Welcome to the latest newsletter from the Lancaster Canal Regeneration Partnership CIC. Enjoy reading our Summer updates including:
- Five Miles With Smiles
- Biodiversity Events
- DIY Full Route Launch Success
- Ice House News
- New path to ‘The Dairy Shed’ opens
- Grant Success
- CIC Support
Five Miles With Smiles!
We’re proud to be part of a new campaign encouraging people to enjoy car‑free adventures across Cumbria and the Lake District. The Five Miles with Smiles challenge celebrates how fun, accessible and rewarding low‑carbon travel can be.
The idea is simple; we’re asking people to complete and (importantly, to have a chance to win prizes!) record, a five‑mile journey using sustainable transport. The journey could be on foot, by bike, by bus, or even something a little more unusual. Every entry helps highlight the benefits of greener travel and inspires others to give it a try.
We’re championing the Towpath Trail as the perfect place to complete the challenge. With its traffic‑free route, beautiful scenery and easy access from Kendal, it’s an ideal way to enjoy five miles… with plenty of smiles along the way.
Dan Taylor from the National Trust, said: “This project is all about little adventures and big memories. We want to celebrate the most inspiring, fun or inventive five-mile trip made without a car. This is all about building awareness of travel choices and demonstrating the affordability of alternative options which, as well as being great for the environment, can be beneficial for mental and physical health, and most importantly a lot of fun!”
The challenge runs until the 1st of November and there are rewards up for grabs, including e-bike rental vouchers, public transport tickets, and family passes to local attractions for the best entries submitted. Winners will be announced and celebrated at a special event on the Basecamp Stage at Kendal Mountain Festival in November.
If the pilot proves successful, we hope to expand the campaign in 2027 alongside our partners to coincide with the Tour de France visiting Cumbria and passing close to sections of the Towpath Trail in Lancashire. It’s an incredible opportunity to showcase how local, everyday active travel can sit proudly alongside world‑class cycling, and to inspire even more people to choose low‑carbon journeys.
For more information and to take part in the challenge, visit fivemileswithsmiles.org.uk or follow @5mileswithsmiles on Facebook and Instagram.
Biodiversity Events
We’re delighted to share that Cumbria Wildlife Trust will be hosting two fantastic nature‑focused events along the Towpath Trail, close to Kendal Leisure Centre between Burton Road and Garden Road.
Bioblitz – 21st August 2026 – 10am-12am
Join the Bioblitz event, where participants will help capture and log all the species they spot. This citizen‑science activity will provide invaluable baseline data, helping to demonstrate the increase in biodiversity once a wildflower meadow is established in the area.
Plug Planting – 1st October 2026 – time tbc
This event provides people with the chance to help create the future wildflower meadow!
To book contact [email protected] and/or visit the Cumbria Wildlife Trust website.
We’re thrilled that sections of the former canal can be used in such a positive way. The Towpath Trail is a perfect blue‑green corridor, connecting habitats and supporting nature to thrive.
DIY Full Route Challenge Launched!
We’ve launched a DIY full‑route challenge to encourage people to explore the entire Lancaster Canal Towpath Trail. The route is plotted on an OS map and we’ve listed accommodation options so participants can complete it over two or three days and enjoy the most northern canal in England!
The challenge has been hugely popular, with over 500,000 people engaging with our social media campaign so far thanks to the marathon distance link and offer of peaceful countryside, canal heritage, waterside views, quiet towpaths and plenty of welcoming places to stop along the way.
Excellent transport links between Kendal and Lancaster, thanks to Stagecoach, Northern Rail and Trans Pennine Express, make the challenge even more accessible and attractive. Many people choose to walk one way and return by bus or train, while others take a few extra days to walk back and enjoy the route from a different perspective.
We plan to update our website soon to feature local hotels and inns more prominently to help people plan their journeys.
Read more here and don’t forget to download your official challenge certificate if you’ve already completed the full route challenge!
Ice House News!
Have you spotted the new “Ice House” interpretation sign on the Towpath Trail in Kendal yet?
A big thank you to the team at Sun Signs, who did a wonderful job of installing (whilst filming!) the new sign. It shares the story behind the historic Kendal Ice House and helps bring a little‑known piece of local heritage to life.
Although the remains of the Ice House sit within a private garden and aren’t accessible to the public, it’s still a fascinating glimpse into Kendal’s past. Long before fridges and freezers, ice houses were essential for keeping food fresh through the warmer months, with ice taken directly from the canal.
To satisfy a bit of towpath curiosity, the sign includes images of traditional ice houses so people enjoying the Towpath Trail can see what they looked like and learn more as they pass. Thank you to Westmorland & Furness Councillor Brook for funding this project.
New Path Opens to The Dairy Shed
We were pleased to open a new public footpath diversion at Natland which creates a safe and attractive link between the Towpath Trail and the brilliant Dairy Shed at Cracalt Farm.
The new route supports our ongoing work to improve access, celebrate heritage and encourage more people to explore the historic Lancaster Canal corridor. Previously, the public right of way passed directly through Cracalt Farm, causing confusion for walkers and challenges for a busy working farm. The new path guides visitors safely around the farm, through fields, and directly to The Dairy Shed – a popular stop offering fresh milk, milkshakes, hot drinks and sweet treats from the farm’s self‑service vending machine and seating area.
Improvements included creating level access near the farm, replacement of a wall stile and rotten bridge and new gates wide enough for pushchairs. Walkers should note that the two fields between the Towpath Trail and The Dairy Shed remain unsurfaced, so sturdy footwear or suitable pram wheels are recommended.
The project was funded via Thrive Heritage funding from Westmorland & Furness Council, which supports heritage‑led improvements across Cumbria.
The new route was officially opened on the 22nd of May, marking another step towards improving access and celebrating the unique heritage of the Towpath Trail.
Grant Success!
Westmorland & Furness Council has awarded a Local Transport Grant to support a range of Towpath Trail initiatives. This funding will help progress several important improvements along the route, including:
- Upgrades to the connecting path at the A65 subway, where erosion has caused ongoing access issues.
- Regeneration designs for the Parkside Road area in Kendal, to help create a more welcoming, biodiverse and community focused section of the trail. Current ideas include a community orchard, raised allotments and natural ‘pump track’ features.
- A feasibility study for accessibility improvements near Farleton where two sets of steps and a steep incline currently limit who can use this part of the Towpath Trail.
- Path enhancements near Hincaster Tunnel to improve the surface and therefore usability along this historic stretch.
Each project contributes to our long‑term vision and we look forward to working closely with Westmorland & Furness Council teams to deliver the outcomes by April 2027.
We’re recruiting!
The Lancaster Canal Regeneration Partnership CIC, the team behind the Towpath Trail initiative, are recruiting two new directors to join the current directors to help promote, steer and support the work and governance of the Community Interest Company going forwards.
If you can see yourself attending quarterly update meetings, site visits, celebration events and generally shouting about the Towpath Trail as much as possible – we’d love to hear from you!
For more information, please follow this link.