A LAKE District company which plies its trade on water is putting money into conservation work on dry land.

Ullswater "Steamers" has donated £4,610 from last year's ticket sales for footpath repairs and plans to continue fund-raising and pioneering other environmental initiatives.

The money will help pay for repairs to the path between Howtown and Patterdale along the southern shore of Ullswater - a popular route with steamer passengers, which has suffered erosion in the past.

Lake District National Park officer Paul Tiplady praised the Ullswater Navigation and Transit Company for its willingness to help conservation.

"Not only are they funding vital work on the ground, they are raising awareness among their passengers about environment issues," he said.

The company has also installed an exhibition in its new pier house at Glenridding to explain the company's approach to sustainable tourism.

Group manager Jonathan Fisher said: "People are happy to put something back into the countryside that brings them so much pleasure, and we recognise that as a business we have a responsibility to help protect the landscape of the National Park."