#144: Gavin Capstick – New CEO of the Lake District National Park

...in which we are joined by Gavin Capstick, new chief executive of the Lake District National Park Authority, for a wide-ranging chat about the state of the Park and his ambitions for its future. Ascending out of Tebay onto the Howgills, we learn about Gavin's Eden Valley upbringing and his first interactions with the Lake District – playing youth football – before a local government career led him to the Park Authority. Arriving at a stock exclosure fence with emerging woodland, we talk about the balance the Park must try and strike between farming and nature, locals and tourists, conservation and development; and the inherent tension built into National Parks' DNA. Dropping to the Lune – and a fabulous riverside path below the M6 – Gavin defines 'low impact tourism', notes the 40% real-term reduction in government funding over the past decade; outlines the pressure placed on new honeypots by social media influencers, and describes the highs (ice cream) and lows (rain) of being a Wainwright-bagging family. Turning to knottier issues, we discuss 4x4s on green lanes; how private car use in the Park might be reduced, the strange silence of Covid lockdowns... and why Rory Delap is Gavin's Cumbrian hero. The Lake District is on Twitter/X at x.com/lakedistrictnpa

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