On the 7th August the design team presented new designs to the Trustees of the charity. The design team is led by Geoff Rich of Architects Feilden Clegg Bradley in partnership with the well-known garden designer Dan Pearson. On the same day these plans were presented to over 50 Friends of the project in Lowther Village Hall.

The aim of the new plans is to distil and enhance the inherent beauty of the abandoned place that everyone who visited on the 26th May was able to appreciate. The approach to the scheme is modest and designed to be of scale that is in keeping with the setting and the local community. Our vision is to transform the derelict remnants of an era of waste and extravagance into place of beauty, sustainability and regeneration.

The decay of the castle ruin will be stabilised but there are no plans to rebuild the castle. There will be access to the top of the central Staircase tower. The interior of the ruin will be planted with a wilderness garden and in contrast to the meticulously scrubbed ruins that you can see across the country the Castle will be festooned with flowers and greenery as if Prince Charming had just hacked his way in! Floating over the gardens inside the ruin there will be a modern building, quietly reflecting the best of sustainable contemporary architecture. The building, which the Head of Ullswater College has christened the Classroom in the Castle, will sit on stilts above a vegetable garden planted on the site of the former kitchens and enriched by earth closets. The lawns where the vast chicken farm was sited will be sculpted to represent a series of waves flowing towards the South of the Castle. The Stables will be restored to accommodate free-to-access restaurant and shopping facilities. The Edwardian gardens will be renovated but not restored to their curious original design. A children's play area will be sited in the eastern gardens.

The process of mending Lowther will be part of the appeal. We want to involve people in the transformation of the place and our plan is to implement these ideas over at least four years. We anticipate that visitor numbers will reach about 150,000 after 5 years. This is less than the former Leisure park that closed in 2001. We do not pretend that there will be no impact from traffic but we will share our plans and genuinely look for ways of finding alternative ways of means of reaching the castle and gardens. On their most recent visit the design team cycled through the Holiday Park in a bid to find a new cycle route that has been suggested by Sustrans. Unfortunately one architect had a blow-out at Kemplay roundabout and was forced to take a taxi, the other was found sheltering under a tree after peddling into a cyclone.

As part of English Heritage Open days we are planning to open the Gardens on the 13th and 14th September between 11am and 4pm. The idea is to show our plans to as many people as possible before we ask for planning permission. There will be no charge to come and look around but neither will there be WC's or visitor facilities of any sort so please be prepared.

The Trustees would like to say thank you to all those who kindly volunteered to help on the day of the Lowther Show wash out. It was fantastic that despite the appalling weather and the cancellation of the Show, all the volunteers appeared ready for action on Sunday morning. If anyone can help direct people on the 13th and 14th September please call Lyn Page. We'll provide lunch and place to shelter.

By the end of September the design proposals will be complete and we will formally present plans to the Lake District National Park Authority. At the same time we will continue to approach funders to secure support for our proposals. Our aim is to open the Castle and Gardens next Easter. Its unlikely that we will have been able to do any work and numbers will be small but it's a beginning.