A number of individuals and organisations in the Keswick area took part in the annual Great Cumbrian Litter Pick over the weekend.
Four groups arranged private events, with the Keswick Rotary Club and Keswick Lions litter picks taking place on a rather damp Friday.
Six members of the Lions were joined by Keswick’s new mayor and Lion, Alan Dunn, to clear rubbish from the town centre car parks.
The mayor also went along to lend support to both of the Saturday litter picks which were graced with better weather.
In the morning, members of Sustainable Keswick cleared the Rawnsley centre car park before proceeding to remove litter from the boundary hedges and fences of Fitz Park.
In the afternoon, 15 members of Skiddaw U3A met at Dubwath and set to work clearing the lakeside path and minor roads.
Thanks to the work of all these groups, more than 30 large bags of litter were gathered and substantial amounts of plastic, cans, broken bottles, personal protection equipment and dog waste were removed helping to make the area a safer and more beautiful place to visit.
Members of the Lakes Plastic Collective (LPC) were out in force with teams deployed at Crummock, Derwentwater and Buttermere.
They collected a large amount of waste and litter across the areas with the usual findings of tissues, endless amounts of dog poop bags, bottles, wrappers and disposable barbecues.
“It’s been a very successful weekend in the national park with litter picking across several locations,” said an LPC spokesperson. “It has been a great start to what is set to be a very busy summer period.
“We’’ll be organising more in the future, but for now – encouraging people to please continue to see it, bag it, bin it.”
As Great Cumbrian Litter Pick Ambassador, internationally renowned climber Leo Houlding said: “One of my pet hates is when you’re out in the Lakes and you see a piece of rubbish blowing in the wind or sitting in a hedge – you see it all over the world and I’m sad to see it right here on our doorstep.
“Something I’ve tried to teach my kids is every time we go out to carry some bin bags with us in our packs and pick up any rubbish left behind by others.”