A new set of virtual tours allowing people to explore parts of the Lake District from wherever they are in the world has been launched.
Following landscape charity Friends of the Lake District’s pilot of the High Borrowdale virtual tour last year, these new tours include common land in the Westmorland Dales, and several woodlands including those in Ambleside and Eskdale.
The largest of the charity’s property covered is Little Asby Common, east of Orton, a limestone habitat that includes a part of Sunbiggin Tarn situated within the Yorkshire Dale National Park.
Farmland next door at Mazonwath has its own tour where charity volunteers have worked to rebuild dry stone walls, plant trees, and restore a hay meadow.
The tours also include four woodlands - Mike’s Wood near Staveley, Greenbank and Sweden Woods in Ambleside and Hows Wood in Eskdale.
The online tours, created by aerial photographer Colin Aldred, allow virtual visitor to explore these places on a home computer, mobile, or for a more immersive experience by using a VR headset.
The tours have interactive elements that introduce historical, natural, and ecological information.
Jan Darrall, land manager at Friends of the Lake District, said: “The new tours cover a range of Friends of the Lake District’s land.
“We know that many people may not get the opportunity to visit these wonderful places in person, so we wanted to give them an alternative way to explore these spectacular landscapes and learn about our efforts in managing them.
“As you fly over these places, you can learn about the work we’ve been doing to enhance the Cumbrian landscape.
“This includes hay meadow restoration, creating new native woodland, restoring conifer woodlands back to native oak and birch woods, and even revealing the history of a Victorian extended garden.”
The charity is also installing digital information points around some of its properties, enabling visitors to access content via their phones on visits to the land.
All the virtual tours currently available can be found on the Friends of the Lake District website: www.friendsofthelakedistrict.org.uk/virtual-tours.
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