Early in December 2015, Cumberland flooded. There were several days of extremely heavy rain, culminating in serious flooding in most low-lying areas of the Lake District. The floods in Cockermouth, Glenridding and other areas were well documented on the television news programmes, and the Langton Adventure Centre, only some four miles from Glenridding, was also hard hit. As far as we know, the house, which is about two hundred years old, and is built of solid stone, has never been flooded before.
On 05/06 December 2015, the local stream became a raging torrent, and the water flooded round three sides of the property, probably several feet deep, and moving with considerable force. A dry-stone wall, next to the property, was demolished, the low stone wall at the front, and one corner of the property were damaged and the field, belonging to the trustees, and adjacent to the property, was covered in silt and quite large boulders. The car park became a sea of mud and a new spring appeared in the middle. Tons of shale were put down on the car park, to replace that which had been washed away, but the spring continued to run. Just down the road from the centre, the tarmac road was lifted by the force of the water.
The water entered the Adventure Centre mainly through the front and back doors, and the Centre was flooded to a depth of about two feet. Such was the force of the water coming in through the front door that the ceiling of the porch was badly damaged, and had to be replaced. The whole of the ground floor was flooded and this meant that all the floor coverings had to be removed, scrapped and replaced, and all the ground floor rooms had to be redecorated. The electrical wiring had to be updated and all electric plugs have been moved two feet higher up the walls. The fridge, freezer, oven, oil central heating boiler, the washing machine, shower pump and much of the furniture had to be replaced.
Industrial heaters were installed by the insurance company to assist in the drying-out process, and then it was time for teams of trustees, wives and families to move in, first to remove to the Games Room, which had not been flooded, any furniture that had not been ruined. This included some of the chairs and the stainless-steel kitchen furniture. The floor-coverings were replaced by firms under the terms of the insurance policy, and then all the furniture, kitchen implements and anything else that could be salvaged were moved back. The electrical units that had been ruined were replaced by the insurance company, and new front and back doors were hung. New settees were purchased and installed, and by 11 March the Adventure Centre was up and running again, and ready to receive pre-booked groups.
After all the restoration the Centre is looking really good and we have had very appreciative comments on the restoration from all the groups who have stayed at Langton so far this year.
The Trustees are now working on improving the Centre further so it can be enjoyed by many more groups