It was smiles all round this weekend at Kendal Mountain Festival (KMF) as Herdy was revealed to be the latest supporter in the Lake District’s quest for World Heritage status.

The iconic Lake District sheep lovemark has joined a growing list of organisations to state their support, becoming the lead commercial collaboration partner and creating a unique ‘United by Herdy’ logo for the bid campaign. The friendly face of Herdy will now be used to encourage visitors, residents and everyone who loves the Lake District to unite in their pride and back the bid.

Herdy co-founder, Spencer Hannah, was at KMF ‘Basecamp Village’ on Saturday (21 Nov) to launch the new partnership following an interview with one of the world’s greatest mountaineers and Lake District resident, Sir Chris Bonnington, and chief executive of the Lake District National Park, Richard Leafe.

Spencer said: “The Lake District continues to provide a rich source of inspiration, whether it’s to climb mountains, write poetry, or start a new business, as we did when we created the herdy brand. So it’s a real privilege for herdy to be able to provide a welcoming, warm and friendly face for the World Heritage bid over the next couple of years.

“We look forward to working alongside communities across Cumbria and the 25 organisations that make up the Lake District National Park Partnership to show the rest of the world why this is such a unique, diverse and progressive cultural landscape. When the UNESCO judging panel visit, we want them to see evidence of a truly inspired, united, local community, with a clear identity and a passion for its landscape. Keep it simple. Smile at the world and it will smile back!”

Chief Executive of the Lake District National Park, Richard Leafe, said: “The World Heritage bid is in the final stages of being ready for submission in the New Year, and in 2016 UNESCO will take a look at how people are living, working and visiting our unique landscape and culture.

We are delighted to have Herdy on board as a face of the campaign and hope it will encourage people join us on our journey and support the bid.”

The World Heritage bid document demonstrates how the landscape of the Lake District has been shaped by farming and local industry for thousands of years, which in turn inspired the Romantic poets and the birth of a subsequent global conservation movement.

The bid is currently being finalised and will be submitted to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) ahead of the UK Government’s submission to UNESCO in January 2016.

Back the bid today:  Visit www.lakesworldheritage.co.uk to find out more and pledge your support. Use #lakedistrictbid in your social media posts and you’ll be added to the World Heritage story on lakesworldheritage.co.uk