A FOND birthday tribute to Lake District storyteller Beatrix Potter is to be launched on YouTube, 150 years to the day since she was born.

The six-minute film takes an imaginary look at how the Peter Rabbit and Mrs Tiggy-Winkle author might have celebrated her birthday in days gone by, complete with afternoon tea, a sail on Windermere and a chauffeur-drive car ride.

It will go live on Thursday, July 28, and a group of businesses is hoping that the film will help attract visitors to the Lakes from around the world, including Japan and China.

Bowness-on-Windermere hotelier Alison Magee-Barker was inspired to make and direct the movie by suggestions from regular guests at the Lindeth Howe Country House Hotel, where Beatrix's mother Helen once lived.

Alison, the hotel's general manager, said: "I had the seedling of an idea for this film back in 2011, when a guest described how Beatrix Potter would often sail across Windermere to come and see her mother.

"I’m so pleased that in the anniversary year of her birth we’ve been able to turn that dream into a reality. The finished film will be a great tribute to one of our most famous authors, as well as being a great promotional tool to help showcase some stunning scenes of the Lake District landscape which inspired her."

Guests at Lindeth Howe have included the great-grandchildren of Beatrix's former governess, Annie Carter. In the film, Beatrix is played by Judith Notley and makes her way from her Near Sawrey cottage, Hill Top, across Windermere in a traditional Lakeland launch, before being transported to Lindeth Howe in a vintage 1925 Humber borrowed from the Lakeland Motor Museum. Backbarrow.

The three-day shoot involved 30 people, from Windermere Lakes Cruises boat skippers and maintenance crew, to gardeners and a chef for the quintessential Lakeland afternoon tea. Scenes depicting the writer’s love of sketching and gardening are framed by aerial footage of Windermere filmed by Skylark Aerial Photography, along with Naik Media.

Motor museum director Bill Bewley played a cameo role as Beatrix's chauffeur. "I’m often asked to do projects like this involving our vintage motor cars, but rarely take part," he said. "For me, what makes this film special is the fact that it brings the Lake District Beatrix Potter would have known to life in a very authentic and affectionate way. I am delighted that the splendid 1925 Humber open-top tourer could play a starring role too."

The project brought together Windermere Lake Cruises, the Lakeland Motor Museum, the National Trust and the Lindeth Howe, and the footage is to be screened at events and trade shows targeting key visitor markets.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lmyzTCAFkQ&feature=youtu.be