AN historic Lake District pleasure park for the aristocracy turned popular tourist attraction is set for a major overhaul to make its 'stunning' features more accessible to modern visitors.

Fell Foot, a National Trust site at the southern tip of Windermere just north of Newby Bridge, has attracted visitors to the Lake District for decades due to its historic buildings, stunning landscapes, and panoramic views, but an application has now been submitted to redesign much of its infrastructure and access layout.

National Trust was granted £684,000 by National Lottery funding in 2017 to transform the park.

The application submitted to the Lake District National Park Authority states that as the park has evolved and changed over decades, a major, long-term re-formulation plan must be adopted:

"This proposal is intended to address two principal issues at Fell Foot, one intrinsic to its topography and historic development, and one linked to more modern developments that have increased the park's public amenity but heightened access issues.

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"In both cases, the purpose of the proposal is to resolve structural access issues for the public while improving the presentation, safety, and legibility of the estate."

Public access to the most popular areas of the estate is key to the proposal:

"The topography of Fell Foot is both its greatest asset and its greatest constraint. 

"The path network shares this conflict with panoramic views over the lake and surrounding mountains whilst also creating steep, inaccessible routes."

The statement says that modern paths have been built on steeper gradients, while 'historic routes tended to follow contours rather than run perpendicular to them', and the proposal aims to rectify this.

READ MORE: Fell Foot Park on Windermere to be transformed thanks to £684k grant

It says: "The area around the Grade-II Listed boat houses is a particular issue with steep routes and a dangerous drop off a retaining wall."

Proposed improvements would be to: "Develop a safe, accessible pedestrian route that can help tell the story of Fell Foot, help reveal historic view lines and routes running from south to north, and create a more integrated play area into the wider Pinetum area."

The statement describes much of the lawn area as 'under-utilised', and includes the creation of a new play area within the network, with future plans to move parking facilities.