A TROUTBECK Heritage Day and Plant Sale is being held from 11am-4pm next Monday, Bank Holiday May 29, to celebrate the village’s 26 listed buildings, many dating from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries.

Visitors will be invited to walk through Troutbeck with a self-guided map and discover this unique historical conservation village, with information placed next to individual houses on heritage boards describing some of the most interesting historical features.

The village, equally renowned for its home-made cake-baking, will also serve refreshments throughout the day at the Village Institute, and there will be a Big Prize Raffle, to be drawn at 4pm in the Institute.

Almost every building in Troutbeck’s conservation area was constructed before 1900 and among the most famous is Townend, a prime example of a Grade I Lake District statesman farmer’s dwelling of the 17th century, with its adjacent Grade II listed barn.

Troutbeck also has numerous examples of characteristic local architectural features including graded slate roofs, cylindrical chimney stacks, crow-steps, wrestler slate ridges and spinning galleries, and the two-level ‘bank barns’ built on sloping land. Proceeds from Heritage Day will help fund the village’s snow plough.

THEATRE Voices, Ambleside’s newly formed fun choir, is performing for the first time next Saturday, June 3 (7.30pm) at St Mary’s Church. The concert is an evening of songs performed by Theatre Voices from the musicals, also featuring local soloists.

The programme will include songs from Les Miserables, Rent, Cats, Blood Brothers, Beauty and The Beast, Mamma Mia and many more. Tickets are obtainable from members of Theatre Voices or online from www.ambleside.theatrevoices.org.tickets/ or by calling 0303-303-3639.

The concert includes a short interval during which tea and coffee will be served. For many members, this will be their first time performing in public, so local people are being urged to go along to support them, as well as enjoy the songs and music.

THE Kelsick Educational Foundation elected Nick Martin as the new chairman of trustees, to succeed Nigel Hutchinson who stepped down as chairman after 13 years. The foundation will also express its gratitude to former chairman Malcolm Tyson with the presentation of an honorary trusteeship to mark his 40-years’ service to the Kelsick, including 13 years as its chairman.

The Kelsick Trust was also pleased to be selected as one of the Co-Op Local Community Fund recipients and recently received £1,434, which it is sharing between Ambleside, Langdale and Grasmere primary schools.

Kelsick trustees are either nominated by certain organisations including Lakes Parish Council or can be co-opted for a particular reason by the trust.

Educational grants for the quarter totalling £16,746 were also approved at the recent annual meeting - an increase of about £3,000 compared with the same quarter last year.

The level of support for the Kelsick’s financial assistance to young people under 25 in Lakes Parish, which is based on the current assets of the trust, is set at 40 per cent of the total cost of the application.

The latest grants will assist young people in a wide variety of activities, including academic studies and tuition for specialist subjects, as well as educational travel, music, dance and performing arts.

Lakes Parish students also compete and excel in a wide variety of sports at local and county level and Kelsick has supported these financially this year, from academy football training with Carlisle United to judo, cricket, rock climbing, mountaineering and cross country running.

Grants can be retrospective for the previous year and the Kelsick is reminding all higher education students who have not applied so far for this year’s annual subsistence grant of £800 to submit it by July 31 for consideration at the August quarterly grants meeting.

Kelsick funds are given as non-repayable grants, and can also help pay for coaching, music lessons and a wide variety of arts and sports activities.

Advice about eligibility is available from Peter Frost, clerk to the trustees on 015394-31289. Kelsick grants originate from the will of John Kelsick in 1723, and income is derived from more than 40 rental properties in Ambleside and other assets. Kelsick has given over £1 million in grants during the past few years to the three local primary schools as well as many individual students. These supported special needs as well as backing excellence in many different activities, helping young people to achieve their potential.