One in a million.

I was asked to photograph the millionth visitor to the Osprey viewing point on little Dodd, by Skiddaw today. The fun part for me was being able to drive my Defender right up little Dodd, so I had my gear at the top.

Was really worried this morning as the weather was aweful, but by 2pm it had brightened up, leaving us with a fabulous afternoon.

In the photo is a very surprised John (the millionth visitor) flanked by the lovely Ellie, from the forestry commission, and John, one of the the Volunteers for the Lake Dstricy Osprey project. John was presented with a bottle of Champagne, and a few gifts, including a rather nice painting of the Osprey.

One of the great things about the Osprey project is the number of tourists it has brought into the area, particularly with regard to it's first year in the Lakes in 2001, which was the year of foot and mouth, which devastated much of the tourist industry that year. The Ospreys attracted 10,000 people in that first year alone, which helped to boost a struggling economy. John was interviewed on BBC Cumbria, and his view was "more people should come up here and enjoy the view of the Osprey and the landscape, and get the number up to 2 million as soon as possible".