Our work in Windermere - land management that works for people and nature

Published:: 16 March 2023

View from Queen Adelaide's Hill looking out over lake Windermere — Queen Adelaide's Hill is a great spot to see the views out over lake Windermere | © National Trust Images / Chris Lacey

Windermere is a busy tourist destination with the largest local community in the Lake District National Park. In Windermere the National Trust owns a number of small farms, numerous pockets of countryside, several patches of lakeshore and the Footprint building. This patchwork of land presents us with an opportunity to protect, restore and create spaces for nature that benefit wildlife and people on a landscape scale.

Together with the help of our neighbours, the local community and our partners we can create opportunities for sustainable farming and farm diversification, find more space for nature, build climate resilience and offer great experiences in the outdoors.

About Windermere

Windermere welcomes hundreds of thousands of visitors each year coming to enjoy its amazing walks, heritage and to access England’s largest lake. The Trust is a major landowner in Windermere with jigsaw pieces of land set within the wider landscape. Windermere is a varied mix of bustling urban spaces, low-level fells & lakeshore parks, farmland and isolated pockets of rich wildlife habitat.

Windermere is a hotspot for some rare and endangered species including, white clawed crayfish, touch me not balsam, netted carpet moths, duke of burgundy butterflies and rare breed albion cattle.
Windermere is England’s largest lake, concerns have been raised about the health of the lake, in particular algal blooms and bacterial pollution.
There are pockets of land in Windermere that are exceptionally rich in biodiversity providing great habitats for wildlife, but there’s lots more land that could be more nature friendly and easier for people to access and enjoy.

Our aims

Increase the climate resilience measures that are in place throughout the catchment, including creating new wood pasture, restoring meadows and grasslands and creating ponds.

Work with our neighbours, tenant farms, partners and the local community to create wildlife habitats that are bigger, better and more joined up.

Make it easier for people to get out and enjoy the outdoors and inspire the local community to love and care for the natural world around them.

What we've achieved so far

Tree planting on Queen Adelaide’s Hill

In 2023 our Rangers planted 500 trees, a mixture of hawthorn, oak, birch, cherry, rowan, holly, blackthorn and hazel, at Queen Adelaide’s Hill. As they grow these trees will provide space for wildlife to thrive and help intercept rainfall run-off into the lake, playing a small part in improving water quality overall. We also took the decision to remove grazing from Queen Adelaide’s Hill. It is a very popular place to walk and picnic, rightly so as the views from here across Windermere are super. As well as making the site a more welcoming place to visit, removing grazing has allowed the grass sward to grow longer and the wildflower patches to spread – great news for wildlife.

Cattle at High Lickbarrow farm in Windermere — These rare breed albion cattle are excellent conservation grazers | © National Trust Images

Conservation grazing

High Lickbarrow farm in Windemere is home to the UKs largest herd of very rare Albion cattle. High Lickbarrow farm was gifted to the National Trust in October 2015, by local architect and artist, Michael Bottomley. Along with the buildings and land that was rich in biodiversity, we also gained the Scoutbeck herd of Albion Cattle, an extremely rare breed that has since been recognised in the critical category of UK native rare breeds by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust. These cows are great conservation grazers. Where we have stuck to sensitive, cattle only grazing in recent years at High Lickbarrow and Moor How we have seen more wildflowers, more species of birds in higher numbers, natural tree regeneration and spreading heather, juniper and bilberry.

A dyers greenweed plant at High Lickbarrow farm in Windermere — This small yellow plant once helped to make the famous 'Kendal green' cloth | © National Trust Images

Propagating native dyers greenweed

In 2023, 100 native dyers greenweed plants were propagated using seeds collected at High Lickbarrow. The seeds were sent to the National Trust plant propagation centre in Somerset where they were germinated and will be sent back in 2024 ready for planting. Typically found in healthy hay meadows, dyers greenweed is an important foodplant for a range of scarce moths and other insects, but it’s importance also lies in its cultural heritage. Dyers greenweed was once used as a key component in making ‘Kendal Green’. ‘Kendal Green’ was a coarse cloth commonly worn by peasants, it made the town rich and famous. The yellow dye extracted from the plant was mixed with other natural dyes to create the famous green coloured cloth. When High Lickbarrow farm was gifted to the Trust in 2015 we found only 1 plant, in the years that followed careful grazing saw the number of plants grow to 50 and these 100 new plants will further bolster the numbers.

Newly grafted fruit trees at St Catherine's in Windermere — It will be two years before these newly grafted trees are ready to be planted out | © National Trust Images

The beginnings of a new orchard

We have been working with Dick Palmer from South Lakeland Orchard Group to replicate their national collection of rare apple trees from Yorkshire, Lancashire, Cumbria and Scotland. The creation of an orchard of this kind is complicated by the fact that you can`t just go to a tree nursery and buy them as they are so rare, so we have had to build them ourselves. Starting with M25 rootstock, we grafted on sections of Bulmers Norman (an old cider tree with a long straight stem) to get the required height before top grafting the scion wood of the final tree that we hope to establish. The process takes a couple of years to get a tree which we can plant out. In total, we aim to plant about 100 trees in this orchard over the next two years.

Cowslips on Fulking escarpment, Devils Dyke, Sussex — We hope to encourage rare duke of burgundy butterflies by planting cowslips at Moor How | © National Trust Images / Christine Dawson

Planting native plug plants

Over the last few years we have planted over 2500 native plug plants in Windermere. Including 1000 cowslips and primroses at Moor How, Common Farm and High Lickbarrow, to encourage the population of rare Duke of Burgundy butterflies. 500 Marsh Violets at Moor How to encourage Pearl Bordered Fritillary butterflies and 1000 plants to restore the meadows at Fell Foot and St Catherine’s.

Apple blossom at Gibside, Tyne & Wear — As well as producing beautiful blossom, fruits trees have a vital conservation role to play | © National Trust Images/Tom Carr

Learning about blossom with local schools

Over the last couple of years we have been working with three local schools in Windermere, who have been learning about all aspects of blossom trees and how they are ‘nature’s fest’ for wildlife. Last year the children helped with planting fruit trees at Common Farm where three new orchards are underway. The trees planted here will have a small but valuable conservation role to play, providing homes and habitats for wildlife, sources of nectar for insects and pollinators and places to nest for birds in winter.

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Plans for 2024

Planting out rare fruit trees at Common farm in partnership with South Lakeland Orchard Group
Working with the local community to explore how we can make our outdoor spaces more welcoming and easy to access
Planting 14,000 trees including; 500 trees in wood pasture at Moor How, 13,000 trees at Common Farm and 400 more on Queen Adelaide’s Hill
Restoring 70 hectares of grassland at Common Farm, Fell Foot and Grove farm
Planting out 9000 native wildflower plug plants at Fell Foot meadow, Moor How, Common Farm and High Lickbarrow
Undertaking butterfly and moth surveys at Moor How and High Lickbarrow
Creating ponds and wetland at Common farm as part of a natural flood management scheme
Planting out newly propagated dyers greenweed plants at High Lickbarrow
Welcoming more school groups to learn about land management and nature conservation at Common farm
Planning to create new walking routes up onto Orrest Head, Bannerigg summit and through the wider Crosthwaite estate

Why is this work important?

Climate change is the single biggest threat to the places we care for. The very reasons we love the Lake District; wildlife, lakes, woodlands, historic buildings, gardens and parklands are all under threat. From protecting and planting trees to slowing the flow of water from the fells, helping people, heritage and nature adapt to a changing climate is at the heart of everything we do.

More trees, hedges and wood pasture – Trees are one of our best natural defences against climate change, they clean the air we breathe, lock up carbon as they grow, slow down the flow of rainwater on the fells and provide homes for wildlife.

Healthier meadows and grassland – Since the 1930s, over 97 per cent of the UK’s hay meadows have disappeared, taking with them vital habitats and food sources for wildlife. In addition to their beauty, these grasses, flowers and herbs provide shelter and food for bees and butterflies plus birds, hedgehogs and bats which feed on insects.

More ponds – In the Lakes we are already feeling the impact of changing weather patterns such as storms, droughts, floods and rising temperatures. Natural flood management measures such as introducing ponds, scrapes and wetlands can slow and store water, reducing run-off, increasing flood resilience, enhancing habitats and biodiversity and improving water quality.

Conservation grazing – Choosing which animal to graze each place takes careful consideration. Cows for example can be excellent conservation grazers in grassland. By eating the longer grass, cows help to create space for the less competitive, sensitive plants, allowing them to thrive. This, in turn, attracts all kinds of insects and wildlife.

How can you get involved?

Just by visiting our places, parking in our car parks and drinking tea in our cafes you are supporting the work we do. However, if you want to get more involved you can volunteer, help plant trees or donate to one of our appeals.

We are hoping to plan some events to take place later this year, from tree planting to habitat surveys. Check out Windermere Events for the latest information on events and activities taking place.

Windermere has a wonderfully dedicated and passionate team of volunteers and we’re always looking to grow our volunteer numbers. If you’d like to know more about how you can volunteer, email us.

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