People can now visit the Lake District virtually thanks to the work of a Cumbrian charity.

Friends of the Lake District launched its ‘virtual tour’ of its land in High Borrowdale, which they said is the first of many to come as it begins work to roll them out for all its land across the county.

High Borrowdale  

An online aerial 360-degree tour of this tranquil spot allows people to explore it from their homes online, and explains key elements such as the hay meadows, its history, planting, volunteering and flood resilience research and activities on the site via short videos and image collections.

Jan Darrall, land manager at Friends of the Lake District, said: “Many may not get the opportunity to visit in person so we wanted to give people a flavour of the place, a glimpse of this spectacular landscape and our efforts in managing in on their behalf.

“We set out a long-term vision when we purchased High Borrowdale in 2002.

“To maintain, enhance and diversify the special qualities of the landscape, increase opportunities for the public to enjoy this property, and demonstrate that Friends of the Lake District are making a direct contribution to the Cumbrian landscape.”

The charity said the valley has been transformed into a landscape haven for wildlife and people, and it has re-created two upland hay meadows, restored barns, stabilised a derelict farmhouse, re-built 5km of drystone wall and planted 20,000 native trees.

Jan added: “We have dedicated the land as open access in perpetuity, so anyone can enjoy it at any time long into the future.”

In conjunction with this piece of work, the charity is also installing near field communication (NFC) chips around its properties, enabling visitors to access its virtual tour content digitally via their phones on visits to land it owns across Cumbria.

It is also running a training program in 2023 to train volunteers to help it build a picture about the flora and fauna on its land over the coming years.

To take the virtual tour, visit www.friendsofthelakedistrict.org.uk/high-borrowdale-virtual-tour.