Windermere ferry group refloated after seven-year gap

The ferry connects Bowness with Hawkshead

A group giving residents a greater say in a Lake District ferry operation is returning after a seven-year absence.

Calls to re-establish the Windermere Ferry advisory committee came after a fire in May which put the service out of action for five months.

As a result, motorists faced lengthy diversions around the the lake.

County Councillors agreed the move which aimed to provide "a conduit for communications to go from the community to the county council and vice versa".

At a meeting of the South Lakeland District Council's lake administration committee, Councillor Matt Bereton said better communication was needed about "future resilience, road signage and updates on the ferry's availability", according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service .

He said: "It became very clear that had we had this group still in existence, we could have helped the county council, so I'm very pleased to see that... this is a top priority."