Bendrigg Trust

10/06/2026

We'd love to take a minute to give a shout of appreciation to Chris Gill who is on the organising committee of the Fred Whitton Challenge and who chose Bendrigg to receive £2,500.

The Challenge is really generous and supports many local charities and we are really thankful to have been chosen.

We also heard whispers that Nick may have been convinced to take part next year... 😉

08/06/2026

Last week, we took some time out of our day to celebrate an amazing 40 years with Rex at Bendrigg!

We consider ourselves really lucky to have worked side by side with such an incredible human being for four whole decades and look forward to many more.

If you have any Rex stories or photos, we'd love if you could share them in the comments! And if you fancy buying Rex a present, you can do so through our Amazon wish list below.

Also a massive thank you to everyone who has already bought goodies to help us celebrate the wonderful man that is Rex!

https://amzn.eu/0cXCNMOi

05/06/2026

It's Volunteers' Week!

We want to give a big shout out to our amazing volunteers for all that you do at Bendrigg and beyond.

From building rafts to planting flowers to making beds, we couldn't do what we do best without the wonderful people who give us their valuable time.

Thank you for being such a key part of Bendrigg!

04/06/2026

We’re firm believers that training should always be as fun as we can make it! It’s just the Bendrigg way! 👏🏼

Here’s a couple of pictures from a recent training session with our new tutors Tom and Suzanne. They are currently working towards their horizontal cave leader qualification.

02/06/2026

Save Rex’s lungs!

Our bike track pump has perished from use on our fleet of accessible bikes. So that we can keep the full range of bikes (including trikes, recumbents, our Draisin’s and Veloplus) available to our visitors, we’re in desperate need of a new pump as well as other tools and replaceable parts.

Please check out our Amazon wishlist and help fund this equipment that helps our visitors get some much needed independence on our bikes: https://amzn.eu/0cXCNMOi

20/05/2026

💬 What is Makaton—and why does it matter?

Communication is something many of us take for granted. But for some people, being able to express themselves or understand others can be a daily challenge.

Makaton is a simple but powerful way to make communication more inclusive—using signs, symbols and speech together to support understanding.

It’s not just for those who rely on it—it’s for all of us. Because when more people use Makaton, more people can take part.

We’ve written a short blog to introduce what Makaton is and why it matters 👇

Makaton is a communication programme that combines speech, signs and symbols to help people communicate more effectively.

12/05/2026

Everyone at Bendrigg would like to pass on a massive thank you to our London Marathon 2026 team - Edward, Lee, Fred and Sipho. We were all really impressed by your efforts in training and on the day. And it's so lovely to see your communities still supporting you with donations - currently standing at £12,125!

We have filled our 2027 places but you can apply for our 2028 & 2029 places today and join Team Bendrigg for this iconic run!

10/05/2026

Yesterday we had a team in the Keswick to Barrow (K2B) walk - they were amazing!!

The K2B start is at Legburthwaite. K2B route length is 39.5 miles.

The Coniston to Barrow (C2B) start is at Coniston Primary School. C2B route length is 21.2 miles.

Both take part on the same day, with different start times.

The highest point on the route is on Kirkby Moor, and the lowest point is at Millwood as you enter Barrow.

This is a fundraiser for us and many other amazing charities in and around Cumbria.

We have a good reputation for supporting our walkers on the walk and in the lead up to!

This is an annual event if you are interested in joining us in 2027 please email [email protected] stating which distance K2B or C2B.

Registration fee is usually £15, with an expected sponsorship of £80 and a ‘happy bus’ available to start for £10 per person.

Well done team K2B Bendrigg 2026 - Jody, Emily, Jack, Andrew, Kit, Marie, Deborah, Liam, Annette & Rachel 👏

10/05/2026

How lovely is this drawing by one of our recent visitors?!

This young boy joined us a few weeks ago for an adventure and we think he captured the spirit of Bendrigg perfectly here.

We may have a future artist on our hands!

08/05/2026

We have a team of 10 walking Keswick to Barrow Walk this Saturday!

We wish the whole team all the best - Andrew, Annette, Deborah, Emily, Jack, Jody, Kit, Liam, Marie and Rachel and thank you them all for their fundraising efforts. Combined they have already raised an impressive £1,940!