A Cumbrian holiday let business designed to support the region’s businesses and communities year-round has partnered with a Cumbrian charity.

Laik Ltd founders, fuelled by their passion for sharing the best of the county, and proud of their own working-class backgrounds, made the natural step to partner with the Brathay Trust, a local charity that offer life-changing community programmes to children, young people and families in need since 1946.

Partnering with the charity, that is based in Ambleside, the team at Laik Ltd arrange a free stay in one of their luxury properties to a local family suffering economic hardship.

“The Trust’s headquarters are very close to us, so we’ve got to see first-hand the great work they do with families and young people from across Yorkshire, Cumbria, and the North West,” says Niall.

“We asked Brathay what help Laik could offer, which resulted in them matching us with a family just outside the National Park, who have just come and stayed in one of our properties for free.”

Like many local youngsters, Laik founders Niall Mellonie and Marta Pawlik dreamt of running a business in their home county. From humble roots, they started their business with just a borrowed bell tent in a farmer’s field.

Gradually growing that one tent into a successful holiday let business which now employs a small team of people, Laik’s goals were always to support local people and encourage visitors to the Lake District all year-round.

As well as offering high quality holiday lets, Laik also manage home rentals when local owners are not in residence, helping support local shops, attractions, service providers and hospitality venues, to avoid the typical low-season slump.

The family stayed at Laik’s Loughrigg Cottage at Ambleside, which was a finalist for Cumbrian Cottage of the year in this year’s In Cumbria Tourism Awards.

Organised in partnership with Brathay, and the family’s school, everything was provided, from the incredible accommodation and transport to meals and lots of activities.

They even helped with the shopping. The verdict from Loughrigg’s VIP guests?

They told us they were “Over the moon and really appreciated being given this opportunity”.

“As a National Park, we think the Lakes should be accessible for everyone, in a way that respects and supports local communities, too,” says Niall.

“But for many families, especially in these tough times, the area can be equally inaccessible whether you’re one or a hundred miles away and for many a holiday is simply not on the cards”.

“This has been a fantastic experience and definitely not a festive one-off. Everyone got something positive from this and we’re looking forward to continuing to work with the Brathay Trust throughout 2024, and making this kind of “booking” a regular in our calendar.”