1934 - Friends of the Lake District Founded Expand Set up to campaign to create a national park to protect the Lake District landscape for future generations, Friends of the Lake District was launched at a public rally in Fitz Park, Keswick in 1934.
1935 - the first major campaign, afforestation Expand All through the 30s the Friends campaigned against large scale land acquisitions and planting of acres of commercial spruce in Cumbria by the Forestry Commission.The first major Forestry Commission purchases in the Lake District were near Whinlatter in 1919 and 5000 acres in Ennerdale in 1925-6. By the end of 1933 the Forestry Commission had planted nearly 1,250,000 larch and over 5,000,000 spruce trees in the Lake District.Today we work with the Forestry Commission to replace spruce plantations with native trees, creating better habitats for wildlife, protection from erosion, and maintaining the correct ph level of the soil.
1937 - Lake District Farm Estates formed to protect culture and traditions of hill farming Expand Friends formed Lake District Farm Estates to buy hill farms to protect and maintain the culture and traditions of hill farming, eventually owning 17 farms. All the farms were finally given to the National Trust in the 1970s.
1940 - Campaigning for a National Park in Cumbria Expand All through the 1930s and 40s Friends of the Lake District campaigned to create a national park in Cumbria.
1943 - Hobcarton Crag, our first environmental grant Expand We gave our first major grant to buy Hobcarton Crag, near Grisedale Pike, Whinlatter, and donated it to the National Trust. Today we have supported over 600 projects with grants across Cumbria totalling over £800,000 investment in the landscape.
1949 - a conference held to lobby for putting power lines underground in the Lake District Expand Friends of the Lake District hosts a conference in which the Lake District planning authorities agree to the principle that all power lines should be placed underground except where there was no harm to the landscape. Our campaigning led to the agreement that means many power lines in national parks and AONBs all over the country are and continue to be put underground.
1951 - the Lake District National Park is created Expand Our campaigning helped lead to the creation of the Lake District National Park, one of the first national parks in the country.
1954 - the Yorkshire Dales National Park created Expand Friends of the Lake District played a leading role in campaigning for the creation of national parks. The Yorkshire Dales National Park was created in 1954 - parts of the park around Sedbergh are in Cumbria.
1956 - Rusland Beeches saved Expand In 1956 the Friends take on a 50-year lease to protect the Rusland Beeches from being felled by the Forestry Commission.
1960 - Power boating threat to the lakes Expand Power boating on the lakes is a growing threat to the 'scenic beauty, peace and quiet' of the National Park. Friends lobbied for powers to control the use of motor-boats on some lakes.
1964 - Growing concern about traffic in the Lake District Expand Friends publish a booklet 'Traffic in the Lake District' promoting traffic management as opposed to new roads and wholesale widening and straightening.
1977 - The first Friends Annual Hedgelaying Competition Expand We established our annual hedging competition, to encourage more people to take up these traditional skills that maintain our beautiful landscapes.
1980s - Campaigning against raising the water level at Wastwater and Ennerdale Expand We successfully campaigned against raising the water level at Wastwater and Ennerdale which would have permanently damaged the landscape and nature of the lakes.
1980 - The first Friends annual dry stone walling competition Expand We held our first dry stone walling competition, now held annually each May, to keep alive the traditional skills that maintain our special landscapes.
1982 - Our grant restores Dorothy Wordsworth's garden at Dove Cottage Expand A Friends of the Lake District grant helps restore Dorothy Wordsworth's old garden at Dove Cottage, Grasmere.
1992 - Friends support Haverigg Wind Farm Expand Friends support Haverigg wind farm on the site of a disused airfield north of Millowm, outside the national park.
1993 - Mike's Wood, Staveley planted Expand We plant a new native woodland on fields near Staveley to celebrate the work of our lead officer Mike Houston. 19 years later the new Mike's Wood is well established.
2005 - Winash Wind Farm Expand Friends of the Lake District successfully campaigned against the development of a new wind farm at Winash.
2011 - Fell Care Days start Expand Friends of the Lake District hold their very first ‘Fell Care Day’ at Hellvelyn. 168 volunteers come together to learn about the upland environment and carry out practical conservation tasks to help protect it. This becomes a successful project which continues to the present day.
2012 - National park extensions Expand Our long-running campaign to see the 'forgotten landscapes' between the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales National Parks protected, by including them in the extended national parks, intensifies.
2013 - Zip Wire Development, Honister Expand Friends of the Lake District successfully challenges a planning application to have a zip wire development at Honister.
2013 - new upland hay meadow planted Expand At a time when England has lost 97% of its hay meadows, Friends of the Lake District plant a new hay meadow at High Borrowdale, introducing a wave of beautiful colour into the landscape in summer, and creating an important habitat for many plant and insect species.
2014 - Leaders Landscape Training begins Expand Friends of the Lake District hold five ‘Leaders Landscape Training’ sessions working with 47 outdoor practitioners. The aim of the training helps practitioners deepen their understanding of the variety and importance of Cumbria’s upland ecology and to have a clearer understanding of some of the issues and pressures of outdoor users on our landscape, wildlife, habitats and communities.
2014 - the Helm woodland planting completed Expand Friends of the Lake District plant 1,500 trees at the Helm, near Kendal, to create a new woodland area for local residents and wildlife.
2014/15 - Gillside Wood planted Expand Friends of the Lake District plants 6,000 native trees, creating a brand new woodland at Gillside near Grasmere.
2016 - National Parks Extended Expand We celebrated the extension to the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales national park boundaries on August 1 2016. Our campaigning work was instrumental in seeing the park extensions agreed and in promoting the importance of national park status for our most treasured landscapes. Read more