A YOUNG entrepreneur who stepped into the world of business at the age of 22 has brought a new cinema experience to the Lake District.

Alex Chesters is the founder of The Outdoor Picture Palace, which brings outdoor cinema events to the Lake District and Lancashire.

Launching his business after a year of planning, Alex used his experience from his education and the skills he had picked up attending The Prince’s Trust’s Enterprise Programme.

The cinema is putting on outdoor viewing experiences in the Lakes.

After completing his time at the Prince’s Trust, Alex worked for over a year planning and liaising with venues and local brands throughout the region to align all the elements required for the amazing outdoor cinema events.

Alex said: “I’ve always wanted to do my own events.

“But I always wanted to try and create something a bit different and unique, make each event unique and more than just a cinema experience.

“I was born in Lancaster and went to school in Dallam.

“I was thinking of what I could put together that could make the events cool and memorable.

“It was the first week in July we started after about a year of setting it up.

“When Covid first hit I had a lot of time to plan things and contact different venues so that I could start putting on events in the Lake District.

“An outdoor cinema seemed like a cool new thing in of itself.

“It was about taking two things, great films, local food venues and putting them together.

“It means you get more from your cinema experience.

“We even start with some short films before our main show.

“I did my GCSE and A-levels in business but it was the Prince’s Trust that gave me that level of knowledge I needed to put this together.

“They teach you everything from marketing, start-ups, limited business and making it on your own.

“My first event was in Windermere and it proved to be so popular I couldn’t wait to bring it back.

“It was a wet weekend last time but that was still really popular. The feedback I’ve had so far has been amazing.

“If you want to make it in business don’t let age stop you.

“If I could offer any advice to anyone it would definitely be get yourself onto the Prince’s Trust scheme.

“It really helped me so I’d recommend it for anyone else.

“Most importantly you’ve just got to have that belief in yourself that you can actually do it. That’s what stops most people.”