In reply to nrhill:
I am not a lifelong resident of the Lake District, although I do now live within it & have visited it throughout my life. I also work in the tourist industry & I am a climber.
I read your points with interest & totally agree with the fluidity of nature, however I feel that your comments regarding treating the National Park as a museum are …… erroneous.
I would like to draw your attention to the 1949 National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act.
The act has two statutory primary requirements:
1. To conserve & enhance the natural beauty, wildlife & cultural heritage of the National Parks.
2. To promote opportunities for the understanding & enjoyment of the special qualities of the National Parks.
If there is any irreconcilable conflict between these two primary purposes then the first takes precedence over the second, this is I understand known as the “Sandford Principle”.
I would suggest that a zip wire does not fall within either of these two statutory requirements.
As for the “Adventure Capital” image which has been fostered by Cumbria Tourism, if it does take the National Park status into account then it does so only by reversing the “Sandford Principle”.
By the way for those who don’t believe that this is just the thin end of the wedge, part of phase 3 of Cumbria Tourisms Adventure Capital program includes a “zip wire” & a “monorail”.