Having heard a lot about the famous English Lakes Perfumery that was around in the 1960s, I was pleased to discover that a couple of Lakes lovers have re-established the sought-after business, bringing it into the 21st century along with a whole range of other wonderful, natural products.

Iain and Sandra Blackburn first began visiting the Lakes in 1986.

Sandra said: "It became more and more difficult to tear ourselves away so, in 2001, we decided to give up our jobs (and commuting) and move here permanently.

"We began running the Beck Steps Gift Shop, in Grasmere, close to the site where the original English Lakes Perfumery opened its doors in the 1960s. The perfumery had a wonderful reputation for the creation of quality fragrances but, sadly, in the 1990s the shop closed (it is now an outdoor clothing establisment). Our customers were constantly regaling us with their stories of the shop and perfumes. The least we could do was to track down the owners, and bring the perfumes back.

"This proved to be a very popular decision - probably because the perfumes were inspired by the beauty of the area. When the name of the English Lakes perfumery business came up for sale in 2005 we didn't hesitate and Pure Lakes' was born."

As the popularity of the natural products side of the business grew, and interest also increased in the perfumes, the couple sold the Beck Steps Gift Shop to concentrate their energies on the perfumery and natural products full time.

"The perfumes sit really well alongside our locally-made range of bath and body care products. These products are all hand-made by us here in the Lake District using only natural ingredients.

"In the same way that people are more aware of what they eat, they are becoming more aware of what they put on their bodies especially as so many people are suffering from allergies. Couple this with the growing awareness of how we impact on our environment means that the market for products made from sustainable plant-derived ingredients is the fastest growing area of the cosmetics and toiletries industry. We believe passionately in what we do and work hard to make our products affordable.

"We appreciate how lucky we are to live in this area and are committed to a running our business in an environmentally friendly way.

"We've signed up to a scheme that assesses our working practices and helps us to make as little impact as possible, and we take an active part in local environmental issues while being very careful in our selection of our ingredients and packaging."

  • Pure Lakes are available from a number of outlets including Beck Steps Gift Shop, College Street, Grasmere.
  • English Lakes Perfumery/ Pure Lakes tel: 015394-35164 and www.purelakes.co.uk.