Lake District: Bake Off star marks Lakeland 60 years in Windermere

The kitchenware brand held a special party to mark the milestone at its flagship store in Windermere on Thursday, November 7.

This involved 60 members of the public getting a chance to be included in the festivities, all of whom were from the local area and MyLakeland members, along with a few family guests.

Read more: Lakeland celebrate 60th birthday with Bake Off winner | The Mail

A spokesperson said: "It was a really lovely event - they were shown a video of the company’s history and they were treated to a recipe demo with lots of hints and tips from Nancy Birstwhistle. 

"Afterwards, they were served delicious canapes by chef Ben Donkin, and there were also a number of charity donations made on the night."

The Rayner brothers, owners of Lakeland (Image: Lakeland)

Nancy was the star of the show, having triumphed on Great British Bake Off back in 2014, and she showed off some of her skills to the attendees - which was also streamed online for those who could not make it in person.

She was joined by the Rayner brothers, who own the company and helped to tell the story of how Lakeland came to be.

Back in 1964, Sam, Martin and Julian Rayner were busy helping their dad count polythene bags into packs of 100 before taking over the business 10 years later.

Nancy was joined by Club Events Manager, Katherine Kilpatrick, for the live demonstration (Image: Lakeland)

They would move into the Windermere store in the 1980s, which they still call their home to this day - though it has doubled in size since it first opened its doors.

With a site in Kendal added to this, Lakeland now boasts over 60 shops nationwide, with over 1500 colleagues on the payroll.

The anniversary also coincides with the fifth birthday of MyLakeland, which has grown to 2.5 million members and has helped the company raise £550,000 for charity - a total that was added to during the 60th celebrations.