Forestry Commission finishes six-year Grizedale project

New facilities at the Forestry Commission's Grizedale Forest in Cumbria will open next week including a new information centre, improved educational facilities, café, shop, North Face Mountain Bike Trail, bike hire centre and a high-wire assault course by specialist operator Go Ape.

Chairman of Forestry Commission, Lord Clark of Windermere, and Steven Broomhead, chief executive of the North West Development Agency, which put £2.6m into the project, will be joined by climbing champion Leo Houlding at the opening ceremony on Friday 18 September.

Broomhead said: "As one of the top four attractions in the Lake District with 250,000 visitors each year Grizedale makes a significant contribution to the rural and visitor economy."

The six-year Grizedale project was made possible by grants from the NWDA, Cumbria Vision, the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund, the Lake District National Park Authority Sustainable Development Fund and Defra Rural Enterprise Scheme.