiere of ‘On the Night Shift’. This is a newly commissioned spectacular show to mark the start of the Festival 2012. This incredible open-air production combines music, pyrotechnics and drama to dazzling effect, sending streams of colour and light soaring through the skies above Windermere.

After spending the night in Bowness the Torch will set off from Kendal Castle at 8.20am on the 22 June. It will travel through Kendal and then will set off for Milnthorpe where it will be met by hundreds of school children as it passes out of South Lakeland and into Lancashire.

Milnthorpe community leaders are inviting all local schools to line the route as the Torch passes through. Two local residential homes have also been invited. Schools in the area are to be given a colour from the London 2012 colour palate to create banners and flags and to wear t-shirts so a ‘Relay of Colour’ can be created along the route. Milnthorpe Primary School will create a musical farewell moment as the Torch leaves the town as the last community in the district.

The Torch will be in carried by a torch bearers it processes through towns and villages. It will be on what Locog are calling convoy mode, when it not in these areas.
Cllr Brendan Jameson, Leader of SLDC, said: “This is a fantastic event over two days that businesses and communities can be involved in. It will showcase South Lakeland and its attractions to the world.”

The details of the route can be found onLocog website at www.london2012.com/olympic-torch-relay-map.

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This is a very short walk but one which should never be rushed. It should be done in the summer and at that time you will see plenty.
This stroll begins in the centre of Windermere close to the A591 and below the Windermere Hotel, the bus stop, Booths Supermarket and the railway station. There are plenty of places to eat but Orrest Head on a nice day is the perfect place for a good picnic.

Map OS L96 or OL7
Grid reference: 412 989
Length of walk: 1.5 miles
Time: You could do it in an hour but you may want to take a little longer than that.

Route
1 - Find a sign on the road seen from the parking area indicating Orrest Head. This is only a few yards and bears left into lovely woodlands. Follow the track through the woods and continue to a junction and turn right. At this time of the year, the woodland flowers, trees and birdsong are at their very best and on the day of my visit I watched pied flycatchers catching insects in flight and taking beakfulls to their nests to feed their young.
Here is a lane with a stony floor and contained between walls which must be very old as they are covered in moss as well as plants such as ferns, herb robert and ivy-leaved toad flax.

The route now bears left and here you begin the climb towards Elleray Bank.

2 - Look out here to see what is left of a kitchen garden which once fed the inhabitants of the estate of Elleray House. The mix of native and introduced plants are open areas close to woodland has proved ideal for butterflies and on the day of my visit I watched several species including Comma, Peacock and Red Admiral. On hot days photographing butterflies is hard work but early in the morning it is easy. Butterflies are cold blooded and in the early morning they spread their wings wide on the surface of flowers and let the sunlight warm them up.

3 - Rhododenrons thrive in this area and follow the meandering path up towards Elleray Bank. There are splendid views down to the left and the route then begins to level out and leaves the trees, dominated by Scots Pine and enters a lovely little lane. Follow this lane until a kissing gate is reached.



4 - Pass through this gate and climb for a short distance to reach the summit of Orrest Head. Look for an inscribed stone dated to 1902 and celebrating the fact that the Heywood family gave the area to the people of Windermere. I would add that it is not just a treat for the people of Windermere but for all of us because here is one of the best views in the whole of Cumbria. All this in just over a mile from the town centre which can easily be reached by public transport. I always picnic here and enjoy a view over the whole of Windermere water and on a clear day, Morecambe Bay can be seen as well as the Langdale Pikes, Scafell Pike, Coniston Old Man and many of our hills and mountains.

5 - From the Orrest Head view I am always reluctant to start the descent leading to the starting point, but there is still much to see, but Elleray Woods has other gems on offer. Apart from a picnic I always carry a little flower book because the variety of plants here is wide and attracts birds and butterflies. A little hand lens and a light pair of binoculars always com in handy. An obvious track leads to the road and the starting point.

Most of us use our cars to reach the starting point for walks, but it is good that this one can be reached by both bus and train.

NB: Restrictions on space mean that this article provides a general summary of the route. It is advisable for anyone who plans to follow the walk to take a copy of the relevant Ordnance Survey map.

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So we have launched our NEW Ownership Brochure for the 2012 season, this was re-designed by Blumilk, at the start of the process we had two very different concepts that were then tailored into the one we have now. 

To coincide with the new brochure we also re-designed the website with Fat Media and added some great new features too ...



Some of these include;
- Budget Calculator which can help you find your ideal holiday home within your budget.

- New Search Functionality you can now search by Lake District, Morecambe Bay, Ribble Valley, then select the parks in that area you want to view.

- Live Chat you can now chat live with one of our sales team and get the answer straight away.

- Finance Options these are available on our units so you can see the repayment periods and monthly payments.

- Special Offer Functionality you can see straight away if we have a offer available on these units.

- Ownership & Lodge Brochures are now online to download or if you want we can post it too you.

To download or receive in the post our NEW Ownership Brochure CLICK HERE

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South Lakes MP Tim Farron will be launching a campaign on Monday to boost tourism by using twitter to tell the world about the hidden gems in Cumbria.

President Barack Obama during his recent State of the Union address launched a #visitUS campaign which asked people to tweet their favourite place in America and why they loved it in a bid to boost tourism. Tim is hoping that residents can do the same with a hashtag of #visitcumbria.

This is another initiative of Tim’s campaign to boost tourism in the county. The tourism sector plays a vital role in the Cumbrian economy, it provides around 32,000 jobs (Full Time Equivalents) and provides around £2bn of investment each year.

Tim recently called on the government to establish a cross-Cabinet committee in order to coordinate government policies affecting the industry.

Tim said: “Every little helps and I hope that this initiative will allow us to spread the message around the world about the wonderful places and attractions that Cumbria has. With millions of people expected to visit the UK for the Olympics this year, now is the ideal time for us to put Cumbria on the map as a fantastic place to end a visit to England on.”

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