Archive

  • Foot-and-mouth memorial

    WORLD-FAMOUS artist Andy Goldsworthy has chosen a collapsed sheepfold high in the Howgills as the location for his ' memorial' to the foot-and-mouth outbreak, reports Rachel Kitchen. He plans to rebuild the washfold south-west of Cautley Spout waterfall

  • Barwick: a name that has Civil War fame!

    A THOUSAND years ago - more or less - some of the scattered inhabitants of this lovely area - Norse fold - called it " Vithy-slakki" - "the hollow in the wood." Then, and much later, it seems that both Norsemen and Anglo-Saxon were resident in the area

  • From Our Files

    25 Years-Ago-April 15, 1977-In step THE Westmorland Gazette has helped to revive the old tradition of Westmorland step dancing. For many years the steps were left in the minds of only a few people, but two years ago a letter published in the Gazette asked

  • Euro crisis study

    BIG-WIGS from the European Parliament will visit Kendal on Saturday to hear about the effects of the foot-and-mouth crisis in the county. The delegation will be led by Spanish MEP Encarnacion Redondo Jimenez. The meeting at the Castle Green Hotel in Kendal

  • Show hopes grow

    HOPES are growing that this summer's show season could yet include a full range of livestock classes after the Government gave its most positive sign yet that sheep could be allowed at agricultural events in and around South Lakeland. A statement issued

  • Families under stress

    SIR, East Cumbria Family Support Association is a local voluntary group which offers confidential support and practical help to families with pre-school children who are experiencing disadvantage, difficulty or distress. We work through a network of trained

  • Traffic - a look in the rear view mirror

    SIR, To help G. Procter make his or her mind up as to the permanence of the alleged new "improvements" to the Kendal Traffic System (Letters, April 12), may I quote J.J. LeFevre who was the Borough Surveyor in 1968 when the one-way system was introduced

  • Checkout: What's in the shops this weekend

    Greenbanks, Kendal: New season English salad - cucumbers - 45p each. A Taste of Lakeland, Ambleside: New from the Snowdonia Cheese Company - Purple Passion - guest cheese of mild cheddar & chocolate chips "tantalising addition to the cheese board"

  • Bridge to close

    MILLER Bridge in Kendal will be closed for crucial resurfacing work between 7.30pm and 10.30pm tomorrow (Saturday). Traffic will be diverted for the four hours of the bridge closure.

  • Another mile opens

    AFTER an intensive period of dredging, another mile of the northern reaches of the Lancaster Canal is to be opened by South Lakeland District Council chairman Roger Bingham on Tuesday, April 30. It will be the first time since the canal was closed to

  • Blunkett in town

    HOME Secretary David Blunkett will take a Kendal audience through his mission to create a just, tolerant and safe society. Talking at St George's Church tomorrow (Saturday), the top MP and former Methodist lay-preacher is expected to draw a capacity audience

  • Cumbria has best walks says American magazine

    Cumbria has the best walking country in Britain, according to the readers of a prestigious American magazine called British Heritage. Hadrian's Wall was declared winner of the 'Best Walking Route' category for the Hadrian's Wall path, which is due to

  • Scarecrow Festival a big draw

    Dreamed up as a way of promoting the annual village fair, the Wray scarecrow festival has become a major visitor attraction and money-spinner in its own right. Every two weeks in the run-up to the May Bank Holiday Monday, the small Lune valley village

  • New pub owners prepare for take over

    AN AWARD-WINNING South Lakeland country pub that attracts customers from far and wide will be sold next week. The Masons Arms, at Strawberry Bank, Cartmel Fell, was put on the market last October for £695,000 and is to be bought by Marc Claret and his

  • Stylish new village hall

    A STYLISH state-of-the-art village hall, which is set to greatly enhance community life in a Lune valley village, has opened this week. The new hall in Arkholme - which has cost more than half a million pounds - boasts a large main hall for sports and

  • 'More tax' budget welcomed

    CHANCELLOR Gordon Brown's tax-raising Budget has been broadly welcomed on the streets of South Lakeland. It seemed most people were happy to pay more national insurance provided this would, as promised, lead to improved public services, reports Justin

  • Controversy over sculpture after redundancies

    The unveiling of a sculpture to commemorate the history of K Shoes in Kendal was branded "insensitive" after it went on show less than a week after 76 redundancies were announced. The covers came off the 8ft-tall sheet aluminium art work at the former

  • Last lap for sports funding

    SCHOOLS in South Lakeland and Furness have learned they are on the last lap of a race to bag a slice of £4.6m pounds of sports facility funding. Sporty types and couch potatoes alike could benefit from the cash to be stumped up by the New Opportunities

  • D-Day for motorists

    Highway engineers are anticipating teething problems when radical changes to Kendal's traffic flows go "live" in nine days time and are urging motorists to be patient. Rob Lawley, senior consultant with Capitadbs, which is contracted by Cumbria County

  • Housing becomes political hot potato

    The future of the district's housing stock looks set to be the big political hot potato for South Lakeland District Council this coming year, writes Jennie Dennett. For Labour, the battle lines have been drawn clearly along old Labour principles of public

  • Village play plan

    RESIDENTS of a Furness village could soon be enjoying a new £130,000 play area featuring modern play equipment and landscaping. It is hoped the new development can be built on a section of land at the Community Field at Sandy Lane, Askam, provided planning

  • Royal honour

    A MEMBER of St John Ambulance in Ulverston has been chosen to represent Cumbria at a parade in London to mark the Queen's Golden Jubilee. Kevin Barrett, 23, is one of two members chosen from Cumbria to take part in the march on June 4. Only last month

  • Profit share glee at store

    THOUGHTS of new clothes, meals out and treats were in store at Kendal's Morrisons supermarket as 161 staff learned they had earned a stake in a profit share scheme. Record breaking sales at the supermarket chain triggered the record £12.5 million pay-out

  • Don't close our nursery

    MOTHERS in Morecambe have joined forces to fight County Council plans to close their day nursery. County Hall mandarins have drawn up a scheme to turn Morecambe Day Nursery into a family centre but local mothers say the nursery is vital for many families

  • Fault prevents new building at Heysham

    A GEOLOGICAL fault in the land next to Heysham 1 and 2 has ruled out the possibility of ever building a new nuclear power station at that site. This week British Energy admitted it would be "impossible" to construct a Heysham 3 or 4. Local environmentalists

  • Enforcement is key to respect for laws

    THERE is a misguided tendency to believe that society's ills can be cured at a stroke by new legislation, even when there are perfectly adequate laws already available. It is not the legislation that is the key. Rather it is the ability of the authorities

  • Water watch

    PERMISSION has been granted to install equipment to monitor the water quality on Coniston Water. The Lake District National Park Authority has approved plans by the Environment Agency to put in equipment, suspended from a buoy in the lake, to measure

  • Managers go back to basics

    HARD-WORKING employees are taking a well-earned break while their managers go back to basics and take to the shop floor. Staff at Ambleside's Lakeland store, at Market Cross, won a day-off after coming up trumps in an internal competition between the

  • The Way I See It...by Dennis Aris

    JUST a week ago today I was standing in a rainforest and thinking that we in Cumbria had missed a huge marketing opportunity. It was claimed to be a forest wilderness, but it was teeming with people who had all paid a fistful of Australian dollars to

  • Public meeting on revitalisation

    IDEAS of how Lakes residents want their towns to be revitalised will be unveiled at a public meeting this weekend. The results of several weeks of public consultation asking residents of Ambleside, Windermere and Bowness how they would like to see their

  • Get in line for Export mission

    Last October I accompanied a group of 12 Cumbrian business-people on an 'Export Explorer' Trade Mission to Dusseldorf in Germany. This event, which was supported by Trade Partners UK, the overseas trade division of the Department of Trade and Industry

  • Windermere - ice age to age of gloabl warming

    The fascinating history of Windermere from ice age to global warming is told by leading scientist Professor Alan Pickering in his new book, Windermere: Restoring the Health of England's Largest Lake. The former director of the Institute of Freshwater

  • Bussinesswoman gets close to national award

    YOUNG businesswoman Adele Smith was pipped at the post in her bid for a prestigious national award this week. But the wedding stationery maker was already a winner after earning her place in the national final by taking the North West regional title in

  • Last chance for Town

    FANS are being urged to flock to Parkside on Saturday to support Kendal Town's last-ditch bid to stay in the UniBond League. The clash with Matlock Town is the final home match of the season and only a win will give Town a fighting chance of survival.

  • Out of Africa

    FOR A woman who reached the top her profession this was a returning to roots exercise for the educationalist. Back to the third poorest country in the world, to the Tanzania of her childhood and the plateau town of Dodoma, where teachers busied themselves

  • New book looks deep into Windermere's history

    The fascinating history of Windermere from ice age to global warming is told by leading scientist Professor Alan Pickering in his new book, Windermere: Restoring the Health of England's Largest Lake. The former director of the Institute of Freshwater

  • Amazing feat of endurance

    IN THESE modern times, pop stars are dubbed legends, footballers are congratulated for their bravery, and overweight people are courageous if they run a marathon for charity. Gradually the true meaning of the words has become devalued, but if ever a person

  • Cycling: It's 'Danger' ahead

    SUNDAY'S Booths Grand Prix time trial around Windermere was every bit the thriller that had been predicted, writes Richard Belk.. The Kent Valley Road Club event was packed with international cyclists and the tension was almost tangible as the star riders

  • Lunt strike cannot stop third defeat

    A THIRD consecutive defeat in Saturday's game saw Kendal slip precariously close to relegation, with a 2 - 1 defeat against Lincoln Utd. Such is the form of striker Craig Walmsley that Kendal Town boss Peter Smith had no hesitation in selecting the Milnthorpe

  • Gold for Rebecca

    KENDAL AAC clubmates had a tussle to the finish line at the Vets National Cross Country meeting at Mansfield when Dianne Priestley was pushed all the way by Marrion Smith, who was just two seconds adrift. Priestley finished 10th Vet 50 and Smith, a new

  • Last shout for Kendal Town

    FANS are being urged to flock to Parkside on Saturday to support Kendal Town's last-ditch bid to stay in the UniBond League. The clash with Matlock Town is the final home match of the season and only a win will give Town a fighting chance of survival.

  • Ben Procter edges home

    SEVENTEEN seconds covered the first four home in the 11th race in the Kendal Winter League series which was run from Staveley-in-Cartmel on Sunday. Helm Hill's Ben Procter emerged the winner, making his strength on the descent count and was followed by

  • Lakes men duel for points

    A HANDFUL of South Lakeland athletes took the ferry across to Northern Ireland for the annual Irish leg of the British fell-running championship. The Mourne Mountains course was based on the old Spelga Skyline route, with the addition of some extra mileage

  • Crucial tries by Gibson

    WINDERMERE consolid-ated their position at the top of the Cumbria Division with a well-deserved victory at Keswick's Davidson's Park. Final score Keswick 8- Windermere 27. The fine weather and dry conditions enabled the sizeable crowd to enjoy an open

  • 'Pool pack last pace to foil Kirby

    A DETERMINED Blackpool set out to reverse a comfortable defeat at Kirkby's hands in the autumn and secure safety from relegation. Final score Kirkby Lonsdale 15 Blackpool 22. It was strange that in ideal conditions for running rugby, Kirkby chose to run

  • Flying game fade-out

    FLYING winger Jason Balmer raced in a hat-trick of tries but Kendal could not stop the tailspin that their campaign has been in since the turn of the year, conceding 25 unanswered points in a disappionting second-half display. Final score Kendal 22 -

  • IACS forms reminder

    KENDAL NFU is urging farmers in the area to get cracking with their IACS forms. The Government issued the important paperwork two weeks late, but the deadline for farmers to return their forms remains at May 15. Kendal NFU group secretary Derek Lomax

  • Farm survives ordeal

    A Lune valley farm, which also operates as a successful visitor attraction, suffered a double blow with the outbreak of foot-and-mouth last February. Not only did Geoff and Hilary Ford, the owners of Docker Park Farm, near Arkholme, face the prospect

  • Over The Gate by Jeff Swift

    I NEVER did see anyone ploughing with the big old traction engines of yesteryear when they had one at each end of the field to winch a many-furrowed plough back and forth across the field. I did, however, many at time see a steam engine driving a threshing

  • BSE declining

    BSE in Britain continues to decline, according to a progress report issued by DEFRA. The latest six-monthly progress report shows that 62.5 per cent of British herds with adult breeding cattle have never seen a case of the disease. For beef suckler herds

  • Price cuts will shatter confidence

    MORE milk price cuts expected in this month will "shatter industry confidence," says the NFU. The latest downturn in the milk price could see some dairy farmers being paid close to the damaging levels of 2000 when prices slumped as low as 14.61 pence

  • County shows will face tough security measures

    THE stewards at this year's Westmorland County Show will have to face a raft of measures in the wake of foot-and-mouth including hard hats, disposable white overalls, and even masks if they are dealing with straw, reports Michaela Robinson-Tate. The warning

  • Searching for the secret

    SIR, No doubt many of your readers have seen the metal post sticking out of the shore at Silverdale adjacent to the Cove . It has been uncovered during the enormous amount of erosion that has taken place during the last few years. The post consists of

  • Tinkering with traffic

    Sir, The Highways Department has squandered £ 65,000 trying to achieve the impossible on Hollins Lane in order to placate Mr Acland, and he is still not satisfied (Gazette, April 5, 'Work verges on the ridiculous'). He could have offered to sell land

  • PrizeTime Competition: Win a Choral CD

    Choral Chillout is a double CD collection featuring more than two hours of some of the most beautiful vocal music ever composed. The perfect accompaniment to the longer, lighter days of Spring, this new release from BBC Music rises above other chillout

  • JOb hunters head for Gas company

    Job hunters have flooded British Gas with applications for posts due to be created at the company's Barrow terminals. British Gas Hydrocarbon Resources Ltd has received nearly 350 applications for up to 25 posts it plans to create over the next two years

  • Asylum group visits Lakeland

    A PARTY of 13 doctors of different nation-alities, who were either asylum seekers or people who have recently been granted asylum in this country, visited South Lakeland on Saturday. The Ruskin Museum at Coniston was approached by Anne Candlin of the

  • Heart Line: Heart ops go private

    PIONEERING heart patients from Morecambe Bay are travelling hundreds of miles to have their bypass surgery at a private hospital in a waiting list-busting move. A number of patients are being offered the chance to have their operations at a private or

  • Teens may face play area bans

    FAR-reaching measures to remove gangs of troublesome teenagers from gathering in children's play areas have been drawn up in a bid to cut crime and ease residents' fears, reports Karen Barden. By-laws, which would make it an offence for groups of over

  • More black cat sitings

    A WOMAN and her son have reported seeing a big, black cat in the South Lakeland countryside - close to where another sighting was made earlier this year. The woman, who does not wish to be named, and her ten-year-old son, who live in the Hallgarth area

  • Scientists' relocation delayed

    PROPOSALS to relocate around 60 high-quality jobs away from an internationally recognised research station in the Lake District have been put on hold. Scientists, support and technical staff at the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH) at Windermere

  • No to pay offer

    HUNDREDS of ancillary workers at hospitals in Morecambe Bay have "overwhelmingly" rejected the latest pay offer from Morecambe Bay Hospitals NHS Trust of a ten per cent performance agreement and an additional payment for staff who are already on a bonus

  • More rail strikes

    TRAIN union ASLEF has announced three further strike days, which will halt First North Western services. No trains will run on the coastal Cumbria branch line on April 22 and 29 and on May 6. A meeting was due to take place yesterday (Thursday) between

  • Hunters vow to protest

    The fight to preserve hunting foxes with dogs in South Lakeland and Cumbria has begun with supporters petitioning the Government about the issue from the steps of Defra in Carlisle, reports Ellis Butcher. Members of the county's Countryside Alliance along

  • Pull out fears

    A LONG-STANDING toy shop in Ulverston could be under threat after its owner decided to consider pulling out of town. Hall's in King Street, could be closed in the coming months and the owners have now decided to invite prospective new businesses to take

  • e-tag deal secures jobs

    MORE than 200 jobs at an Ulverston electronic consultancy and manufacturing firm have been safeguarded after the company secured a deal to supply pioneering equipment to the British Army. Oxley Developments at Priory Park fought off competition from firms

  • Road safety purge

    MORE than ten motorists have been caught speeding and two others reported for seatbelt offences during a road safety campaign in Ulverston. Police have been targeting the area between Quebec Street and Priory Road in Ulverston since March. During the

  • World success

    THE girls' junior orienteering team from Ulverston competing in the World Orienteering Championships in Lisbon, Portugal, was in third place at the end of the second day's racing. The five girls from Ulverston Victoria High School, aged 14 and 15 years

  • Job hunters head for Gas company

    Job hunters have flooded British Gas with applications for posts due to be created at the company's Barrow terminals. British Gas Hydrocarbon Resources Ltd has received nearly 350 applications for up to 25 posts it plans to create over the next two years

  • No to zoo garage

    OWNER of South Lakes Wild Animal Park David Gill could be forced to take down a detached garage store after Barrow Borough Council's planning committee refused retrospective planning permission. Mr Gill applied for planning permission after building the

  • Glass roof plan over access to new store site

    KENDAL Liberal Club has applied to South Lakeland District Council for permission to put a glass roof over its yard on Stricklandgate and provide access to the proposed Booths supermarket. Coun John Studholme said the club had been in talks with Booths

  • Flood plans to be debated

    THE arguments for and against a flood relief scheme for Kendal are to be debated in public at an inquiry to be held this summer. After the three-day inquiry, which is due to start on August 13, an inspector will decide whether South Lakeland District

  • Award for quick PC

    QUICK thinking police officer Belinda Friend's bravery is being recognised after she rugby tackled a man who had doused himself with lighter fuel and was holding a lighter. The Kendal officer is tonight (Friday) receiving a commendation by Cumbria Chief

  • Lottery boost for village hall

    A MAJOR refurbishment of a village hall at the hub of a local community is set to start after lottery money was awarded to finance the work. Villagers in Crosthwaite were this week celebrating news of a £168,709 grant from the Community Fund, formerly

  • Survey gets great response

    A CUMBRIA county councillor said he was delighted with the response to an Arnside village parking survey which has produced 1,200 replies. Kent estuary councillor Ian Stewart wanted to find out what local people thought about a proposed one-way system

  • Town honorarium

    KENDAL town councillors agreed to give a £ 500 honorarium to the widow of the council's allotments inspector, Ralph Lisle, who died recently. Councillors stood in a minute's silence in memory of Mr Lisle, 75, who retired to Kendal ten years ago. Coun

  • Planters to blossom

    Permanent planters - lamp-posts with arms to support hanging baskets - are to start springing up at various sites around Kendal, town councillors were told at their latest meeting. Town clerk Hugh McClorry said two would be put up close to the bus station

  • Fairtrade status sought

    Kendal could help disadvantaged producers from some of the world's poorer countries by becoming one of the first Fairtrade towns in the country. Garstang in Lancashire has been declared the country's first Fairtrade town and Kendal has been invited to

  • Business fined

    A CARNFORTH business has been fined £3,000 for the illegal dumping and burning of waste on land at Yealand Conyers. Phil Rogerson Ltd of Preston Street admitted the two offences when they appeared at Lancaster Magistrates Court and they were ordered to

  • Steamer ready for Jubilee

    WINDERMERE Lake Cruises' Victorian steamer Tern is to emerge from her winter refit in time for the Golden Jubilee. The company's skilled craftsmen have been replacing the traditional wooden decking, and renovating the interior and hull of the vessel,

  • Groups pull out

    PRIVATE sector organisations have pulled out of the North West Regional Assembly, claiming that their views have been ignored. The CBI, the Federation of Small Businesses and the Institute of Directors all withdrew from the assembly, which covers an area

  • Local business gets top prize

    Damian Turner admits he was more than a little taken aback to discover he had reached the regional final of a prestigious business competition. But it has not taken long for the manufacturer of performance exhausts and silencers for motorbikes to rev

  • Last lap for sports funding

    SCHOOLS in South Lakeland and Furness have learned they are on the last lap of a race to bag a slice of £4.6m pounds of sports facility funding. Sporty types and couch potatoes alike could benefit from the cash to be stumped up by the New Opportunities

  • Help for Cricket Club

    Young carpenters from Kendal College had the chance to put their skills to work renovating the scoreboard at Netherfield Cricket Club. Steve Wilson, head of construction at Kendal College, said: "We are getting pressure to make things happen within the