A Cumbrian woman is celebrating after marking 25 wonderful years working for a Lake District holiday centre.

Lynne Walker, who was born in Glenridding in the 1950s, works as an assistant housekeeper at the Lake District Calvert Trust, a job she started in 1998 after seeing it advertised in the Keswick Reminder.

The residential outdoor adventure holiday centre is specially designed to be enjoyed by those with disabilities and complex needs.

The first hurdle in getting the job for Lynne was writing her letter of application - after suffering from convulsions and oxygen deprivation as a baby, she has some learning difficulties.

But after nailing the interview process, Lynne jumped for joy when she was formally offered the job by Edna, who proved to be an incredible mentor and friend to her during her time as head housekeeper.

Edna truly took Lynne under her wing, supporting and nurturing her into the experienced housekeeper that she is today.

Now 25 years on, Lynne and her family are marking her incredible commitment and achievements in excelling at the job she loves so much.

Lynne's brother Ian said: "As a family we are overjoyed to be able to celebrate 25 years of Lynne's employment at the Calvert Trust.

"It began amazingly for Lynne back in 1998 with such empathetic and supportive work colleagues.  Her confidence grew noticeably immediately and, for Lynne, this has continued to this day. The Calvert Lakes plays a massive role in her personal life and development."

Lynne and her family moved to Liverpool when she was young, due to a lack of SEND provision in Cumbria at the time, before moving back to the Lake District once she had completed her education.

Ian added: "Lynne's parents would have been overjoyed to see the foundations that were laid by them with regard to her education and the move back to the Lake District, having resulted in Lynne's remarkable achievement at the Calvert Lakes."

Today, Lynne continues to receive empathetic support from the latest Head Housekeeper, Caitlin along with the incredible, specialist Calvert instructors, who never fail to greet her and stop for a chat.

In addition, Lynne and her family have very much valued the support from John Crosby (former CEO for LDCT) and John Fryer-Spedding (founder of LDCT).

Lynne’s parents were incredibly proud of her. They visited her regularly at the Calvert Lakes site. As her father’s mobility declined, they would sit and chat just outside the main building.

After he passed, they installed a bench in that spot in his memory.  Now at Lynne’s break time she likes to sit on the bench, look at the panoramic view across Bassenthwiate, watch the osprey and ‘talk’ to Dad.

The Shaw Trust, who provide assistance to people with complex needs in the workplace, have also offered valuable support to Lynne over the years. Thanks to a mentor from the Shaw Trust she was able to spend a week at Calvert Lakes to experience horse riding, archery, sailing and abseiling.

When Lynne was asked about for her favourite things about working for Calvert, she said: "The atmosphere, the people, everyone gets on well together."

Things have obviously evolved and changed during Lynne's 25 years at Calvert, with more advanced activities now available, but her favourite activity remains the swing in the sports hall. 

After 25 years on the job, Lynne has no plans for change. She is simply happy being able to contribute working at Calvert because it represents such a vital part of her life - it’s so much more than work. 

Calvert is more than a job for Lynne - it is a caring community.