[C]umbria’s Living Heritage, a vibrant cluster group of great houses and gardens, heritage attractions and museums, is celebrating its fifth birthday in 2018 with an expanded membership and lots of exciting things to do and see, whilst being on a shared mission to banish the idea that heritage is dry and dusty.
The group, which has members throughout Cumbria, from the Furness Peninsula and Kendal in the south, to Carlisle and Birdoswald in the north, covering an area that boasts two World Heritage Sites, has this year welcomed new members, Lowther Castle & Gardens, the Forestry Commission’s Whinlatter Forest and the National Trust’s Steam Yacht Gondola. It now offers visitors and local residents something exciting and engaging to do in 38 different venues.
As one of these is Grizedale Forest, representatives from various places headed deep into the woods, to celebrate Cumbria’s Living Heritage turning five and Grizedale enjoying its 50th anniversary of arts and culture in the forest.
Members marked their intention to dust-off heritage for yet another year, by unveiling what they believe is the world’s largest duster.
Last year Cumbria’s Living Heritage visually demonstrated, through a show of umbrellas, that it believes itself to provide Britain’s biggest cultural umbrella, offering more wet weather things to do than any other county in Britain.
There are certainly brilliant things going on within the group this year, from outdoor theatre at Brantwood, a Fairy Day at Kirklinton Hall and Gardens and a Cumberland Sausage food and drink festival at Muncaster, to a Wannasee family music festival at Hutton-in-the-Forest, an Easter Dragon Quest at Birdoswald Roman Fort and a Drive-in Spooky Cinema at Carlisle Castle. This is just an enticing sample of what is on offer and the group will also be planning its own joint initiatives throughout 2018.
Cumbria’s Living Heritage’s Chair, Peter Frost-Pennington, says: “We are celebrating our fifth birthday in a more dynamic way than ever before, drawing on the great enthusiasm of our members for collaborative marketing.
“Our initiative goes from strength to strength each year and our members derive great benefit from working as a collective. We can’t wait to attract more visitors to Cumbria in 2018, whilst also providing local residents with a plethora of unexpected things to do, on both rainy and sunny days. We shall continue to banish the dust from heritage and create amazing, enriching and memorable experiences for independent explorers, families and those travelling in groups.”
More information about Cumbria’s Living Heritage can be found at www.cumbriaslivingheritage.co.uk
