Eco Award for Church

On Sunday St. Mark’s church celebrated achieving the bronze Eco church award and we are on our way to silver. In March we started the process of becoming an Eco church. We focused on the five key areas of church life promoted by the scheme: worship and teaching, management of church buildings, management of church land, community & global engagement and lifestyle. We had already, as a church, taken steps to reduce our carbon footprint and met many of the criteria for the award.

To achieve our silver award we will need to raise the profile of our support for sustainability projects both globally and locally, to re-examine our commitment to Fair Trade and to be encouraging church members to reflect on how their lifestyle can be made compatible with caring for God’s creation. We have recently started the process of bringing more wild flowers to the churchyard.  David Walker

Road Salt should be in Containers

 The roadside banks above the railway bridge in Helm Lane are wonderful for wild flowers, so what does the council (presumably Cumbria) do? They dump a pile of winter road salt at the top of the hill, straight on the bank, without any container. This is at the spot where the bluebells are at their best in spring. They’ve done the same on the beautiful lane behind Helm, another superb place for flowers. In sensitive areas (in fact everywhere) the road salt should be in containers.      John Inglesfield

Parish News for December and January

This is a jam packed edition, with details of the Church Coffee Morning followed by the Pro Nobis Concert on the 10th of December, Carols on the Green on Wednesday the 14th, and plenty of choice of Church Services and events to suit everyone.

Click here to download the complete magazine.

Cost of Living Booklet

 Here is information about all the agencies which can help if you are affected by the cost of living crisis. 

Women’s Institute News

The next meeting of the W.I. is on Wednesday December 14th at 7.30 when we’ll be learning and making a Christmas craft. All welcome.

Here are some members of Natland and Oxenholme W.I. enjoying a picnic on a fine day in November on a walk from Ambleside to Grasmere. 

Break in at Church

You may have heard that there have been a few break ins to houses in Natland over the last few months. According to the police, the thieves are mainly looking for money and jewellery and they’ve generally ignored other valuable items.

Unfortunately, we suffered a break in at church on 17th November. The kitchen door was forced open but thankfully very little was taken. We have no jewellery at church of course, and very little money is kept on the premises. The perpetrators stole a small amount of money from the small wall safe at the back of church (about £10 was taken).

This will not affect  our policy of keeping our church doors open for everyone (generally 9.00am to 5.00pm every day) but we just want to make people aware, so everyone can be a little more vigilant and careful, knowing that this has happened.

Churchwardens, St. Mark’s Church.

Additional advice from the Chairman of the Parish Council.

The MO is to approach from the back of a property and break in through a window or a conservatory. Cash  and jewellery are their objectives. Apparently spotters on foot or slow cruising cars are known to case joints during the day so we should all challenge anyone we do not know or who looks suspicious. I have done this several times. People with camper vans should be particularly careful. If the Crims notice a gap in the drive, they could surmise that the household is away! Everyone should review their security measures, especially at the rear of their properties.

Ian Ellison

Natland Craft Fair 5th November. Result

A thank you to all those who contributed to a successful day - stallholders, volunteers who helped on the day and visitors who came and bought refreshments and raffle tickets.

The Craft Fair raised over £800 for Village Hall funds.

Minutes and Agenda of Natland Parish Council

Here are the Minutes of the meeting of the 31st October, including news of the installation of the new ‘Taylor’ seat, and the Agenda for the meeting on the 28th of November.

Light Up the Natland Night - Change of Date

 There will be a lantern procession around Natland with St. Mark’s CE School. It will now be held on Friday 6th January starting from school at 6pm and ending on the Village Green. Come and process with them! All are welcome.

Keeping Warm this Winter

Click here to find Warm Spots near here, and Click here for advice on staying warm from Cumbria County Council.

Click here to find out about the financial help available from SLDC.

Another Burglary

 The Police are warning us to be on the lookout after another burglary in Natland. It’s thought the burglars entered the house from behind. Make sure your home security is adequate is the advice.

Here is a link to the Cumbria Constabulary website with plenty of advice about how to be aware of possible computer fraud.

A Post Office for Natland?

 Oxenholme Station has just acquired Post Office services and at the same time it has been noticed that Natland is sadly deprived of any. Moves are afoot to secure a similar outreach PO in Natland and the village hall has already agreed to provide the premises. The challenge for Natland is now to persuade PO Ltd. that there is a need, and enlist the support of others in this cause. Tim Farron is already on board.

Vacancy for a Parish Councillor

Click here for details about how to apply for this role.

Natland Weather Report for October

 NATLAND WEATHER REPORT                      OCTOBER 2022      OCT AVERAGE

                                                                                       C                            C

AVERAGE TEMPERATURE AT 8AM                            9.7                         8.7

           "       MINIMUM TEMPERATURE                       8.5                         7.4

            "       MAXIMUM            "                                  12.7                       12.1

RAINFALL                                                                     209MM                   168MM

      "                                                                                8.4 INS                    6.8 INS

TEMPERATURES FOR OCTOBER WERE ABOVE AVERAGE BUT ALMOST THE SAME AS LAST OCTOBER. RAINFALL WAS ABOVE AVERAGE BUT MUCH LESS THAN LAST YEAR'S HUGE AMOUNT OF 13 INS. THERE WERE ONLY EIGHT DAYS WHEN NO RAIN WAS RECORDED. John Dobson.

Planning Development Proposal

 A housing development is proposed by Story Homes for new houses between Burton Road and Natland Road, click here for details. There will be a consultation on the 9th November in Kendal Town Hall.