Troubled waters in Lakeland

Access is restricted in much of the Lake District

By the BBC's Sumit Bose

The Lake District is silent this springtime.

Normally the fells and uplands would be filled with walkers, but with 90% of the 400 square miles of national park closed off, it is almost deserted.

Nearly a quarter of all foot-and-mouth cases are in Cumbria, and with farming an integral part of the life here many traders have been sympathetic to their cause.

But now the tourist businesses have become casualties themselves.

Fell walking is a major attraction in Cumbria

Keswick is in the heart of the Lake District.

The town's population of 5,000 is normally boosted three-fold in the spring and summer months.

But this season the message all over town is the same.

Vacancy signs are hanging in every one of the town's 400 hotels and guest houses. Most are virtually empty.

Derrick and Margaret Holman took over the Edwardene guesthouse in November.

They moved from Suffolk hoping for a new start, an independent life.

Now their business is vanishing. With no walking allowed on the fells, cancellations are coming in daily.

When I met them they had only one booking for the whole week.

We never thought it could be so devastating

Derrick Holman, hotelier

Mr Holman said: "We have a little fat to live off for a month or so but after that I will be crawling to the bank manager.

"We never thought it could be so devastating."

The crisis is the only topic for discussion at an evening meeting of the local hoteliers' association.

Most are losing an average of around a £1,000 a week and they blame the authorities.

Kevin Gladas, who owns a six-bedroom guest house, said: " We need compensation and we are not likely to get it.

"If it continues we will have lost 50% of our members by the autumn."

But its not just hotels - no tourists means nobody in the pubs or restaurants and no one on the streets.

Part time workers in the catering industry have been told to stay at home, and the local taxi firms are releasing casual staff.

The beauty of the lakes draws in thousands of visitors most years

Throughout the county the story is the same. Cumbria's tourist industry is losing about £8m a week.

Paul Tiplady, from the Lake District National Park, admits closing it off was a difficult decision, but he said it does not mean the area is closed.

"We have to follow the Maff guidelines and protect the environment, but we have to tell the public the countryside is open, the lakes are open, you just have to stay on the Tarmac and off the fells," he said.

The waters of Windermere provide one of the alternatives to fell walking.

Boat trips are the only area of Lakeland tourism showing some hope in these times.

Although no boats are being chartered and you cannot land anywhere apart from designated quaysides, business is going well.

Jim Fleming, of Windermere Cruises, feels guilty for his success.

"We have less people here but more of them are taking the boats because they can't walk.

"We are going great guns but I really feel for everyone else."

Grim picture

But such optimism is scarce.

In Ambleside, Britain's biggest outdoor clothing store, Gaynor Sports, has already shed 10 jobs.

Builders, flower sellers, bike repairers and even supermarkets are feeling the strain of this crisis.

The Cumbrian Tourist Board has set up a helpline for local traders, but with an economy totally dependent on attracting outsiders to the lakes the picture is grim.

Tourism officer Sally Hughes said: "This is an emergency.

"We hope to have some money for a fighting fund to help people re-market themselves so we can save the summer season and keep many alive."

Lakeland tourism holds the Cumbrian economy together to a far greater extent than agriculture.

Businesses have been stunned by the speed and effect of foot-and-mouth.

If it continues, the question is how many will still be here to see in the start of next season.

But for now - the still waters of Windermere hide the troubled times the people of the lakes now endure.