Whilst the Lake District, Cumbria is renowned for its lakes and mountains, our rugged coastline is certainly worth a visit. In a recent visitor survey by Cumbria Tourism, 94% of respondents said they felt a boost to their general health and wellbeing during their visit. The Cumbrian Coast is the place to get outdoors and enjoy the fresh air. This year we are celebrating our rich coastal landscapes, villages and towns through Cumbria’s Year of the Coast.
To help you join us in celebrating Cumbria’s Year of the Coast, Cumbria Tourism has put together a toolkit of resources and content which you can incorporate in your marketing and share with your own audiences so that together we can showcase just how special our coastline really is and encourage visitors to experience all that is on offer. As the campaign progresses, we will continue to update the resources, therefore please keep an eye on the campaign resource hub here.
We would love to hear from you with any upcoming news, events, product launches or examples of innovation that can be used in the campaign and to feed into our own marketing and PR activity, therefore please keep in touch by contacting the team with your news on [email protected].
Don’t forget to stay in touch and share your stories by following us on social media:
• Facebook: Facebook.com/Golakes • Instagram: Lakedistrictcumbria • Twitter: @lakedistrictpr
Use the hashtags:
• #cumbriayearofthecoast • #theperfectplacetobe
Campaign Logos
You can support the campaign by sharing the Cumbria’s Year of the Coast logo across your channels. Choose from a selection of colours, all of which can be downloaded from the resource hub here.
Please find some examples below showing how you can include the logos across your marketing activity, including website and social media platforms:
Campaign Imagery & Assets
A suite of stunning brand-new images have been produced in celebration of Cumbria’s Year of the Coast, which you can use across your own marketing channels. High resolution versions of all images can be downloaded from the campaign resource hub here. Please note these images must be used intact and must not be edited in any way from their original format.
Don’t forget, if you are a member of Cumbria Tourism, you also have complimentary access to our asset library containing a wide variety of beautiful images and video of Cumbria’s coastline, along with additional campaign images. If you need help getting set up on the library, please email Darren Milby on [email protected].
We will continue to add more campaign images as the campaign progresses. If you have any suitable high-resolution images that you have permission to use, then let us know and we would be happy to mock these up using the campaign branding.
Coastal Content
There are many fun and quirky facts about Cumbria’s Coastlines which help to highlight just how special our coastline is. Perfect for sharing on social media and across your channels, these can be used to help inspire and educate visitors.
➢ Ravenglass is the Lake District National Park’s only coastal village. It also has the unique accolade of being in TWO UNESCO World Heritage Sites; the English Lake District and Hadrian’s Wall.
➢ Not only was the historic Georgian town of Whitehaven used as a template for the expansion of New York in the mid-18th century, it is even reputed to be the inspiration for Lilliput in Gulliver’s Travels.
➢ The towering red sandstone cliffs of St Bees Head dominate the only designated Heritage Coast between Wales and Scotland - and are the only area of high sea cliffs in the North West.
➢ The majestic Muncaster is the home of the original Tom Fool and still employs a jester each year.
➢ Senhouse Roman Museum in Maryport is home to Britain’s oldest private collection of Roman treasures, while the remains of the bath house at Ravenglass Roman Fort are among the tallest remaining Roman structures in Britain.
➢ The RSPB reserve at St Bees has one of the largest colonies of sea birds on England’s west coast – including Puffins and Razorbills – and is the only place in England where Black Guillemot breed.
➢ Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway is one of the UK’s longest narrow gauge heritage railways, exploring seven miles of spectacular scenery from the coast into the foot of England’s highest mountains.
➢ Mildred Gale - the paternal grandmother of the first US President George Washington – is buried in Whitehaven.
➢ Waberthwaite is the home of the original Cumberland Sausage, regularly dispatched to the Queen.
➢ The 900 year old St Bees Priory is the resting place of St Bees ‘bogman’ – the famously well preserved body of a medieval man discovered in the Priory Grounds.
➢ Bowness-on-Solway is the official end of the Hadrian’s Wall Path, an 84 mile National Trail, but don’t forget, the UNESCO World Heritage Site continues down the Cumbrian coast as far as Ravenglass.
➢ You may have noticed that there are two Granges in Cumbria – in 1858 the Reverend Wilson Rigg got fed up with his mail getting misdirected to Keswick Grange, so he changed the name of the town to Grange-over-Sands to distinguish between the two.
➢ The monks of Furness Abbey engaged in both smuggling and bribery. The Abbot is also said to have paid a “ransom” to Robert the Bruce to protect the Abbey - some call it a “ransom”, others may call it a “bribe”.
➢ George Stevenson planned an enormous bridge from Morecambe to Ulverston. The enormous structure would have connected Morecambe to Ulverston, but the backers of the time understandably got the jitters and backed out of the idea.
➢ The landlord of the Ship Inn at Piel Island is known as the King of Piel Island, and he can make you a Knight of Piel Island if you buy a round of drinks for all present!
Key Anniversaries 2021:
-70th birthday of the Lake District National Park. Established in May 1951, the Lake District is England’s largest National Park, home to its highest mountain (Scafell Pike) and its deepest lake (Wastwater).
-30 years since the passing of Alfred Wainwright. Between 1952 and 1966, Wainwright climbed 214 Lake District summits to produce his seven Pictorial Guides. For more than 50 years, Wainwright's meticulous hand-drawn books have been an essential companion for visitors to the Lake District.
-160th anniversary of the birth of Thomas Hayton Mawson. The young Thomas moved to Windermere to set up a nursery business called Lakeland Nurseries. His skill for garden design led to huge success and much of his work in the area can still be visited today. His Cumbrian commissions included Wood Hall near Cockermouth and the park at Barrow-in-Furness.
2022: Hadrian’s Wall marks 1900 years of history. In 2022, it will be 1900 years (AD 122) since the Roman emperor Hadrian visited Britain and ordered work to begin on what is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Stretching 73 miles from Cumbria’s west coast across some of the wildest and most dramatic country in England, you can experience Roman life and epic history in stunning locations.
NEWS FOR 2021 & 2022
-‘Deep Time’ Arts programme: Marking Cumbria’s Year of the Coast 2021, a new arts programme reflecting the region’s long history and multi-layered cultural heritage, is being created. It will include five coastal commissions with international artists – including two former Turner Prize winners - celebrating depictions of the diverse coastal landscape, people/communities and little- know ‘gems’.
-England’s Coast Path (Whitehaven-Silecroft): A new 50km stretch of England’s Coast Path is due to open in Spring 2021, linking the historic harbour town of Whitehaven with the golden sands at Silecroft and the majestic backdrop of the 2,000ft-high Black Combe. Along the route, other highlights will include the Lake District National Park’s only coastal village at Ravenglass and the towering red sandstone cliffs of St Bees and its thriving RSPB nature reserve.
-Bay Cycle Way: Over the next 18 months Morecambe Bay Partnership are working on not only extending the Bay Cycle Way from Glasson dock to Fleetwood to create over 150km of cycle way connecting Fleetwood to Barrow in Furness, but will also re-launch the new extended cycleway as a perfect destination for cycling. The project will also be developing new resources for the whole of the Bay Cycle Way, developing great itineraries along the route, creation of new online content and resources that make the Bay Cycle Way a brilliant experience.
Itineraries Cumbria’s coastline really does have something for everyone and to help visitors plan their break, we have produced a series of inspirational itineraries packed full of ideas and suggestions for what to see and do.
You are very welcome to share these PDF itineraries with your own audience, all of which can be downloaded here. Please note the itineraries need to be used as pdfs and the content must not be directly copied onto your own platforms as this can affect your website SEO.
Additional Marketing Opportunities
As part of the work Cumbria Tourism has been doing with the England’s Coast Discover England Fund project, you can get involved in the following promotional opportunities.
1. Free Listing on England’s Coast Website: Make sure your coastal business is listed on the England’s Coast website – it is free to add and can be updated at any time. The project has just launched a major promotional and PR campaign to attract UK visitors to the coast and will be gaining extra attention over the next few months.
To make your listing head to: https://www.englandscoast.com/en/business-listing-hub/register
2. Become an England’s Coast Ambassador for your area with free online product knowledge training: As consumers start to think about making travel plans, double-check everyone in your business is up-to-speed with top tips and facts on your local area by completing England’s Coast Ambassador, a free online training course with modules for every region of the coastline.
Each section is packed with information on local attractions, the surrounding area and how to get around, ending with a short quiz. On completion applicants gain a downloadable England’s Coast Ambassador personalised certificate.
To start head to: https://www.englandscoastambassador.co.uk/
The Western Lake District & Coast Group is a not-for-profit organisation set up a number of years ago to support tourism businesses in the area and help promote them through its website, network and social media channels.
Thanks to support from Copeland Borough Council, Sellafield and working closely with Cumbria Tourism, membership of the group is complimentary until March 2022. Business categories include Accommodation, Attractions, Business & Education and Travel. Benefits include:
• Free listing on westernlakedistrict.com • Support and publicity for local events. • Active social media presence to include Facebook, Instagram & Twitter. • Presence at national travel and tourism shows. • Liaison and partnership working with kindred tourism and marketing organisations. • To join, please follow this link: https://westernlakedistrict.com/join-us/
For more information, please visit www.cumbriatourism.org.
This is Cumbria’s Year of the Coast, embrace it, use it, share it, get involved, tell us your news, share your film and photography with us at [email protected]