“For me the project was a success, despite not finding intact foundations of the hostels we did find significant amounts of building material associated with them. The results from the geophysical surveys we undertook provided promising results that could potentially lead to further work.  I believe the project as a whole benefited greatly from the efforts of the volunteers who helped with excavations and cleaning the artifacts, which helped speed up the process and allowed for more work to be undertaken. We achieved a solid foundation into preserving the legacy of the Windermere Boys and that any future work will only add to this.

I also believe that it is important that projects like this take place, not only in Troutbeck, but also around the nation, at historical sites with little to no documentation so that our national history is preserved; so that people can take pride in the great achievements we have made over the years and so the legacy of people such as the Windermere Boys lives on forever. It was an absolute honor and privilege to work on this project and I will be sure to volunteer to come back should the opportunity arise.”

Alex Haycock – August 2019