When the Lady Dorothy set off from Glenridding pier on Thursday morning, gliding across Ullswater beneath a panorama of snow-topped fells, it marked another small triumph for an industry striving to recover from December’s floods. One of the best-known attractions in Lakeland, Ullswater Steamers’ fleet of vintage pleasure boats had been out of action since 5 December, when the burst Glenridding Beck engulfed its pier house and car park with boulder-strewn flood water. Thursday’s resumption of services was a sign that business in Glenridding – the tourist hub that made national headlines by being flooded twice in five days – was getting back to normal.

The steamer called in at Pooley Bridge on Ullswater’s north-western shore, which had its own reasons to celebrate this week. It was announced that a temporary bridge would be erected before Easter to replace the 300-year-old road bridge washed away by the unprecedented force of the swollen river Eamont. The collapse of the bridge almost marooned the village centre, cutting off its usually thriving tea rooms, pubs and gift shops from mainstream Lakes’ traffic. More worryingly for the county’s wider tourism sector, shocking images of the bridge’s crumbled remains are still dominating news reports about the damage inflicted on Cumbria by Storm Desmond.

“The misconception that we have all been devastated is starting to hurt us,” says Gary Wilson, general manager of the Inn on the Lake hotel at Glenridding. “I’ve never known a quieter January. Yet the main road through Glenridding is open, as are most of the footpaths and almost all of our businesses. Even the village shop, which had three feet of water through it, has reopened.”

Wilson’s observations are echoed by the tourist board, which estimates a drop in visitors that is disproportionate to actual flood damage. “Of about 10,000 visitor-dependent businesses in the county, about 100 were badly affected by flooding,” says Ian Stephens, managing director of Cumbria Tourism. “Of these, we think that approximately 30 to 50 businesses will not be operating at Easter. But we’re hearing from our members that they are down 25%-50% on visitor numbers. If that continues into the spring it could amount to lost revenue of £40m a month.”

With funding from the Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership, Cumbria Tourism has embarked on a short-term print and digital marketing campaign to reassure potential visitors that the county is back in business and doing what it does best. Meanwhile locals have taken matters into their own hands by organising the Grand Day Out on 16 January, a county-wide fundraising day of walks, music and sports events aimed at raising money for Mountain Rescue Services and the Cumbria Community Foundation.

In market towns such as Keswick, Cockermouth, Kendal and Appleby-in-Westmorland, you can still potter round independent shops and duck into a cosy pub or tea room. Meanwhile, businesses that were directly affected are working flat out to restore their facilities. Gillian Hodgson and her husband, Douglas, co-owners of the Keswick Launch passenger boats on Derwentwater, are repairing six damaged jetties and their ticket office on the Keswick foreshore.

“It looked like a like a tsunami had gone through it, but we are aiming to be up and running by February half-term,” Gillian says. Sally Fielding, owner of holiday lettings agency Sally’s Cottages, says that only 20 of her 338 properties were flooded. All are expected to be back in business by Easter, and advance reservations look healthy. “Nobody’s moved the mountains,” says Fielding. “This week I’ve been posting beautiful pictures of snowy fells on social media; bookings are starting to pick up.”

Determined optimism can’t rebuild bridges, however. And with 15 roads and 26 road bridges still closed, some parts of Cumbria face infrastructure challenges. Businesses cut off by the closure of Eamont bridge near Penrith, for example, are still in limbo. “It’s been like a ghost town,” says potter Mary Chappelhow of the artists’ studios at Brougham Hall, where her fellow tenants include a photography studio, art gallery, mosaic maker, microbrewery and cafe. “We’re still open seven days a week, but the road diversions put people off.”

Close by, at Lowther Castle and Gardens, ticket sales are down by 50%. “There’s a worry that holidaymakers are cancelling their bookings because they think Cumbria is closed,” says marketing co-ordinator Anna Saczek, although she notes strong local support from the Penrith and Eden Valley community. “People can still get around – they just have to take the scenic route.”

The scenic route isn’t really an option in the central Lake District, where the closure of the A591 has virtually cut the national park in two. Recently voted one of the UK’s best driving roads, by Avis, for its picturesque course along the edge of Thirlmere reservoir, it has been damaged by landslides – one spot north of Grasmere was almost washed away. The impact in that honeypot village, which usually swarms with daytrippers and coach tours stopping off between Keswick and Ambleside, has been brutal. “Business is down by 50%-60% and we have already started making redundancies,” says Andrew Hunter, co-owner of Grasmere Gingerbread, who points out that this week’s assurance by the transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin that the road is set to reopen by the end of May comes with no cast-iron guarantees. Once the summer season gets into full swing, he adds, the cost to the local tourism sector could reach £100m for every month the road remains closed.

Hunter’s neighbour Becky Heaton Cooper, of the Grasmere art gallery Heaton Cooper Studio, is remaining positive. “I’ve been speaking to holiday cottage companies in Ambleside, which is only four miles away, and they have lots of bookings for 2016. It is a problem that you can’t travel from the south past Thirlmere to Keswick, but everything is still here and everything is open. Just plan your holiday in the North Lakes or come to the South Lakes.”

On the north side of the A591 gap, Rich Martin of Cyclewise – whose bike hire centre in Whinlatter Forest park has taken a serious hit in visitor numbers as a result of closed roads – is pressing on with plans to launch a state-of-the-art fleet of electric mountain bikes. “We’re knuckling down and moving forward,” he says, urging people not to be put off by the diversions. “If you have to make a detour to get where you want to go, it’s still going to be worth it. We’ll welcome you with open arms, just as we always have.”
Rachael Oakden

York

Before the floods hit York on Boxing Day, Sara Amil-Smith was in high spirits: her B&B was full, bookings looked good. Then in the space of 48 hours, everything changed. “I had a third of New Year’s Eve bookings cancelled. Since then it’s only got worse. People are even cancelling for summer. They say they don’t feel it’s safe.” The irony is that Sara’s Holmlea guesthouse was nowhere near the flood waters that propelled the city to the top of the Christmas news agenda. “My heart goes out to those that were flooded,” she says, “But 95% of businesses were not affected – until now.”

The fact is York’s floods did wash through hundreds of homes and cause big losses to more than 150 small shops and businesses in popular streets, such as Walmgate and Fossgate, but the city – long accustomed to annual inundations – soon bounced back. The damage caused by a tidal wave of media attention has been harder to handle. Photos of popular attractions – including the Jorvik Viking Centre under a metre of river water, or disconsolate shopkeepers filling skips with spoiled stock – can leave a lasting stain on a reputation. Tourist bookings to one of England’s major tourist cities have plummeted – by up to 40% says the local tourist office, Visit York, despite the fact that only nine hotels and guesthouses out of more than 300 were affected.

For a cafe-bar owners like Sarah and Mike Lakin of Fossgate Social, the experience was of a rapid clean-up (they lost all their draught beer and £6,000 worth of equipment). “We were open again in two days,” says Mike, “But then it was very quiet. We also do Airbnb in a different non-flooded building and we had people cancel. One guy insisted it was too dangerous to come.”

York is unusual in having a huge variety of independent businesses and they are especially thick on the ground in badly affected areas. Now they are struggling with what, even at the best of times, is a quiet period. Local councillor Johnny Hayes has been working to promote the independent sector for years, helping propel the city’s Bishopthorpe Road from a failing shopping area into the 2015 winner of Britain’s Best High Street. “York has got loads of interesting little restaurants, quirky bars and great cafes. Now we need the world to know that it’s all open again, waiting to welcome visitors.” It’s a message backed up by Visit York, which points out that most of the centre was not flooded and, even at the peak, tourists were still enjoying the city.

The real test will come on 15 February when the city’s Jorvik Viking Festival starts. Sara Amil-Smith remains concerned: “There’s no insurance for lack of customers.” It was Sara’s online outpouring of anxiety and frustration that helped kick-start what has become a local fightback against the flood-induced downturn: the Indie York Now campaign, an attempt to encourage support for the kind small independent businesses that help give York its unique atmosphere.

“There are wonderful shops and cafes here,” she says, brightening up at the thought. “You’ve got to go to that cafe, the Flax and Twine, it’s got the best scones ever! It’s also in The Shambles,” she adds, “York’s most beautiful street, and one that was NOT flooded.”
Kevin Rushby

Elsewhere in the UK

December storms and flooding caused serious disruption in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, affecting tourist businesses, as well as people’s homes. In Scotland, Ballater, Braemar, Aboyne and Aberdeen’s Garthdee were worst affected by Storm Frank. The tourist town of Ballater was described as being like a “war zone”, after the banks of the river Dee burst, destroying a caravan park and wrecking homes. Last week, the Queen’s neighbouring Balmoral estate offered a 40% discount on the estate’s holiday cottages to help bring visitors to area and boost the local economy.

Lancashire was also badly affected, particularly the Ribble Valley. Lancaster Castle was also forced to close for several days due to power cuts. Though some places are still recovering, the tourist board is keen to stress that the region is very much open for business.

In Northern Ireland, popular tourist attraction The Gobbins cliff path remains closed due to damage caused by the storm. All bookings were cancelled from 30 December onwards and it is expected to cost up to £50,000 to repair the cliff path, which opened in August 2015 and recently welcomed its 5,000th visitor.
Will Coldwell

• This article was updated on 15 January to include details of the Grand Day Out in Cumbria.