Well wishers raise funds for MRT
The wishing well in the garden at Granny Dowbekin’s Tearooms in Pooley Bridge is a popular feature with visitors and the most recent collection has raised nearly £150 for Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team.
“There’s been a wishing well in our garden since 2001 when my father, Jack, built it as part of the tea garden refurbishment,” says the Tearooms’ owner, Colin Hindle. “We’ve donated the proceeds to Patterdale MRT ever since and it’s usually about £200 per annum. Visitors, especially children, like the idea of the wishing well and it’s proved a useful way of raising much-needed funds for the local Team.”
Ray Griffiths, a member of the Patterdale Team and a retired teacher, is responsible for collecting the money from the various collection boxes around the valley: “The Granny Dowbekins wishing well is one of the more unusual collection points and also one of the more painful to count,” he says. “The money needs to be sorted from the holly leaves and other things that find their way into the well and washed before banking but it is always worth the effort. It has raised over £143 this summer and we’re really grateful to Colin and his customers for their generosity and support.”