National Trust Pulling Pints in Langdale

© National Trust

The Sticklebarn, a popular hillwalkers' and climbers' pub in Great Langdale, has been taken over by the National Trust. It is the only pub in the country to be run by the conservation charity and major upland landowner.

The National Trust already owns and manages large parts of Langdale and surrounding fells. Other properties include several farms, car parks, a hotel and a campsite. They hope the addition of the Sticklebarn will provide a new focal point, or 'gateway', to the valley.

That means Trust staff behind the bar, they say, serving local fare and sharing their knowledge and expertise of the outdoors with the thousands of visitors who flock to Langdale.

More than £40,000 has already been spent upgrading the public toilets between Sticklebarn and the neighbouring National Trust car park, with the useful addition of changing facilities (for wet walkers, not wet nappies).

Jeremy Barlow, a local Trust manager, said:

'The Sticklebarn has been a key part of life in Great Langdale for more than 40 years and is already a popular destination for walkers, bikers, climbers and campers, as well as day trippers.'

'We're really excited about the opportunities this acquisition will give us and the benefits there will be for visitors. Even the most frequent visitors to the Lake District often don't realise exactly how much of this amazing landscape the National Trust cares for. Running the Sticklebarn as a Trust pub will raise our profile immeasurably in a valley which is renowned for its outdoor activities but, more importantly, it will place our expert teams at the heart of the action, sharing their knowledge about this region and what it has to offer.'

'The phrase "field to fork" takes on a whole new meaning when you can see the farmland where your dinner was born and raised by some of the Trust's tenant farmers. The aim is to source as much food as possible from, firstly, the Langdale valley, then Cumbria, then more widely across the region and the UK. The same will be true of the beers on offer with the majority coming from Cumbrian breweries.'

'And not only will visitors enjoy the Sticklebarn's location at the heart of the Lake District, but they will also know that all the pub's profits will be used to care for and protect the land around them.'


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