Market towns have long been at the heart of traditional rural life in Cumbria, although in recent years many have experienced decay and decline with employment and services being whittled away.

In an attempt to breathe new life and purpose to these towns the Countryside Agency has launched the Market Towns Initiative, which aims to attract millions of pounds worth of new investment to market towns and the surrounding areas they serve.

Ulverston, Carnforth and the Lakes towns of Ambleside, Windermere and Bowness have all been selected to benefit from the scheme.

You can follow the latest developments in the reports that feature on our Market Towns Initiative page - find it in

the News section at www.thisisthelakedistrict.co.uk

If you run a not-for-profit organisation or sports club don't forget that you can quickly and easily set up a free

CommuniGate website to promote your activities and communicate with your members.

For more information look for the button on our homepage or call Mark Waugh or Kate Harrison on 01539-710164.

Finally this week, you can find the special section commemorating the Queen Mother in our Features section.

You'll find photographs.