Today, The Prince of Wales visited Cumbria. To begin, His Royal Highness visited Pirelli Tyres Ltd to celebrate their 50th anniversary. Founded in Milan in 1872, Pirelli is a major player in the tyre industry and the only global manufacturer focused solely on the consumer tyre market, which includes tyres for cars, motorcycles and bicycles. After being greeted by members of the factory staff, The Prince viewed a small vehicle display, which included a Ferrari Dino and a Jaguar E Type. His Royal Highness then learnt about the raw materials used in the production process and watched a demonstration of a tyre building machine. Ahead of departure, The Prince unveiled a plaque to commemorate the 50th anniversary.
Next, The Prince of Wales opened Windermere Jetty Museum of Boats, Steam and Stories, following a £20m development by Lakeland Arts. The museum tells the story of 200 years of boats, boating and boat-building in the Lake District. On arrival, His Royal Highness was greeted by a local school performing a Windermere folk song. The Prince then toured the main exhibition gallery, meeting staff and designers along the way. In the main gallery, His Royal Highness viewed Branksome, the flagship of the Windermere Jetty collection and one of the finest surviving steam launches in the world, built in 1896. The Prince of Wales travelled on the steam launch when he opened the Windermere Steamboat Museum in 1977.
The Prince also visited the conservation workshop, where His Royal Highness met staff and volunteers to hear about the work they are undertaking to enable additional vessels to go on display both on and off the water. The team employs traditional boat building, engineering and boat finishing skills that extends to the next generation through training, apprenticeship and volunteer programmes. Before departing, His Royal Highness joined a reception in the café and unveiled a commemorative plaque overlooking the Lake, saying:
I just wanted to offer my warmest congratulations to Lakeland Arts and all those who I know put so much effort and dedication into producing the remarkable result of these splendid boat sheds, and also, if I may say, how full of admiration I am for all those people who again are so dedicated to the repair and the remaking of these wonderful old boats which make such a difference to these lakes
In the afternoon, The Prince visited Langdale Ambleside Mountain Rescue Team. The team’s area of operation is predominantly the Langdale, Ambleside, Grasmere and Windermere area, but they work cooperatively across the Lake District in wider area searches, flood, snow and other major incidents. They have assisted with major incidents such as the Grayrigg train crash and Storm Desmond, as well as ‘routine’ mountain rescue work. The team is funded almost entirely by voluntary donations and comprises of around 40 members, plus four trainee members and a number of people in support roles. During the visit, His Royal Highness visited the Control Room and learnt about mapping software that has been developed to aid mountain rescue, which has proved vital in both incident management and enhancing the safety of team members on rescues.
The Prince also inspected the fleet of vehicles, two first response vehicles, the ambulance, the personnel carrier and also the rescue search dog. His Royal Highness later viewed the medical training room to view a demonstration of their treatment of hypothermia, including a CPR demonstration, and met the medical team members.
To end the day, The Prince of Wales visited the Hawkshead Relish Company production facility during their 20th anniversary year. The company produces award-winning artisan preserves, relishes and chutneys, many of which are made to traditional Cumberland and Westmorland recipes. On the visit, His Royal Highness undertook a tour of the company’s factory, which is housed in a sixteenth century barn, and stopped at the showroom area, where the company’s 120 products were on display. Following this, The Prince saw the production kitchen, where herbs were being prepared and cooked for batches of product.
After learning about the warehousing and distribution process, His Royal Highness joined a reception and unveiled a plaque to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the company.
