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Lake District’s new Heritage Past-Port to shatter image of the dusty day out

28th March 2016 Print
A Steam Day underway at Stott Park Bobbin Mill near Newby Bridge.

A vibrant group of 33 unique heritage attractions, located in and around the Lake District, is breathing life into the past, to make it intriguing for the visitors of today, by providing a tempting taster of the quirky, intriguing and must-see things its members have on offer.

Cumbria’s Living Heritage has produced a fabulous ‘Heritage Past-Port’ that is encouraging visitors from around the world to have a foraycation - diving into the past, to have tremendous fun, here and now, in 2016.

The Heritage Past-Port, downloadable from the website for free, highlights the things the various attractions don’t necessarily shout about. It contains elevator pitches for all 33 Cumbria’s Living Heritage attractions, packing each with quirky and intriguing titbits, details of superlatives and diminutives, where they exist, and some good old name-dropping, for those interested in famous historic characters, personalities, gardeners and artists.

Visitors are invited to head to Cumbria and the Lake District to get on the trail of things such as a letter written in the ‘hand of God’, the 21 fruits of pommology, a bee penthouse and a 700-year-old cat.

They can also track down places associated with Beatrix Potter in her 150th anniversary year, focus on speed demons, Sir Malcolm and Donald Campbell, and head to locations associated with England’s most renowned poet, William Wordsworth. This depends on whether they have time, as there are also names such as Chippendale, Gillows, Schwitters and William Morris, to discover.

Children can use the Past-Port to engage in missions such as finding marks on pillars where weary monks fell asleep with candles), exploring a Faerie Glen and spotting a rabbit smoot, bee bole and hogg hole. If picnicking, they can look out for red squirrels, and if playing in an adventure playground, they can keep an eye out for an osprey.

The Past-Port also invites people to discover more about interesting things such as the 17th century Radish Feast and the Arthurian Legend of Sir Gawain and The Greene Knights, whilst stepping into the shoes of a 19th century bobbin maker and meeting servants from the 1770s.

“With England’s largest window in the Flowing Decorated Gothic Style, one of the most haunted buildings in the UK (Muncaster Castle), and the National Trust’s largest collection of medieval culinary plants, we also have superlatives to shout about,” says Cumbria’s Living Heritage spokesperson and MD of Muncaster Castle, Peter Frost-Pennington.

“Add to this amazing features, such as 200 herbs laid out as a medieval manuscript, a ‘Living Quilt’, a fish from the last Ice Age and a contemporary Bayeux Tapestry, and we justifiably believe we have richly rewarding and exciting days out to offer, which really shatter the image of the dusty historic experience. With our Heritage Past-Port in hand, visitors can buzz around the Lake District, and beyond, seeking out all the amazing things we have highlighted, to tick them off their must-see list.”

Those wishing to do that will find a map at cumbriaslivingheritage.co.uk that will assist their mission and potentially allow for more than one attraction to be visited per day. Let the Heritage Past-Port breathe life into the past and you could be ‘presently’ surprised.

More Photos - Click to Enlarge

A Steam Day underway at Stott Park Bobbin Mill near Newby Bridge.