Bowness and Windermere Community Care Trust
Windermere station.
Category: Other
The Bowness and Windermere Community Care Trust (BWCCT) is a charity dedicated to supporting the wellbeing of people living in Bowness and Windermere through offering services and supporting projects which benefit the local community.
In 2023, in an effort to revitalise the hanging baskets and flower beds at Windermere Station and improve the appearance of the station for visitors and locals alike, volunteers from BWCCT offered to help with planting and tending to the station flowers. This began as a small initiative with just a handful of volunteers but has since led to the BWCCT formally adopting the station in January 2025.
Since commencing, the project has drummed up support and enthusiasm from the local community with many local residents donating plants, seeds, and offering their support with watering and caring for the plants. Local schools have also helped to plant new flowers and seeds for the station. In both 2023 and 2024, the BWCCT station flowers were awarded the level of ‘Thriving’ by the Cumbria in Bloom RHS It’s Your Neighbourhood panel. This award recognises efforts by a small community group to revitalise a community space and focuses on community participation, environmental responsibility, and gardening achievement.
As part of further efforts to revitalise the station, the BWCCT have also obtained funding to undertake projects with schools in the local area, including developing comics on electrical safety which are now on display in the station.
Through adopting the flower beds, the BWCCT has not only brightened a community space, but fostered a sense of community spirit and collaboration. Overall, the BWCCT aims to make the station into something all generations of the community can be proud of and feel a part of.
Where
Bowness and Windermere.
Who
The Bowness and Windermere Community Care Trust.
What are you most proud of?
The way the project has brought together the local community has been a significant highlight. It has been a joy to see the project gather momentum with more and more people, including residents and station staff, donating flowers, seeds, or offering to help in one way or another.
How did you get people involved?
The project was established via word of mouth and through displays at both the station and a local café. Once the flowers were planted, local residents noticed the improvements and this also helped to raise awareness. Over time, involvement has snowballed as more and more people have become aware of the project and got involved.
What difference did the project make?
The project has helped to revitalise the station and make it a welcoming place for both locals and visitors. The way the project has engaged different generations has helped to bring the community together and foster a sense of community spirit amongst local residents. The formal adoption of the flower beds has also helped to raise the profile of the BWCCT and the services it provides within the local community.
What do you wish you had known at the start?
The station flowers have always been an organic project which has just gained momentum and grown over time. It is a constant learning process and it is exciting to watch how it develops and grows.
What do you hope for the future of your project?
In the short-term, the BWCCT are looking to put up additional hanging baskets around the front of station where people wait for buses to help brighten up this area. There are also plans for Christmas displays, including wreaths made by members of the local community. In October, to celebrate 200 years since the first train arrived into Windermere, the BWCCT will also be organising a tea party at the station for elderly residents where local school children will be performing different songs about trains.
Longer term, the BWCCT hopes to obtain funding to work with the local schools and a comic artist to create artwork which celebrates the Lake District. This will replace some older displays in the station, helping to further brighten up the station and also demonstrate to visitors all the different activities and opportunities there are in the area.
Windermere station planting flowers.
Windermere station planter.