[T]he Lake District Calvert Trust have announced that a celebratory official opening of their accessible Bowderstone Bothy will take place on Friday 20th April with special guest, Duncan Booth, the well-known local mountaineering enthusiast. On the day the bothy will be open to view by the public, and staff from the Calvert Trust will put on abseiling demonstrations.
Over the last two years the Trust has been fundraising to redevelop their remote mountain bothy which is on a twenty-five year lease from the National Trust and situated next to the famous Bowderstone in the ‘Jaws of Borrowdale’ near Grange.
Through the generosity of the Wainwright Society, the Bernard Sunley Charitable Trust, Burnetts Solicitors and Hansons the necessary funds were raised and work began in 2017 to turn the dilapidated building into functional and wheelchair accessible accommodation. Local construction firm Hansons supplied a volunteer team to strip and gut the building before Stobbarts started the building work, with the final painting and decoration being completed by a team of volunteers from the Keswick Lions Club.
With the work now complete on this fully accessible facility for people with disabilities, the trust is now advertising a stay at the bothy to potential groups. Visitors will have the opportunity to enjoy a remote bothy overnight experience, something the trust has never been able to offer before.
Sean Day, Centre Director of the Calvert Trust said “The Bothy has the unique advantage of being ideally placed to be wheelchair accessible, but still feel really remote and ‘in the wild’; as such, we know it will offer magical experiences to those who stay there. Our thanks go to all the funders and volunteers that helped create this fantastic facility which can benefit thousands of people with disabilities over the next twenty-five years”.
For over 40 years The Lake District Calvert Trust has been delivering challenging outdoor adventure holidays for people with disabilities, offer exciting residential breaks for schools, groups, families and individuals which are accessible to people of all ages including those with the most complex needs for which most outdoor centres cannot cater.
The Bowderstone Bothy, which sleeps up to 12 people and is equipped with a working kitchen, wet room, log burners and furniture, is available to hire by mountaineering clubs, schools and youth organisations for £100 per night. If you would like to know more about hiring the bothy (or the Calvert Trust’s other self-catering accommodation) for your group or organisation, you can contact them direct on 017687 72255 or enquire via their website www.calvertlakes.org.uk/what-we-do/coach-house-and-bothy/
