We celebrated the extension to the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales National Park boundaries by watching the first dawn over the newly extended Lake District National Park on Scout Scar near Kendal. 

A stunning sunrise greeted those up and 5:00am to see in the dawn on the first day of the official inception of the extension to both the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales National Parks.  

Scores of people joined us to see in the new day, eggs and bacon fortifying the early risers; among them many supporters and campaigners who have worked twith us to see the extensions introduced.

Policy Officer, Alison Lax, 

These areas have always been special and valued in Cumbria, but now it adds a level of national recognition. These areas really should have been part of the parks in the first place. The landscape's qualities are on a par with everything that was included in the parks previously.

The extension to the parks, announced by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in October came into force today, 1^st August and now see the Dales stretch to the north and west and the Lakes to the east and south; the boundaries now within touching distance either side of the M6 motorway, creating a band of protected land across the north west of England.

We'd like to thank Lakeland Radio for coming along to join us and broadcasting their morning radio show with us from Scout Scar. You can watch a short clip of the broadcast here...

https://www.facebook.com/lakelandradio/videos/10154360042237020/

See more pictures from the day here: