Use them or lose them

This week's 'write up your street' for the Gazette's Love Local campaign is a real bargain ... two streets for the price of one - Main Road and Crescent Road in Windermere.

Both are busy thoroughfares, often thronged with traffic winding its way to and from the tourist honeypot of Bowness.

For those who use this time to glance around them, there is much to whet the appetite ... only a smattering of national chains, the rest being an eclectic mix of independent retailers and services, from lingerie and pet supplies, to fashion, food and flowers.

It's clear that tourists contribute to this local economy - many of them delight in browsing the kind of shops they have had the misfortune to lose at home. Obviously they didn't have a 'Love Local' campaign!

But we do, and the message is clear - the easiest way to 'love local', to help keep the heart in our local communities, is to spend our money in them.

"It's great the Gazette is promoting independent retailers in Windermere like this," said Paul Holdsworth, town centre manager for Windermere, Bowness, Ambleside and Grasmere. "South Lakeland is very lucky to have some of the very best village shops in the country. They are a precious resource and they need our custom."

USE IT OR LOSE IT With its future in the hands of people like Graeme and Francine Wells, Windermere should be on everyone's shopping map.

Chef Graeme and front of house Francine run Francine's coffee shop and restaurant in Main Road.

They were disappointed that the major street enhancement works in Crescent Road weren't extended around the corner to their stretch of the street.

"But you can't dwell on it. You have to be positive and move forward," said Francine, who has introduced her own bit of street furniture to brighten the place up with plant pots and shrubs.

Practising what they preach, the couple use local suppliers whenever they can - use it or lose it, in other words.

"Windermere is individual. If we don't use what we have here then it will disappear and the nationals will come in and we will be just like any other street," observed Francine. "We need Windermere to keep its individuality."

When Shirley Crisp opened her lingerie business in Crescent Road 18 months ago, it was a dream come true. Windermere born and bred, she used to buy sweets from the very same shop from where she now advises ladies looking for a perfect fitting bra.

"I love the shop's corner position," said Shirley, the brains behind the bra 'amnesties' which raise money for worthy causes - CancerCare will be this year's beneficiary - as well as provide undergarments for women in the Third World.

Shirley also spearheaded a campaign which raised more than £80,000 for a local play area.

"I am very passionate about the local community," said Shirley who organised the first ever get together at Christmas for Main Road and Crescent Road traders. "I think there is a definite swing back to local shops which is good because when you start to see empty shops it can change the whole face of the community."

Across the road at Brandon James, a bespoke tile design service, family members Barry Martland, his son Andrew and his partner Samantha Challenger are on the up; business has been so brisk that they are expanding to the first floor.

"We have local customers but also get business from a lot of people who have come across us when they have been visiting the area," explained Barry. And that means he and Andrew now travel all over the country dispensing their expertise.

For Ruth and Phil Eastwood of the Oak Street Bakery and neighbouring Coffee Bar 7, local custom is just as important as the tourist trade.

"And if people don't support local shops then they won't survive," warned Ruth. "When big names disappear from the high street like Woolworths, then just imagine how hard it is for smaller retailers. Don't make the assumption that we will always be here."

All it needs is for people to try to shop in the village at least once a week. And bring the children, says Ruth!

"It gives them a sense of community too."

Especially as Windermere has such lovely shops and places to eat, said Simpsons newsagents proprietors Joan and Bill McMillan.

Town centre manager Paul Holdsworth agrees: "Windermere has a terrific range of top-notch retailers working extremely hard to make shopping here enjoyable, convenient and fun."

LUCKY TO HAVE SUCH BEAUTIFUL SHOPS As a food writer, you would think my nose would follow the smell of fresh-baked bread or scrumptious baking.

But there’s no other shop guaranteed to have me drooling in quite the same way as an ironmongers – and Windermere is fortunate enough to have one, Musgraves, which has the benefit of frontage on both Main Road and Crescent Road.

A treasure trove of nuts, bolts and all manner of household paraphernalia, I am invariably drawn to the pots, pans and kitchen gadgets of an ironmongers – there has to be something I need. Or is it that nostalgic whiff of creosote, grease and methylated spirits as you walk through the door which really sets my imagination on fire?

Owner Jonty Mayo – who also has Middletons in Kendal - says he has never counted the number of lines in the shop but agreed that there must be thousands.

On-street parking in Windermere and the portable nature of many of those lines have seen Musgraves hold its own against the DIY monoliths which set up on out of town sites.

But you can’t always park immediately outside the shop door … At fashion house No.22 on Main Road, owner Rose Booth says she has to smile when ‘locals’ who have searched the big cities for a new dress come home to find what they want on their own high street.

“People moan about not being able to park outside the door but I don’t think they realise how lucky they are to have such beautiful shops.”

Parking is also an issue for Lakeland Pet Supplies just a few doors up from Rose. But that has partially been overcome by provision of a local delivery service, explained shop assistant Toni Ingman.

“It’s all about providing personal service,” said Toni.

“And quality,” commented one of Crescent Road’s two butchers, Andrew Wright of Claytons.

While Huddlestons butchers just a few doors up has gone for a modern interior, Claytons has retained the traditional fixtures and fittings – including some beautiful tiling – of the business which was established in 1907.

But that doesn’t mean to say Andrew and wife Sharon haven’t moved with the times. And anything the supermarkets do, you will find a local butcher can do better.

“Including make your money go further,” commented Andrew. “We can cut joints to customer requirement, reducing waste and cooking times. And we can advise on cheaper cuts and those that make a meal one day and leftovers the next.”

Like many Windermere traders, the Wrights and their staff are actively involved with local schools and worthy causes.

It’s all part of the service, they say. As for their knowledge … that’s priceless.