The news was announced today by Heritage Minister John Glen while on a tour of Cumbria to celebrate the Lake District’s new World Heritage Site status. The grant will see the much-loved National Trust country park restored as part of a six-year masterplan to turn Fell Foot into a flagship destination in the North.

Featuring sweeping lawns, rowing boats, a café and shop, Fell Foot is visited by over 150,000 people a year and was originally the majestic grounds of a 19th-century villa, framed by crags, ancient woods and water on the south-east shore of Lake Windermere. While the villa has long since gone, its boathouse complex (one of the largest surviving in the Lake District) and arboretum remain, and it is these historic features, along with the park and improved visitor access, that National Lottery funding will benefit.

[quote=John Glen, Heritage Minister]“This funding is wonderful news for Fell Foot and will help transform the park, preserve the stunning arboretum and restore its beautiful historic boathouses."[/quote]

Activities at Fell Foot currently include wild play, family camping, swimming and running events, and the park is one of the few places where the public can access the southern half of England’s longest lake. It can attract over 4,000 visitors a day in the peak of summer.

This exciting new National Lottery funded project will conserve and flood-proof five historic boathouses as multi-use community spaces, restore the arboretum and park landscape (to include new pathways and better drainage), and provide improved access to the waterfront where visitors will be able to enjoy new sheltered spaces and play facilities. The National Trust will also create four new jobs and eight volunteering roles to run the project.

Heritage Minister John Glen, said: “This funding is wonderful news for Fell Foot and will help transform the park, preserve the stunning arboretum and restore its beautiful historic boathouses. Our heritage should be open to everyone and, thanks to National Lottery players, this project will enable even more people to discover and enjoy the fascinating stories that can be found here at Fell Foot.”