Rob Fraser Professional Photographer Expand Rob has been a professional photographer for over 30 years and moved to Cumbria in 2003 to be closer to the landscape that he loves. He has worked all over the world and his images have been exhibited widely and published in numerous magazines.He works as a freelance location specialist as well as a collaborative arts practitioner with his wife Harriet (somewhere-nowhere.com). Their next major project, The Long View, will focus on seven lone trees spread across Cumbria and will culminate in a touring exhibition in 2017. "The continuing work of Friends of the Lake District is vital to protect this much-loved and inspiring landscape. Their balanced voice helps ensure that it can continue to evolve in a way that is sympathetic to the needs of local communities and the tourists, as well as the environment itself."
Amy Bray Conservationist Expand Amy Bray is a young conservationist, who founded environmental charity Another Way in 2019 at 17 (www.another-way.org.uk). She has delivered talks and awareness sessions to thousands of schoolchildren and adults in Cumbria and beyond, inspiring them to make behavioural changes and pledges to protect and enhance our local and global environment. Her work in the local community and beyond has helped many schools, businesses and individuals work together to transition to more sustainable lifestyles and has the support of well-known experts and celebrities. Her current projects include zero-waste shop Another Weigh, community tree-planting, education programme Devotion to Ocean and working with local schools. The launch of Another Way saw over 600 people climb the Wainwright fells to take a stand for our planet and to celebrate all the conservation efforts taking place in Cumbria. Amy is also Ambassador for DEFRA’s Year of Plant Health 2020, part of the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization initiative, with a campaign to raise awareness of how, by protecting plant health, we are protecting the benefits plants provide to all of us, to wildlife, the environment and economy. My passion for conservation was kindled in the fells and becks of the Lake District. There is nowhere on earth quite as unique and special as this National Park, nowhere I feel so connected to the nature that we share our planet with. I am honoured to be able to support the work of Friends of the Lake District to protect and enhance this precious landscape and home, which will become so critical in a future where humanity’s relationship to Earth is in balance.
Lord Egremont Landowner and novelist Expand His ancestral home is the 17th century Petworth House in Sussex. He is also an acclaimed novelist and biographer, best known for his biography of the First World War poet Siegfried Sassoon.
Lord Clark Member of the House of Lords Expand Lord Clark joined the Labour Party in 1959 and was first elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) for Colne Valley which he represented from 1970 to 1974. He then became a Senior Lecturer in Politics at Huddersfield Polytechnic (now the University of Huddersfield) until 1979 when he returned to the House of Commons as an MP for South Shields in Tyne and Wear. Clark resigned as an MP in 2001, and was given a life peerage as Baron Clark of Windermere, of Windermere in the County of Cumbria. He was appointed the paid post of Chairman of the Forestry Commission and also sat as Chairman for the Lake District National Park Partnership and the Lake District National Park World Heritage Bid. He now sits in the House of Lords.
David Birkett Lake District Climber Expand David Birkett is possibly the most famous of all Lake District climbers. His portfolio of climbing successes include numerous first ascents and "E9" climbs, many in his much loved home of the Lake District. David is also a keen dry stone waller and has supported Friends' work in preserving this important rural skill.
Harriet Fraser Writer Expand Harriet Fraser (FRGS) has been a writer since 1990 when she wrote the first edition of the Rough Guide to India. Exploring the world, near and far, has always been an attraction, especially if it means spending prolonged periods outside. In the last twenty years Harriet’s writing has been widely published, and she has exhibited prose and poetry across the UK in collaborations with visual artists. She lives in Cumbria where she weaves writing into a variety of creative and documentary projects, often in partnership with her husband, photographer Rob Fraser, with whom she carried out the highly acclaimed 'Land Keepers'. "Friends of the Lake District has a simple and important ethos, to protect the local landscape, and carries this out with due consideration of the many different demands on this part of the world, including biodiversity, farming, tourism and local residents. I’m pleased to be able to do my bit to help spread enjoyment and awareness of this beautiful region and its many treasures."
Bill Bryson, OBE FRS Author and former President of the Campaign to Protect Rural England Expand I don't know any landscape in the world that is more self-evidently glorious than the English Lake District. And it is all there for us to enjoy. How perfect is that! The Friends’ work protecting the Lake District benefits us all and I salute their charity.
Dame Fiona Reynolds Master of Emmanual College, Cambridge University. Former Director General of the National Trust. Expand Dame Fiona Reynolds DBE became Master of Emmanuel College, Cambridge in 2012. She was Director-General of the National Trust from 2001-2012. During her time there she made it warmer and more welcoming, bringing the houses to life and raising the profile of the Trust’s work in the countryside. Previously, she was Director of the Women’s Unit in the Cabinet Office, Director of the Council for the Protection of Rural England and Secretary to the Council for National Parks. Through this work, as well as through many family holidays, Fiona came to know and love the Lakes.Fiona was appointed CBE for services to the environment and conservation in 1998 and DBE in 2008. She is married with three daughters and lives near Cirencester. She loves walking, reading, classical music and opera.
Mark Townsend Observer Writer Expand Mark Townsend is the award-winning Home Affairs Editor of The Observer. He has been on the newspaper for 11 years and covered many of the world's major stories during that time. Mark's grandfather was Geoffrey Berry, a former secretary of Friends of The Lake District who inspired his passion for the Lakes. Mark was born in Kendal.
Paul Rose TV Presenter, Diver and Explorer Expand I have been following Friends of the Lake District’s work for several years and their values and approach struck a chord. I was delighted to accept the invitation to become a patron. Sharing my global awareness about man’s impact on wild places with critical environmental issues here in Cumbria is really valuable. Dumping litter in our lakes is just as wrong as it is in our oceans.
Rosamund and John Macfarlane Photographers Expand Rosamund and John Macfarlane moved to Loweswater in 2008, having been frequent visitors to the Lake District with their two sons over many years, following their enthusiasm for mountain walking and enjoying, like so many others, the wonderful environment of the ‘Lakes’. They are both very keen, award winning photographers, an interest which acts as a focus for their passion for landscape, nature, wildlife and travel. These form a basis for richly illustrated talks that they give to a wide range of societies, as well as photography exhibitions and producing cards, prints and calendars for local charities. Previously Rosamund had been involved in scientific publishing and medical research work for many years and took up photography seriously 20 years ago. For several years she was involved with Nottinghamshire CPRE (Campaign for Protection of Rural England), becoming vice chairperson and, in that role, meeting the Queen in London in 2006. In 2008 John retired as physician and Professor of Respiratory Medicine at Nottingham University, as well as Chairman of the British Thoracic Society and Council member/Trustee of the Royal College of Physicians. Subsequently he was, for time, a visiting Professor at Manchester University. We are both greatly admiring of the work that the Friends of the Lake District does to protect and enhance the landscape and the wider environment of the Lake District. We are delighted and honoured to be involved with FLD and we shall do what we can to spread the vital message about maintaining such a much loved environment for the well being of those who live and work here, for the benefit of the many visitors and for the conservation of our flora and fauna.
Terry Abraham Filmmaker and Photographer Expand Award-winning and critically acclaimed filmmaker and photographer, Terry has a passion and interest for the outdoors which is second to none. After being made redundant from a lowly IT role, he chased a dream which lead him to producing and directing the BBC hits 'Life of a Mountain: Scafell Pike' (2014) and 'Life of a Mountain: Blencathra' (2016). Growing up in rural Nottinghamshire, Terry spent much of his youth exploring Sherword Forest and working alongside his grandfather in the countryside. Often travelling to far flung scenic landscapes his grandfather has proved to be a major influence in shaping his love and appreciation for the land we live in. Spending many happy days out amongst the trees, birdwatching and seeking flora and fauna, Terry would often stay out overnight in a D.I.Y shelter; hence his passion for wild camping on the Lakeland fells. After the success of his Lakeland documentaries, Terry now lives in the Eden Valley and is currently producing the finale to his 'Life of a Mountain' series featuring Helvellyn. At a recent event, Chief Executive Douglas Chalmers announced the filmmaker as a Patron of Friends of the Lake District. When approached about it a couple of months or so ago I was both stunned and honoured! I’ve always admired the charity for what it stands for and believes in for many years. Quietly and modestly I do try and help and support many charities across Cumbria with my work and fundraising. It’s my way of giving something back as a thanks to the kind support from a great many locals (and now friends) but also the landscape I adore. That includes Friends of the Lake District of course. Goodness only knows that in recent years there have been and continue to be various threats from many angles that seek to commercialise (and more besides) England’s most popular ‘national park’. I’m looking forward to supporting and representing the charity in the future and couldn’t be more bloody humbled to have been asked to be a patron. As usual, I’ll endeavour to be a modest ‘force of nature’ making the argument that the Lake District and Cumbria at large should be protected and enhanced in a respectful and holistic way.
Lord Alf Dubs Labour Peer Expand Lord Alf Dubs has been a member of Friends of the Lake District for 12 years. Dubs became a labour MP in 1979 for Battersea. He was also Director of the Refugee Council between 1988 and 1995. In 1994 was appointed as a Labour life peer with the title of Baron Dubs of Battersea in the London Borough of Wandsworth. Dubs has served on an Area Health Authority and more recently on a Mental Health Trust. He was Chair of the Broadcasting Standards Commission until December 2003 and had previously been Deputy Chair of the Independent Television Commission. He is a Trustee of the Open University Foundation. In the past, he has been a local Councillor, Chair of the Fabian Society, Chair of Liberty, a Trustee of Action Aid, a Trustee of the Immigration Advisory Service and of a number of other voluntary organisations. Lord Dubs now lives in the Lake District.
John Dunning CBE Cumbria Businessman and landowner Expand John began farming in 1956 and is the current owner-occupier of a 900 acre Cumbrian hill farm engaged in sheep and beef production. In 1972 he and his wife Barbara created Westmorland and developed it over the following 40 years. An ideas man and an entrepreneur, John has also made a significant contribution to the development of rural issues both within and outside Cumbria and is also a fountain of knowledge on Cumbrian history.
Lord Inglewood House of Lords Expand Lord Inglewood (Richard Vane) has been a member of Friends of the Lake District for over 30 years and was the President between 2012 and 2013. He is a Member of the House of Lords and a farmer, landowner and businessman in Cumbria. He is Chairman of the CN Group, President of Cumbria Tourism, President of The British Art Market Federation, Chairman of the Cumbria Local Nature Partnership since 2013, President of The Uplands Alliance, and a Member of the Advisory Board Reuters’ Institute Oxford University. Between 1989-1994 and 1999-2004 he was a Member of the European Parliament, first for Cumbria and Lancashire North and then one of the Members for NW England. In 1999 he was elected one of the hereditary peers to remain in the House of Lords. Lord Inglewood's historic home Hutton-in-the-Forest, near Penrith, Cumbria, is open to the public.
Lord Roger Liddle Labour Peer Expand Lord Liddle, who lives in Cumbria, is an active Labour peer, and has been a member of the House of Lords since June 2010, speaking regularly on a wide range of topics including Europe, the economy, university policy and the regions. He is currently chair of Policy Network, an international think tank focused on the economic and social challenges facing progressive politics, especially in Europe.
Dr Brian Jones Expand Dr Brian Jones has been a member of Friends of the Lake District for over 40 years, as well as a former Chairman, Vice President and trustee.
Hal Bagot Hal's family are owners of Levens Hall and estate Expand “I am delighted to support Friends of the Lake District because I know they understand and have the background to deal with the numerous issues continually arising in the Lakes which affect in some way the landscape we all love. It is essential that there is support for a body such as this, and I know that Friends of the Lake District enjoys very considerable support from a large membership.”