Good grief. Surely the nation should buy it off him? Better than wasting money on Trident of somesuch. As long as Cameron or Osborne didn't then sell it on to one their mates, obviously.

Sellafield? Sell a nation.

as the old anti-nuke protest slogan goes.

To the Russians? The ironies of our modern world just pile up.

The excrement will really hit the air conditioning when new legislation is shoe-horned in to sell off fracking rights from under the feet of current landowners. Wont those landowners weep and shreik! Diddums!

http://frackingdigest.co.uk/horiz2.htm

The only consolation is that the wheelbarrowloads of fiat currency used to purchase such esoteric things as mountains and valleys is really just skidmarked toilet paper passed between toxic banks.

They would sell you the air that you breathe and charge you to look at a view if they could.

It's hilarious. Keep breathing and enjoy the views!

!!!! HMQ has recently become even more stinky rich through the granting of coastal/offshore energy licences. Over to you, maam...then give it to the NT. Thats what s h o u l d happen anyway. Such a beautiful backdrop to Castlerigg.

Obviously, Lord Lonsdale needs to sell up in order to pay off a ludicrous inheritance tax figure. He's trying to get a buyer in order not to evict the farming tenants on the estate. He's also stated that he might not necessarily sell to the highest bidder, which seems to be hinting that he would take the asking price from the local group that is trying to raise funds. Seems a decent chap on the strength of that. There's talk of them handing it over to the NT.

It would be preferable for the local group to buy it, but it's not the end of the world if they don't. Blencathra is in the National Park, so it is protected, and any future owner wouldn't be able to do what they want, and certainly wouldn't get planning permission to build houses and such like. Also, the right of access would be protected for the public and sheep farming would continue.

That's why it's a bit of a storm in a teacup in my opinion, but I hope the local group get it.

All the best,

TE.

http://www.grough.co.uk/magazine/2014/06/25/war-of-words-breaks-out-over-blencathra-community-asset-bid-deadline

Lord Lonsdale's happy anyway “I am heartened, but not surprised, by the level of interest that has been shown in the sale ... "

I've just received this email which may be of interest:

Dear Friends,
Thank you for signing the petition Help Friends of Blencathra buy the mountain, not a wealthy tycoon, however, the Trustees of Friends of Blencathra Ltd have announced that they failed in their attempt to buy the property due to price expectations that were considerably higher than the market value, as advised by our legal team, making it impossible for the Charity to proceed.
Since the announcement in the press, by email and on social media we have accounted for over 75% of the funds donated with many other donors expressing their wish to have their donations given to charity through our Facebook page. However, we are aware that we may not have been able to contact all those who donated.
Since the announcement we have been working with the Charity Commission and on the 2nd October 2017 The Charity Commission authorised a Cy-Pres Scheme which now governs the appeal administered by Friends of Blencathra Limited (1157636)
The Trustees have applied the disclaimed property (Subject to Clause 3 of the scheme) equally between the following charities for the general purposes of the charities:

(1) Keswick Mountain Rescue Team (1165345)
(2) The National Trust (205846) in partnership with the Fix the Fells project
(3) Friends of the Lake District (1100759)
(4) Cumbria Wildlife Trust (218711)
(5) The Mountain Heritage Trust (1083219)

If you have not already made a claim / disclaim and wish to have your donation returned then you still have the opportunity to register your claim using the form at eu.jotform.com/form/70114500742341 before the scheme ends on the 2nd April 2018 (further details of the claim / disclaim procedure and contact details can be found on Facebook and friendsofblencathra.org.uk).

If you wish for your donation to go to the local charities listed you do not need to do anything. Residual funds unclaimed after the 2nd April 2018 will be applied to the selected charities in the same way.

Thank you for your support,
'The Trustees'
Friends of Blencathra Ltd
Charity No. 1157636
Company No. 09041238