Famous Kirkby Lonsdale tourist attraction Ruskin's View needs £1m to reopen

  • ITV Granada Reports' Paul Crone spoke to the community in Kirkby Lonsdale

The community of Kirkby Lonsdale, Cumbria, are uniting together to save iconic attraction Ruskin's view from permanent closure.

In September 2021, the area was deemed unsafe to the public due to the erosion of footpaths and was forced to close.

A campaign called 'Save Ruskin's View' has been created with the aim to fundraise the £1,000,000 needed to reopen the paths. £150,000 has been raised so far.

Matt Sowerby, Fundraising co-ordinator, said: "It's one of the only places for an hour around where you have a wheelchair accessible view, so it's really important for lots of different reasons, for lots of different people.

"Round here we've got two economies, we've got farming and we've got tourism, and this is one of the two big tourist attractions in the town. So this is a big part of the reason why people come here."

For the campaign, Kirkby Lonsdale Brewery have created a beer called '1822' to raise funds.

Suzanne Sutton, a tour guide for Kirkby Lonsdale, believes the brow is "such a big part" of why people visit the town.

She said: "Over the last almost two years that the brow's been closed, the number of people coming in going 'so where is this Ruskins View I've been hearing about?', sadly it's closed. We also have the Devils Bridge obviously, but it's such a big part of why people come to Kirkby Lonsdale.

"We suffer from a lot of rain, we suffer from a few grey skies but in any given day it's absolutely stunning and it's so dramatic."

In September 2021, Ruskin's View was closed to the public because of the erosion to footpaths. Credit: ITV Granada Reports

In 1822, the view was painted by the artist JMW Turner.

In 1875, the attractive was described as "one of the loveliest views in England, therefore in the world" by poet John Ruskin.

Mike Burchnall, Chair of Kirkby Lonsdale Town Council, says the council are preparing two applications to raise funds.

He said: "We've got two huge applications going in for funding early next year. One to National Heritage Lottery and one to a fund called the Community Ownership Fund, and if we get that sort of money then we hopefully will get close to the £1,000,000.

"I think it's so important to locals that they are prepared to keep going with it and know it's a long stretch, but they want to get there."

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To know...