Village halls across the country are opening their doors to share the work that they do for the rural communities.

The week of events has highlighted the power of village halls to tackle social isolation and the role of a lifeline.

This is the third year that Village Halls Week has taken place.

Lorrainne Smyth, chief executive of ACTion with Communities in Cumbria, said: “We were in Parliament on Monday with some of the Cumbrian MPs celebrating the volunteers who do so much for village halls throughout the year.

“Village halls are entirely community-run facilities, local people putting in the time and effort to make it work.”

Events throughout the week include parties, free lunches, and information sessions to explain how the public can help these buildings.

They are celebrations of what the halls bring to the community and of the people who volunteer their time to make it work.

Tom Speight, chairman of the Watson Institute, said: “On Saturday, lots of village halls are opening their doors to have an open day so that people can see what’s going on inside their village hall.

“We’re going to do that as well and we’re going to put on a free lunch for anybody who turns up at the village hall.

“We’re doing that to say thank you to the community that has raised £12,500 in the last year to help us do our repair work which we’re planning on doing later this year.”

Over the past year, village halls across north Cumbria have undergone transformative repairs that have breathed life back into these often forgotten about buildings.

The Victory Hall in Dalston enjoyed a complete revamp last summer that was fundraised through community donations.

Derek Thompson, the bookings clerk for the hall, said: “The kitchen is a lot bigger now, it’s about four times as big and we have got new toilets in, and disabled toilets.

“It has just made a big difference getting it all done.”

As is the case with many village halls, Victory Hall is more than just a building where people meet once a week to take part in a hobby.

It is a community hub.

“If it wasn’t there, there would be a lot of upset people,” said Derek.

The Wreay Village Hall is used by the school and the church, it has been used for weddings, parties and funeral teas.

It was viewed as so integral to the community spirit that one resident left a legacy for the organisers when he passed away.

Kath Halfpenny, the Highlights organiser for the hall, said: “It’s a focal point.

“It’s where everybody thinks of when they think of getting together and because we’re quite a small village we do like to get together.”

In Castle Carrock, the village hall is also the local post office, a concert space, a cafe, and more.

Groups like the National Rural Touring Forum bring concerts, performances, and other artistic events into the halls - which make the arts accessible to communities that sit outside of major cities.

Mr Speight, who is also the chairman of the National Rural Touring Forum, said: “This year, NRTF has printed up two beautiful poems about village halls that we commissioned.”

These poems have then been distributed out to village halls nationwide to proudly declare their love for the halls.

Volunteers and communities are supportive and passionate about these local lifelines.

“They are unsung heroes,” said Lorrainne.

Tom added: “Village halls only thrive when they have got really supportive communities that use them and I think in Castle Carrock we have got a really supportive community.

“It’s a space that is open for anybody to use and at a time when some villages are losing some facilities, like shops, it’s a place where people can congregate, and meet, and act as a community.”