Gary Lovatt - Laurel Bank Guest House - Chair

I spent 18 years in the Army spending a considerable amount of time in and around Keswick. I have been the owner and director of my own small businesses since 1994 – primarily in the financial sector as a Financial Adviser and now in the hospitality sector as a guesthouse owner (Laurel Bank) in Keswick. As a small business owner and Ex FSB Director, I sit on several committees for the Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership. I am also a board member of the University of Cumbria and sit on the Audit & risk committee. This gives me a clear insight into the needs and challenges facing SMEs and the tourism industry. This is experience I regularly draw on for my work with KTA. A qualified rock climbing, caving and canoeing instructor, I have been on top of every mountain in England over 2000 feet. Married to Sue with two Labradors and 14 grandchildren, my spare time is equally full and varied. I now wish to use my knowledge and experience to help KTA and Keswick in general, thrive in this competitive environment that we find ourselves in, making it not only a place to visit, but a place where we can all live together, working in harmony with each other and the landscape we all love.

Tel - 017687 73006

Liz Weightman - Keswick Rugby Club - Vice Chair

I have lived in Keswick since 1994, previously we had a smallholding in Dearham and I was a Financial Advisor in an estate agency in Carlisle. But with two young sons I changed career and started in the furniture trade, I was the Manager of John Young Furnishings in town for 19 years which I loved. Many people will also know me as the Honorary Secretary of Keswick Rugby Club, where I've been a volunteer for 23 years.

Spare time is spent playing with my little granddaughter, following my son Peter's rugby career, walking our two dogs, gardening and watching tv.

If you've ever driven into town from Penrith on a December night you might even have seen our Christmas lights!

Tel - 017687 74848

Mrs Anne Cornthwaite - Ashness Farm B&B 

I am a tenant of the National Trust at Ashness Farm in Borrowdale. We moved here in 1989, we have operated a B&B business since 1990 and until 2004 a seasonal campsite. The farm and house needed a lot of TLC and I spent many hours doing repairs and decorating the house to how it is today. I have 6 children aged between 15 and 31 and the 3 still at home help run the farm with me. I decided to join the Board in 2014 after having been a member for many years. I was interested to see how the association works to promote Keswick and its members to the wider world. Although many businesses use online travel agencies to boost bookings they don't promote our town.

Tel - 017687 77361

Mrs Helen Ball - San Ging Keswick, Self Catering

I have owned and managed self-catering cottages in the Keswick area for almost 20 years. I bought my first cottage in the area I had regularly visited and loved since childhood, but from a letting perspective I was stepping completely into the unknown. It was a steep learning curve addressing the various issues associated with running holiday cottages whether they be concerning regulations, marketing, customer relations, or other practical issues. The KTA was a great source of support in terms of providing information and opportunities regarding legislation, events, business workshops and marketing. After a number of years combining the management of the cottages with a part-time teaching job, and living between Yorkshire and Borrowdale, I moved up to Keswick to focus running the business full time. As a KTA member I felt I wanted to extend the support received to other self-catering accommodation providers, by taking a turn on the Board of Directors. I hope I can assist the board with the continued valuable work the KTA carries out in supporting members, helping them to grow their businesses, and promoting Keswick as a diverse holiday destination enjoyed by so many visitors.

Tel - 07720 034494

Jan Boniface - Croft House Cottages Self Catering 

I relocated to Keswick in 1997 – and have operated our self catering business here ever since - not realising I would still be doing so over 25 years later! I have been a member of KTA for most of that time and a Director since December 2014. I am also a Director at Keswick School and a member of the Underskiddaw Parish Council. I became a KTA Director so that I could represent the self-catering sector on the KTA board. I am also a member of the Marketing, Keswick Guide, and Website sub-group. The KTA website, www.visitkeswick.com, is a great asset for members and visitors and is continually enhanced to provide more information to encourage people to holiday here. Whilst Cumbria Tourism markets the whole of the Lake District it is KTA that promotes Keswick and the local area specifically - there is no equivalent member organisation for any other Lake District town. KTA can represent the membership at a number of key strategic forums across the Lake District and Cumbria – which would not be possible for individual members to do.

Tel - 017687 73693

Carol Rennie - Alhambra Cinema

I attended Keswick School as a boarder from Botswana in the 1980s, and then returned in 2017 with husband Alan and two school-age children to take over the century-old Keswick Alhambra Cinema, which my father has run for almost a quarter of its long history. We aim, in our tenure, to future-proof this much-loved local business as a community asset for Keswick and its visitors. Most of my career has been spent promoting UK-China links in research and higher education, so I look forward to supporting the efforts of the recently-established North Lakes China Forum, as well as providing the perspective of a small business operator in the town on the KTA board. It is such a privilege to be able to step out of our Braithwaite front door and head straight up the fells: I am loving introducing our sons to the joys of fell-walking, and slowly but surely acclimatising myself to the joys of dipping into the icy-cold lakes below them. 

Tel - 017687 72195