Lake District Paradise Project

In 2016 the Lake District Paradise Project was established to develop a world class visitor experience and learning centre.

One of the primary aims of the Lake District Paradise Project is to facilitate a high quality, permanent exhibition and archive space that will commemorate the arrival of the three hundred child Holocaust Survivors who came to the Lake District in 1945, and to recognise the spirit of the unique Lakeland community that welcomed them.

The Holocaust Survivor story is part of a timeline that begins in 1909. The early days of Pioneer flight in and around Windermere at the beginning of the twentieth century is a story of innovation and courage.

The timeline then passes through the 1920’s and 1930’s period to the time of the Second World War, and especially the mighty Short Sunderland “flying boat” factory at White Cross Bay. This episode includes the remarkable story of Calgarth Estate, the associated Ministry of Air Production workers housing scheme that stood nearby at Troutbeck Bridge .

Calgarth Estate was the first UK home for the child Holocaust Survivors on their arrival in August 1945, an arrival they described as “like coming from Hell to Paradise”.

The narrative continues to present day Windermere in the twenty first century. It will show how the village accommodated Droomer Estate, the 1950’s and 1960’s housing scheme that was built to replace the now Calgarth Estate, and how Windermere continues to develop and adapt.