The friendliest sheep in the UK? The answer (un-ratified by the National Farmers Union, I must point out) is at the end of this blog. But first I wanted to tell you about the engaging and inspirational day Nations and Regions Chair, Charles Allen and I had in Cumbria last week.



We were joined for the day by David Brooker, Director of Legacy at the Government Olympic Executive who chose a wonderful day to see first hand the bid promise to create 'a Games for everyone' being put into action.

'This is the biggest opportunity Cumbria will ever have to market itself on the world stage.' Brendan Jameson, Leader – South Lakeland District Council opened the Rising to the Challenge of London 2012 Conference and immediately captured the imagination of the audience.

I scribbled frantically thinking 'I want to use that in my blog' and the gathered stakeholders - from local authorities to sports clubs; emergency services, tourism bodies, to the health service, learning and skills - sat up in their seats and prepared to listen to 3 hours of inspirational people telling them just how they planned to maximise the opportunities afforded to them by the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.

NRG Member and Co-ordinator Andy Worthington and Rob Young stood up to give an overview of the many opportunities people have to engage with London 2012, from the Pre-Games Training Camps (Cumbria have three) to the Cultural Olympiad, Business Network, Volunteering, Education Programme and much more. Eddie Edge, Partnership Director of Cumbria Sport, talked of the success of Team GB and ParalympicsGB and it being a huge inspiration to the people of Cumbria – this is something they must capitalise on now, in the run up to and beyond London 2012.



Then there was a presentation on Cumbria's major events strategy. Cumbria may be geographically different to some of our major cities but it offers a vast outdoor playground for runners, cyclists, open water swimmers (the hugely successful new event in Beijing 2008 where Team GB picked up 3 of the 6 medals available). In September of this year, over 2,000 swimmers donned their wetsuits for a one-mile swim in Lake Windermere with Beijing medallists David Davies and Cassandra Patten taking the men's and women's race respectively.

Just yesterday, the Forestry Commission opened the 11.8 mile Altura trail in Whinlater Forest, a purpose built trail designed for experienced cyclists and perhaps you never know, future Olympic hopefuls.

Tourism was next, a key objective for Cumbria and as Brendan Jameson said, 'We owe it to the people of the world to tell them what a jewel we have in Cumbria.' Kendal College run a vast range of vocational courses and we were lucky enough to see first hand the next generation of chefs and cooks who will wet the appetite of visitors to Cumbria in years to come with their mouth watering dishes. Led by the Head of Hospitality Mike Mountfield (who previously worked with Charles at Granada) we took a tour of the kitchens to see the students being guided through food preparation, handling and service by Mike and his team. I think it is fair to say that Andy Worthington will be back there in the near future to stock up on the mouth watering mini scotch eggs!

Charles Allen, Andy Worthington and the Kendal College students:



Our next stop was Kendal Judo Club, one of three facilities in Cumbria listed in the London 2012 Pre-Games Training Camp Guide - the others are Sheepmount Athletics Stadium in Carlisle and Hoops Basketball Centre in Barrow.

Head Coach Mike Liptrot spends every night of the week coaching from the beginner to the world class Judokas we met on Friday – something he said quite nonchalantly but that shows the commitment he has to both the club and the sport – something pretty special! At the end of the demonstration of training techniques where we watched Michael, Danny and Arron climb a 6 metre rope with nothing but their hands (unbelievable) we were treated to homemade sponge cake and coffee – I stuck to water as I couldn't quite bring myself to eat cake in front of three such physically fit people!!

Mike Liptrot from Kendal Judo Club shows Charles some Judoka moves:



Our final engagement was the Cumbria Sports Awards, a fantastic night of celebration where previous winners include England cricketer Paul Nixon and rugby player Mark Cueto.

We listened to BBC Radio Cumbria's highlight clips from the past year – for a county of just 500,000 there is an abundance of sporting talent. The overall winner of the awards was 21-year-old Formula 3 driver, Oliver Turvey from Penrith who finished second in this year's British Formula 3 Championship, just pipped to the post after being forced to retire in the final race of the season when the overall win was within grasp.

In addition to his racing commitments, Turvey is completing an Engineering degree at Cambridge University and earlier this year was awarded the first ever Cambridge Blue for Motorsport.

We often talk about the power of sport to inspire change; to inspire the next generation of Olympians and Paralympians - but it goes far beyond that. Not everyone can be an Olympic or Paralympic participant, let alone champion but they can be active and lead a healthy lifestyle – take a walk in the hills, go for a run, pedal their bike to the nearest town and in the case of Grasmere, Cumbria, wheel around the accessible path that takes you through the heart of the village, surrounded by some of the most beautiful countryside in the world and gives everyone the opportunity to enjoy the great outdoors.

I for one am never going to be an Olympic champion but I took the opportunity to spend a long weekend on the Lakeland fells, enjoying some spectacular views along the way. Walking up Wansfell Pike on Saturday morning, blowing off the cobwebs of the Cumbria Sports Awards the night before I felt truly alive. And this (you have waited a long time to find out is where I stumbled across the friendliest sheep in the UK...)

Lakeland fells:



I have as a child, fed Garibaldi biscuits to the sheep of Mount Snowdon in Wales and whilst very friendly sheep I feared they only befriended me for my biscuits. The sheep on Wansfell Pike however came bounding over and snuggled into my warm hands even in the absence of delicious biscuits and proceeded to pose with me for the numerous photos I made my husband take.

Now, we in the Nations and Regions team have set ourselves a challenge that every time we go somewhere new in the UK, we have to come back with three facts that we didn’t know before we visited. So ever the competitor I brought back five...

1. Whilst Cumbria takes up 47% of the landmass of the North West region, it only makes up 7% of the overall population (500,000).
2. South Lakeland District Council covers the second largest geographical area in the UK, some 600 square miles.
3. Oceania, whose Judo players are likely to use Kendal Judo Club as a Pre-Games Training Camp, is made up of just 17 countries that take up a whopping one third of the world’s surface.
4. The Creative Director for the Handover Ceremony from Beijing to London is Stephen Powell, whose company Lanternhouse International is based in Ulverston, Cumbria.
5. Current England Rugby captain Steve Borthwick is from Carlisle – though that’s not necessarily something to brag about with recent English fortunes!!