A charity battling to buy iconic Blencathra says it still hopes to achieve its dream – despite its aristocratic owner declaring he will not sell the mountain.

Hugh Lowther, 8th Earl of Lonsdale, appeared to crush all hope of a sale last week, when he said the peak would be owned by his family for generations.

Two years ago, he put the 2,850ft mountain on the market for £1.75 million, saying he needed to settle a huge inheritance tax bill without causing pain and disruption to those working or living on his estate.

But that bill has now been settled in other ways, prompting his decision to take the decision not to sell the mountain – insisting: “It will remain in the Lowther family for generations to come.”

“Blencathra is now 100 per cent off the market,” he added.

But in a statement on their Facebook page, the trustees of the charity involved, Friends of Blencathra, confirmed they are still “actively pursuing” the purchase of the mountain.

The Facebook group is closed, but has more than 6,000 members, comprising both people who have pledged cash towards buying the mountain and those with merely an interest.

The statement said: “The recent press report quoting Hugh Lowther saying he “has no intention of parting with Saddleback” – and that he “wants it to remain in his family for generations” – has come as a complete surprise to us.

“We recently received the following information from our legal team: ‘The trustee executors (Lonsdale Estates) and their lawyers, Kerman & Co, with whom the charity has dealt with to date are all but out of the equation. The particular need to sell the mountain has passed. Nevertheless the 8th Earl is prepared to sell the mountain to the charity – as we have understood all along. The price is suggested to be £1.3m plus VAT’.”

The statement said that previous reports by Lonsdale Settled Estates have only stated they are not actively marketing the mountain but also suggested they will accept “a really good offer”.

The statement adds: “The trustees of Friends of Blencathra Ltd are still intent on arranging the meeting with the trustees from Lonsdale Settled Estates.

“Unfortunately, the legal team are now not in a position to do this immediately following the turmoil created by ‘Brexit’ as they currently have more pressing business interests to manage...

“The trustees are still prepared to work towards the purchase of Blencathra for the community, assuming we still have the support of the legal team following Brexit to achieve the objects of the charity.”

The campaign to have the mountain brought into community ownership attracted huge and immediate support when Saddleback was put up for sale.

A huge fundraising campaign got under way although the final amount pledged has never been made public because of commercial reasons.

People from all over the region and beyond backed the campaign, including prominent figures such as Cumbrian mountaineer Sir Chris Bonington, and the adventurer Ben Fogle.

Nobody at Friends of Blencathra was available for interview when contacted.