Children from schools across South Lakeland are celebrating today as their attempt to write the World’s Longest Letter rolls in at a whopping 290 metres in length – as high as the smallest Wainwright fell, Castle Crag!
The children are confident it has earned a place as the longest letter ever written in the UK and the submission will now be sent to Official World Records.
Pupils from eight schools in the Kendal area wrote the longest letter to the Lake District’s World Heritage bid team, to help them show the UNESCO judging panel why the national park is so special to them. The result is a giant reel of heartfelt messages expressing their love for the beautiful place they call home.
Excerpts from the letter include:
"I love the Lake District because it is a stunning place to live, with hundreds of things to do, from hiking to canoeing and rock climbing. If you plan on coming to the Lake District, make sure you pack your wellies!"
"I love the fact that no matter where you are in the Lake District, if you go to a café you're almost guaranteed good homemade food."
The project was led by paper manufacturer James Cropper and the Lake District National Park. Following its tour round schools earlier this year, the letter was then displayed at Brockhole, the Lake District Visitor Centre, throughout the summer where visitors were invited to take part and make the letter even longer.
Tim Tidman, product manager at James Cropper Paper, said: “It’s all too rare to get a handwritten letter these days, and we thought it would be wonderful to get our local community involved in taking this to the extreme to write the Longest Letter. It is fantastic that the words and sentiments of so many children living close to our mill will go towards the Lakes’ bid for UNESCO World Heritage status. It’s been our home for almost two centuries and it still inspires our environmentally friendly papers.”
Peter Hensman, chair of the Lake District National Park Partnership’s Business Task Force, received the longest letter on behalf of the group of 25 organisations responsible for the Lake District’s bid for World Heritage status in 2016.
Pupils at eight schools from the Kendal area included: Queen Katherine School, Castle Park School, Vicarage Park, Stramongate Primary School, Ghyllside Primary School, Grayrigg Primary School, St Oswald’s Primary School and St Thomas' Primary School.
