Top award for The Lady of the North

A local nature reserve managed by Northumberland Wildlife Trust has scooped an award at this year’s National Land Trust Awards ceremony.

Nothumberlandia fended off competition from other Land Trust sites around the UK to secure the Site Delivering Best Economic Activity Award.

The landform sculpture in Cramlington, The Lady of the North, was opened to the public in October 2012 an attracts an estimated 90,000 visitors each year and bringing much needed finances to local amenities.

Over the course of the past year, the visitor centre café has been revamped with new menus introduced and a new counter installed which has led to increased visitor interest and very positive comments.

For dog owners, an additional offer for summer now includes ice cream, specially developed for their pooches.

The café is a not-for-profit trading arm of the charity, where all sales support the running of the site and improving the facilities.

Donation stations and collection buckets are also in place around the site for visitors to make a donation – no matter how small, it all goes towards making Northumberlandia look beautiful!

The site has continued to host regular food and craft markets, not to mention outdoor theatre events with productions, including Mr. Stink by David Walliams and Shakespeare performances by The Handlebards (the Peddling Shakespeare: Cycling Theatre Company), returning year after year to perform to packed audiences.

Northumberlandia has always been popular with visitors, but in the past year, its programmer of events and activities for people of all ages has tripled with this year promising to be the best yet.

From downloadable trails to storytelling afternoons, mindfulness sessions and the Enchanted Cramlington Trail, it is proving popular with visitors who keep returning to the site even after leisure facilities, cinemas and shopping centers reopened after covid lockdowns were lifted.

The site has also had a makeover which has encouraged more visitors, from tree planting, path improvements and a newly constructed artistic pavilion, to new picnic tables and outdoor planters on the decking area outside the visitor center, it really is well worth a visit this summer.

This is the second award for the site in two years. Last year it received the Project of the Year Award for the work carried out by estates staff and Northumberlandia volunteers who braved the freezing weather during January 2021 to improve access to the head of the 100ft high sculpture.  The task was made even harder with the team having to follow strict covid social distancing rules, which included not sharing tools, working two meters apart. Unbelievably, despite this, the project was completed on time and within budget.