AN educational charity is taking over the last remaining agricultural college farm in Cumbria.
The Ernest Cook Trust has now agreed a deal, at an undisclosed sum, with owners Askham Bryan to buy Low Beckside at Mungrisdale, which forms part of the Newton Rigg College campus.
The 125-year-old Penrith college, which closes this month, had been deemed financially unviable and last-ditch attempts to find a buyer for it failed.
An established landowner in five counties, the Ernest Cook Trust has committed to maintaining Low Beckside as a crucial learning resource for the region. It plans to get more people learning from the land by operating the farm alongside training schemes, apprenticeships, demonstrations, educational visits, workshops, seminars and open days.