Important notice regarding water activities at Base Camp Festival

One of the reasons we chose Gatesgarth Farm as the venue for this year’s event was its outstanding location on the banks of Buttermere and the world-famous fells that surround it. One year in advance of the event we contacted the National Trust – the owners of Buttermere – for consent to access the waters from the festival site for wild swimming and a limited number of paddleboards. We were assured that with the relevant permits and with due care and attention paid to bio-security measures, that this was acceptable. We again were in touch with the National Trust six months before the event to clarify that permission from Natural England (who have jurisdiction over SSSI’s – Sites of Special Scientic Interest) was not needed. Again, we were assured that this was not necessary and that the National Trust would issue permits for the proposed activities.

Unfortunately, just a few weeks before the festival we were informed that consent is, in fact, required and that Natural England would not give consent to the National Trust to issue permits for the proposed activities, and that no access to the water from the festival site would be permitted. Further to this, it came to light that the policies of the National Trust and Natural England regarding Buttermere and the other pristine lakes are not aligned. The two organisations will be meeting in the coming days in an attempt to harmonise policies. 

From Natural England: “Freshwaters are especially vulnerable to the spread of Invasive Non Native Species, and in light of this, Natural England undertook a review of its policy for consenting events, and in order to protect the most vulnerable lakes, will no longer consent events on Buttermere, Crummock Water, Wast Water and Ennerdale Water.”

What this means for Base Camp Festival is that no-one is permitted to access the water from the event site, despite us having planned to put in place bio-security measures and to rigorously enforce the criteria of the permits that were promised. This is clearly a shock for us as event organisers, and will be a disappointment for festival-goers who were hoping to access the water for wild swimming and paddleboarding from the festival site. The guided 'Waterfall Walk and Dip' sessions will go ahead as planned as it falls outside of the SSSI designated area. We do still ask that people follow biosecurity measures and arrive with clean and dry suits for swimming. You can check availability and purchase tickets here.

While we must abide by the advice and not allow anyone to access Buttermere from the Gatesgarth Farm site, we should also make clear that members of the general public ARE allowed to access Buttermere from the public footpaths that run near to Gatesgarth Farm and run round much of the lake. The general public are reminded that they should follow bio-security measures and if launching SUPs or other craft to obtain the necessary permit from the National Trust car park.

As festival organisers, we apologies to everyone who was hoping to swim or paddleboard directly from the event site at Base Camp Festival, and hope they understand that these circumstances are beyond our control and wholly due to the lack of communication between the two organisations, National Trust and Natural England. STATEMENT FROM THE NATIONAL TRUST: "We would like to clarify that this situation was not the fault of Base Camp Festival. You contacted us well in advance of the event to request permission for a limited number of paddleboards on Buttermere, and this permission was granted at the time in line with our current policies. However, following subsequent discussions between the National Trust and Natural England, we were advised against consenting to waterborne activities on the lake and so requested that you remove paddleboarding from your programme of events. We appreciate your cooperation and understanding in this matter. Going forward the National Trust will be reviewing all our policies regarding water-based activities on Buttermere under the guidance of Natural England."