So, how do you make the Lake District 'change and diversify' because it is too heavily weighted toward 'white middle-class able-bodied people'?

[Nanny0gg]

Richard Leafe, the Cumbria park's chief executive, said the Unesco World Heritage site must change to merit continued public funding.

I mean, it's mountains and lakes. What can you do?

And isn't that a tad patronising as well?

I suppose we could flatten the hills and have electronic walk ways only . We could destroy it.

The Lake District is open to everyone. Although it takes a certain type of person (whatever their ethnic background) who enjoy getting soaking wet and walking

More to the Lakes than walking.

But it does rain a lot. But when it's not raining, it's gorgeous.

And gear is not neccessary. I lived there and didn't own a single piece of kit! Normal clothes are fine. It's just a bunch of scenery fgs, no need to go traipsing up it unless you want to. Loads of nice walks to go on that don't involve kitting up, never mind all the other activities

I suppose we could flatten the hills and have electronic walk ways only . We could destroy it

Or encourage children from deprived backgrounds to visit it?

Now there's a thought...

And there's zero public transport because it's mostly unpopulated

Durrrr!

Relatively little is true - a fleece is sometimes £5, sometimes boots are on offer for £15-20, a pair of waterproof trousers for less than a tenner. But then imagine you're a couple with two kids, and that's suddenly over £100. Then imagine you don't have a car, so you'll need to get trains and buses to where you want to walk - public transport in the Lakes is sketchy at best.

But people spend that, and more, going to Legoland or Butlins or similar just as a one off 🤷‍♀️

Not having a car would make tricky to get around though and get out in the hills, that is totally true.

If people don't want to go there then they won't. Not like there's a border control.

Exactly.

I live near the lakes and spend a lot of time there (currently in a pub having just done a fell run as it happens). It is very white and there are areas that are quite racist. I don't know what the answer is.

Changing the actual countryside to encourage diversity of visitors would be bloody stupid. Nothing wrong in theory with marketing the Lake District to a more diverse demographic I guess, but I seriously doubt it would have much effect for all the money spent tbh.

Everyone knows it's there. Everyone knows it's beautiful, rainy and not much fun if you don't like yomping up hills in the mud. If they wanted to visit it, they would. I live on the edge of the Lake District and love it, but it's not everyone's cup of tea!

@chomalungma the advert would have to feature teens/young people.

I don't drive. I can't hike. I won't camp. I had a childhood spent trudging up hills and around national trust places. Cold, hungry, tired, bitten by midges. It did not inspire me.

There are relatively accessible walks such as Tarn Hows, but to fill a week with that sort of activity would be quite difficult if accessibility is your barrier. Plus, the towns and villages are not easy to get round on foot with a determined stride and pointy elbows, let alone if you use a wheelchair etc, so I’m not sure how you could counteract that.

Instilling a love of the area in general? Definitely more investment in school visits and residentials needed. But schools themselves unlikely to be able to afford it so would need outside investment.

Transport is inconvenient, infrequent and inadequate. Always has been. I remember going up there in my teens and attempting to travel round by bus because I had to. Absolute nightmare.
www.calvertlakes.org.uk/

www.brathay.org.uk/

Both excellent organisations specialising in opening up opportunities in the area.

Absolutely nothing . Leave it how it is .

Funny how people not discriminated against are the ones fed up with ‘political correctness and box ticking’.

My daughter has cerebral palsy and can't walk. As a baby we went hill walking with her in a back pack but she's too big now. I would love it if some areas in the Lake District and beyond were made more accessible so we could share our beautiful countryside together as a family.

Also, to echo @Spikeyball's point, more Changing Places facilities are desperately needed.

From what I understand, this whole drama has arisen over a row about allowing 4x4s on some trails.

I'm not sure how it has mutated into "the Lake District is too white."

I think this is a bit of a mountain out of a molehill problem...

FGS, this thread is really drawing out the narrow-minded, bigoted wing of Mumsnet. I sincerely hope that nobody sneering here about "PC" and "box-ticking" ever has to deal with being marginalised, although perhaps it would give you some much-needed perspective.

Some of this stuff is as simple as tweaking marketing materials to get bigger reach in groups which are under-represented in visitor numbers. It might be ensuring maps are labelled with accessible facilities, adding braille or audio signage, ensuring there's accessible toilets or paths suitable for wheelchairs. It can mean building new partnerships with charities or schools who work with disadvantaged groups.

It's not paving over the fecking Lake District.

The thing is, walking for fun/enjoyment, however beautiful the countryside, simply isn’t a ‘thing’ in some cultures, especially if it’s likely to be wet/windy/ chilly.

Having lived among very different cultures where by and large you only walk anywhere if you absolutely have to, IMO tramping (or even gently strolling) about the hills and dales does tend to be a ‘white’, though certainly not necessarily a MC thing.
And perhaps more of a Northern European, or at least a ‘cooler country’ thing.

I don’t know how you persuade whole swathes of people that they’re going to enjoy something when their cultural programming, so to speak, tells them that they’re probably unlikely to.

Disability access is a different matter, but presumably some flatter areas, with convenient parking, could be made more friendly for wheelchairs and the less mobile generally - who are hardly likely to want to tackle anything steep anyway.

There must be something going on, or the tourists there wouldn't be so overwhelmingly white

As someone who lives and works in the Lakes I can categorically refute the assertion that the tourists are overwhelmingly white.

You can't move in Bowness in the summer months for Japanese tourists and it's been that way my entire life. In the last decade it seems to have become very popular with BAME communities judging by the people who use my business and the people you see stopped at the side of the road taking photos.

There are 48 'miles without stiles' routes some of which are accessible by wheelchairs and pushchairs www.lakedistrict.gov.uk/visiting/things-to-do/walking/mileswithoutstiles

The vast majority of hotels will have disabled access and a good number of holiday cottages too. There's a number of ATV options for people with physical disabilities - here us just one example provided by the NT www.nationaltrust.org.uk/tarn-hows-and-coniston/features/take-a-tramper-at-tarn-hows

The public transport is better than it is in other less well known rural areas, but it's never going to be like an inner city area because the infrastructure just isn't there to support it, and never could be without compromising the very reason people want to visit.

I just don't recognise the picture that's being painted by a lot of people above.

Funny how people not discriminated against are the ones fed up with ‘political correctness and box ticking

Always the way.

Judging by the comments on here I’d say he has a very valid point.
There are far too many areas in the UK where white middle class folk like to bury their heads in the sand with their way of life and are unwelcome to any”outsiders” as they see it. The stares non-white people get when they do visit these places is telling, as if to say “this isn’t for you”. It’s shocking.

@Longtalljosie I grew up in a tiny village in Cumbria in the 1970s. There was an old railway station on the edge of the village and it was turned into an outward bounds centre for underprivileged children, the main school I remember coming was Scruffwood (forgive my spelling) in Manchester. I know a few other local places did the same.

@Fruitdryingpsychopath So you managed to get to the mythical secret countryside after being led by the hand?

My parents never took me either (they've never been), my kids have been (I worked it out all by myself) they hated it until they saw a snake which gave a few minutes of excitement.

My parents didn't tell me about a lot of things that I enjoy, people are capable of wanting to try new things without needing an adult to explain it..

Perhaps the Lake District National Park should create and appoint to a Head of Better post on a salary of £150,000 to decide how they can do this, and appoint someone working as a Head of Diversity in London to the post.

More buses would be great in the Lake District also a good train service which wasn't actually really really expensive would make it very much more accessible