In 1934, Friends of the Lake District was set up to campaign to create the first English national park to protect the Lake District. After almost two decades of tireless campaigning, the Lake District was one of the first national parks created by government in 1951, along with the Yorkshire Dales in 1953.

Today, Friends of the Lake District is still very involved in speaking out for national parks. We led the long campaign to extend the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales National Parks, and we are proud that our efforts led to the new extension areas finally becoming part of the national parks on 1 August, 2016. Read more>