Ullswater Bus Service Celebrations
MP joins Cumbria holiday park celebrations as community bus service gets back in gear. Tim Farron MP took time out at The Quiet Site this month to join a celebration marking the start of a third year for a locally led Ullswater community bus service.
The event brought together many of the individuals and small business owners behind the initiative to reduce private vehicle traffic and car emissions around Ullswater.
Mr Farron was welcomed by The Quiet Site’s Daniel Holder and retired lawyer Michael Firth of Bennet Head who BOTH helped put the community Ullswater bus service on the road.
Last year, the service carried over 9,300 passengers – a fact which Tim Farron, a long-time supporter of the plan, described as “an immense achievement”.
“Tackling carbon emissions has got to remain our number one priority, and everyone here can be immensely proud of their successful efforts to champion clean transport,” he said.
“We need to preserve the very special character of the Lake District for generations to come, and encouraging people out of their cars is a big step to realising this aim.
“In the nicest possible way, I am hoping that others will steal your ideas and launch similar schemes in Cumbria to decrease both carbon and congestion on our roads,” said Mr Farron.
Community Bus Service
The community bus service carries visitors and local residents from Penrith to Keswick via popular destinations such as Aira Force and Glenridding, and is operated by Stagecoach.
However, the volume of passengers was always known to be insufficient to cover operating costs, and the shortfall is funded by grants and pledges of financial support from local businesses.
Their participation in the scheme was encouraged by Daniel Holder and Michael Firth who formed an action group in 2020 called SITU (Sustainable and Integrated Transport for Ullswater).
The two men, both members of Matterdale Parish Council, rallied local and national backing for the community bus service which first underwent a pilot scheme in 2023.
Its success led to the service being put on a firmer footing the following year, and in 2025 it will extend its operating season from the end of March to the beginning of November.
Sustainable Tourism in the Lake District
Mr Holder is a keen advocate for sustainable tourism, and The Quiet Site has won many major awards for its initiatives to minimise carbon emissions.
They include the King’s Award for Enterprise in Sustainability Development which was presented to the park this winter by the Lord-Lieutenant of Cumbria, Alexander Scott.
The get-together to mark another year for the community bus service was held in The Quiet Site’s bar on the park which was converted from a barn built in 1648.
Environmental Benefits in Ullswater
Mr Holder thanked Tim Farron MP and others present for their continuing support, and said they had all helped make possible a project which was bringing enormous environmental benefits to the Ullswater area.
Other holiday parks on and around Ullswater giving their backing to the scheme are Hillcroft Park, Ullswater Holiday Park, Waterfoot Caravan Park, Park Foot, and Waterside House, Castlerigg Hall Caravan Park near Kenswick, and the Caravan and Motorhome Club.
