English Lakes Blog

Dragon Boat Race from Low Wood Bay to Help Beat Breast Cancer

On 29th October 2010, a group of journalists and presenters from the Cumbrian media will take part in a dragon boat race on Windermere to raise money to help fight breast cancer on wear it pink day.

The media team will face tough competition when they take on the Paddlers for Life crew, a team of breast cancer survivors from Cumbria and Lancashire based at the Low Wood Bay on the shores of Windermere. 

The cancer dragon boat phenomenon started in 1996 in Canada when a sports medicine doctor formed the first crew.  Research has shown that physical activity involving teamwork and paddling can give cancer survivors both physical and emotional benefits, as well as helping to build friendship and support networks.

Paddlers for Life have two dragon boats at the Low Wood Bay Watersports Centre where it has been based since 2008 and meets most Sundays to practice.

They will be given some training by staff at the Low Wood Bay Watersports Centre as well as tips by some of the Paddlers for Life team. 

The race will be on the 29th October at 2:30 pm.

We are delighted that so many journalists and presenters have been such good sports and agreed to take part in this race to raise money to help beat breast cancer.

Dragon boat racing isn’t easy.  The media team will find they need strength, endurance and skill but above all they’ll need to be able to work together as a team.

The team at Low Wood Bay will be wearing pink on the day as part of Breast Cancer Campaign’s wear it pink day and will get involved in the event on the water as well as providing a variety of pink themed treats for the boat racers and hotel guests alike on the day.  

To sponsor the dragon boat race and make a donation to Breast Cancer Campaign please visit englishlakes.co.uk/wearitpink

Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer and one woman in nine will be affected by it during her lifetime.  Breast Cancer Campaign funds innovative world-class research to understand how breast cancer develops, leading to improved diagnosis, treatment, prevention and cure.

Anyone who would like to get involved in Paddlers for Life, or who would like to offer sponsorship or donations, can find more information and contact details on the Paddlers For Life website.

Our New Look...

You may have noticed recently, here at English Lakes Hotels we gave our website a brand new look. This new look reflects the diverse range of businesses English Lakes Hotels now includes and to help communicate our commitment to excellent service and quality.

Here at English Lakes Hotels we have changed our name to English Lakes: Hotels, Resorts and Venues. We took this decision as we felt the new name better represents our business - which includes self-catering lodges, a marina and watersports centre, health and fitness facilities, larger conference and wedding venues as well as five quality hotels and an inn.

New product identities and logos have been produced to reflect the individual nature of the properties. However they share some common design elements so that customers will recognise the English Lakes brand, while still allowing the hotels’ very different characters to shine through.

Simon Berry, managing director and chairman said: “The change consolidates what we offer as a group and reflects that we are much more than a hotel chain."

“We are a group of individual properties that all have their own unique style and character so we do not want any kind of homogenous uniformity. However, we feel that it is important for people to be able to recognise our brand and know that they get the same attention to detail and level of quality at each of our properties.”

The Low Wood Hotel has also been rebranded. It will now be known as Low Wood Bay – reflecting the many facilities located there, including a Marina, Watersports Centre and large leisure club.

The rebranding of the company also allows it to become more flexible in how it develops in the future.

David Neale, commercial director said: “The new branding is a better expression of the breadth of what we do now as well as expressing something of our vision for the future.”

To find out more about our new look visit our new site at englishlakes.co.uk where can see the new hotel brand identities on the hotel pages.

Poet Felix Dennis comes to the Low Wood Hotel

Critically acclaimed poet Felix Dennis is bringing his Did I Mention The Free Wine? Tour to The Low Wood Hotel on Tuesday 19th October 2010 at 7pm.

The evening will include poetry performed by Dennis, with free fine French wines and canapés served throughout the evening.  

In just eight years, Felix Dennis has established himself as one of the most popular and critically acclaimed poets of recent times, entertaining thousands of poetry-lovers on both sides of the Atlantic. Dennis’s poetry has also featured on radio programmes, in the national press, and been the subject of two major television documentaries, as well as receiving critical acclaim from Tom Wolfe, Christopher Rush, Stephen Fry and Sir Paul McCartney, to name but a few.

Felix will be reading a selection of poems from his hugely popular collections, Homeless in My Heart, A Glass Half Full, Lone Wolf, Nursery Rhymes for Modern Times and Island of Dreams, all of which were sell-out books of original poetry. He will also be introducing his new collection, Tales From The Woods, in an exclusive preview ahead of the book’s launch in October.

Tickets prices: £10 pre-booked online or £12 on the door, £5 concessions.

To book online go to http://www.didimentionthefreewine.com/

Less the 1000 places left for the British Gas Great North Swim

Despite entries being open for only three weeks, there are less than 1000 places left in the 2010 British Gas Great North Swim.

The British Gas Great North Swim takes place in lake Windermere over the weekend of the 4th and 5th September, with entries already full for Saturday.  Nova International, organisers of the British Gas Great Swims, are predicting that places may be completely full before New Year.

Colin Hill, Project Manager for Great Swim said: “The British Gas Great North Swim has attracted swimmers from all around the country and is a big positive for Cumbria in the wake of the recent floods. Hopefully the sudden uptake in entries for the swim will show that the Lake District is very much open for business”.

The 2009 Great Swim series, which attracted over 10,000 swimmers, is currently being featured in a sequel of programmes on Channel 4, with the British Gas Great East Swim on air at 8.00 a.m. on Sunday 27 December.

Entries for the four 2010 Great swims are available at www.greatswim.org

More information about the Great North Swim at Low Wood

Great North Swim On Channel 4 This Weekend

The British Gas Great North Swim will return to lake Windermere on Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 September 2010. Entries have opened early to coincide with the launch of the Great North Swim TV programme which will be shown on Channel 4 this Sunday (13 December) at 8am.

The hour long programme will show highlights from the two-day event which took place this summer at the Low Wood Hotel.

Over 5000 participants have already signed up to take part in the inspiring swim and organisers, Nova International, predict that entries could close before New Year.

Great Swim is open to swimmers of all abilities aged 16 years and over. For more information and to enter online visit official great north swim website.

More information about the Great North Swim at Low Wood