A charitable campaign for Cumbrian lives lost to Covid has received a financial boost from a two-day fundraiser event.

Nearly £1,300 was raised at two weekend open garden events in Eden.

The money raised is to go towards a planned Daffodil Walk, which is set to take place next March in memory of residents who have lost their lives to Covid-19.

The route is expected to be around 6.5 miles long, running through a number of different villages in the Eden Valley

Eden District councillor, David Ryland, who is organising the walk, said he was 'very happy' with the weekend turnout - given the challenging circumstances surrounding the event.

"We had a lot of visitors - despite the rain and an understandable reluctance during Covid," he said.

"About 165 people over the course of the two days.

"For quite a few people, it was the first time they'd been out since shielding."

Cllr Ryland said the money - 'just shy of £1,300,' according to his count - was raised through entry tickets and a raffle, for which the first prize was a cake with daffodil icing donated by an Eden resident originally from Glasgow.

Meal vouchers donated by the Duke's Head and Fox & Pheasant Inn (both in Armathwaite), and Newton Rigg College donated 30 Streptocarpus (South-African cape primrose) plants.

The Warwick Road Tesco also donated a hamper of gardening items - including a trowel, knives and gardening mugs.

Cllr Ryland, a keen botanist who has judged at competitions like the Chelsea Flower Show, also explained that the route "is not going to be lined with daffodils - there are going to be clumps, colonies of daffodils.

"We're going to be using specied daffodils, since they're the best for insects," he said.

"They're the large hybrid ones people buy for their gardens - but the most pollen comes from the specied ones.

"We're trying to do this correctly, so it can benefit the environment.

"One weekend in between the middle and the end of September - depending on the weather - a group of volunteers are going to plant bulbs along the length of the route.

"If anyone wants to contriubte to this volunteer effort, they can contact me at my Eden District Council address: david.ryland@eden.gov.uk.

"We'd also be very grateful for any donations on the Just Giving page. We're also looking for sponsporship from any local businesses who would be interested."

More information can be found at the Eden Valley Daffodil Walk Facebook page.