A CONFERENCE venue on the shores of Windermere has been looking back over 2013 - with one of its more unusual events being a Hostage and Crisis Negotiators Ball.

The event - which is returning to the Low Wood Hotel this January - is held in aid of Hostage UK; a charity that supports hostages and their families both during and after a kidnap.

Kevin Spedding, one of the organisers, said: “Hostage negotiators are volunteers and a lot of the time, officers are called upon to help people in crisis outside working hours, so the ball is a chance for us to spend time with our partners and to thank them for all their support and understanding.

"It is also a great opportunity for us to meet negotiator colleagues and families from across the country.”

Low Wood has also welcomed away-days for national brands such as Nandos through to conferences for BAE systems, Low Alpine and the National Parks Association, plus black-tie celebrations for the CBI, Cumbria Sports Awards and Lakes School leavers.

The hotel was also used as a base by GQ magazine when they did a lakes photo-shoot in the summer.

Low Wood Bay also attracted events aimed at wild swimming enthusiasts such as the Great North Swim and the even colder Chill Swim, which took place in February and brought 250 people to the venue. Both events are returning in 2014.

The Cardboard Boat Race in May, in aid of the Calvert Trust, also provided competitors with lots of opportunities to make the most of the venue’s facilities by messing around in the lake and getting wet.

Colin Fox, the marketing manager at English Lakes Hotels Resorts & Venues says “Last year we managed to attract a very wide range of events to Low Wood Bay.

“I think this is partly because we offer great facilities and customer service and partly the fabulous setting."

The hotel has 111 bedrooms and nine meeting rooms with the largest accommodating 340 delegates.

However, the hotel group has plans to expand its corporate facilities with a new convention centre.