WINDERMERE Lake Cruises is marking the start of The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations by offering free travel to the public.

This Sunday, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will mark the 70th year of her reign. To mark the occasion Lakes Cruises will be offering free travel on that day to anyone who has had their seventieth birthday this year.

The Queen will become the first British Monarch to celebrate a 70-year reign – having formally acceded to the throne on February 6, 1952.

“Windermere Lake Cruises has a long connection with the Royal family,” says Sales and Marketing Director Jennifer Cormack. “We thought it would be nice to mark the formal start of Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee year by offering free travel on Sunday February 6 to those who are turning 70 this year.”

The Queen has visited Windermere on several occasions. She first travelled onboard the company’s largest “steamer” MV Teal - in August 1956 when she and The Duke of Edinburgh cruised from Ambleside to Bowness.

Nearly sixty years later Her Majesty enjoyed a second cruise on MV Teal.

In July 2013 she was joined by The Princess Royal to cruise from Bowness to Brockhole, The Lake District Visitor Centre.

“We have had many royal visitors over the years and The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee is an historic occasion,” says Jennifer Cormack. “We hope that, on Sunday, by offering free travel to those celebrating their seventieth birthday this year, we can help mark this special moment.”

Sunday, February 6, is the formal beginning of The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee – the day marks the anniversary of Her Majesty’s succession to the throne after the death of her father King George VI in 1952.