Lake District
The
Lake District National Park is one of fourteen
National parks in the
United Kingdom. It lies entirely within
Cumbria, and is one of
England's few
mountainous regions. All the land in England higher than three thousand
feet above
sea level lies within the Park. The Lakes, as the region is also called, were made famous during the early
19th century by the
poetry and writings of
William Wordsworth and the
Lake Poets.
General Geography
The Lake District is about 34 miles (55 km) across (north-to-south or west-to-east). Its features are a result of periods of
glaciation, the
most recent of which ended some 15 000 years ago. The ice carved wide
U-shaped valleys, many of which are now filled with the lakes that give the park its name. The upper regions contain a number of glacial
cirques, which are typically filled with
tarns. The higher fells are rocky, with lower fells being open
moorland, notable for its wide
bracken and
heather coverage. Below the
tree line native
oak woodlands sit alongside nineteenth century
pine plantations. Much of the land is often
boggy, due to the high rainfall.
North West
The North Western area stands between the valleys of
Borrowdale and
Buttermere, with
Honister Pass joining the two dales. This area comprises the
Newlands Fells (
Dale Head,
Robinson,
Catbells) and the ridge joining them. To the north stand
Grasmoor,
Grisedale Pike and the hills around the valley of Coledale, and in the far north west is Thornthwaite Forest and
Lord's Seat. The fells in this area are rounded
Skiddaw slate, with no tarns and few rock faces.
West
The western part is the area between Buttermere and
Wasdale, with
Sty Head forming the apex of a large triangle.
Ennerdale bisects the area, which consists of the
High Stile ridge north of Ennerdale, the
Loweswater Fells in the far north west, the
Pillar group in the south west, and
Great Gable (2,949 ft) near Sty Head. Other tops include
Seatallan,
Haystacks and
Kirk Fell. This area is craggy and steep, with the impressive pinnacle of Pillar Rock its showpiece.
Wastwater, located in this part, is England's deepest lake.
|
The impressive bulk of the Scafell massif, the highest ground in England, seen over the Wastwater valley. |
Central
The central part is the lowest in terms of elevation. It takes the form of a long boot-shaped ridge running from
Loughrigg Fell above
Ambleside - a popular tourist destination - to
Keswick, with
Derwent Water on the west and
Thirlmere on the east. The
Langdale Pikes, with
High Raise behind them, are another feature popular with walkers. The central ridge running north over
High Seat is
exceptionally boggy.
East
The eastern area consists of a long north-to-south
ridge - the
Helvellyn range, running from
Clough Head to
Seat Sandal with the 3,118-foot
Helvellyn at its highest point. The western slopes of these summits tend to be grassy, with rocky
corries and
crags on the eastern side. The
Fairfield group lies to the south of the range, and forms a similar pattern with towering rock faces and hidden valleys spilling into the
Patterdale valley. It culminates in the height of
Red Screes overlooking the
Kirkstone Pass.
Far East
The Far Eastern Fells lie on the other side of
Patterdale; steep sides leading up to a huge moorland
plateau again on a north-south basis.
High Street is the highest point on the ridge, overlooking the hidden valley of
Mardale and
Haweswater. In the south of this region are the fells overlooking
Kentmere, and to the east is
Shap Fell, a huge area that is more akin to the
Pennines than the Lakes, consisting of high flat
moorland.
Mid-West
The Mid Western fells are a triangular shape, with the corners at the
Irish Sea,
Borrowdale and
Langdale. They comprise the
Wastwater Screes overlooking Wasdale, the
Glaramara ridge overlooking Borrowdale, the three tops of
Crinkle Crags,
Bowfell and
Esk Pike overlooking Langdale and
Scafell Pike in the centre, at 3,209 feet the highest ground in England.
Scafell one mile to the south west is slightly lower but has an 700-foot rock face on its north face, Scafell Crag. The valley of
Eskdale penetrates this upland wilderness. These fells are the most rugged and craggy of all, and consequently going is slower amongst the tumbled
granite.
South-West
The South Western Fells have as their northern boundary the
Hardknott and
Wrynose Passes. These are particularly narrow and steep, with tight hairpin bends. The
Furness Fells stand between
Coniston and the
Duddon Valley, which runs NE-SW through the centre of the area. On the other side of the Duddon is
Harter Fell and the long ridge leading over
Whitfell to
Black Combe and the sea. The south of this region is lower forests and knolls, with
Kirkby Moor on the southern boundary.
South-East
The South Eastern area is the territory between
Coniston Water and
Windermere and east of Windermere. There are no high summits in this group; it is mainly low hills, knolls and bumpy terrain such as
Gummer's How,
Whitbarrow and
Top o' Selside. The wide expanse of
Grizedale Forest stands between the two lakes.
Kendal and
Morecambe Bay mark the edge.
25 highest fells
The 25 highest fells are:
#
Scafell Pike, 978 m / 3210 ft#
Scafell, 965 m / 3162 ft#
Helvellyn, 951 m / 3118 ft#
Skiddaw, 931 m / 3054 ft#
Great End, 910 m / 2986 ft#
Bowfell, 902 m / 2960 ft#
Great Gable, 899 m / 2949 ft#
Pillar, 892 m / 2926 ft#
Nethermost Pike, 891 m / 2923 ft#
Catstycam, 889 m / 2917 ft#
Esk Pike, 885 m / 2903 ft#
Raise, 883 m / 2896 ft#
Fairfield, 873 m / 2863 ft#
Blencathra, 868 m / 2847 ft#
Skiddaw Little Man, 865 m / 2837 ft#
White Side, 863 m / 2831 ft#
Crinkle Crags, 859 m / 2818 ft#
Dollywaggon Pike, 858 m / 2815 ft#
Great Dodd, 857 m / 2807 ft#
Grasmoor, 852 m / 2795 ft#
Stybarrow Dodd, 843 m / 2772 ft#
St Sunday Crag, 841 m / 2759 ft#
Scoat Fell, 841 m / 2759 ft#
Crag Hill, 839 m / 2753 ft#
High Street, 828 m / 2717 ft
A more extensive lists of fells can be found on the
list of fells in the Lake District.
20 most prominent summits
The 20 tops in the region with the greatest
relative height are given below, together with their relative height.
#
Scafell Pike, 912 m #
Helvellyn, 712 m #
Skiddaw, 709 m #
Grasmoor, 519 m #
Blencathra, 461 m #
Great Gable, 425 m #
Coniston Old Man, 416 m #
Dale Head, 397 m #
High Street, 373 m#
High Stile, 362 m #
Black Combe, 362 m#
Pillar, 348 m #
Illgill Head, 314 m#
Fairfield, 299 m #
High Raise, 283 m#
Harter Fell, 276 m#
Low Fell, 270 m#
Place Fell, 262 m#
Red Screes, 260 m#
Mellbreak, 260 m
A more extensive list of prominent summits is given in the
list of Marilyns.
Lakes
 |
Boats on Ullswater. |
Despite its name, there is only one body of
water in the park with the word Lake in the name, namely
Bassenthwaite Lake. All the others such as
Windermere,
Coniston Water,
Ullswater and
Buttermere use other forms, with 'mere' being particularly common. The major lakes and reservoirs in the park are given below.
The word 'tarn' is a local word used to describe any small lake that may otherwise be called a
pond.
*
Bassenthwaite Lake*
Buttermere*
Coniston Water*
Crummock Water*
Derwent Water*
Devoke Water*
Ennerdale Water*
Grasmere*
Haweswater Reservoir*
Hayeswater*
Loweswater*
Rydal Water*
Thirlmere*
Ullswater*
Wast Water*
WindermereMore lakes, tarns and reservoirs can be found on the
list of lakes in the Lake District.
The Lake District's
geology is complex but well studied. Its oldest rocks are the
Skiddaw Slate series and the
Borrowdale Volcanic series dating back to the
Ordovician, some 500 million years ago. The Skiddaw Slates are found in the north of the park and were probably deposited in shallow seas; their thickness is unknown. The Borrowdale Volcanic rocks are more extensive and form the Lakes' highest peaks, being resistant to weathering. Later
intrusions have formed individual outcrops of
igneous rock in both these series. The other large rock group is the
Silurian Windermere Group, made of
Limestone that rests upon the volcanic rocks. Many smaller series are also present.
The Lake District's location on the north-west coast of England, coupled with its mountainous geography, makes it the wettest part of
England. The UK
Met Office reports average annual
precipitation of more than 2,000 mm, but with very large local variation. Seathwaite in
Borrowdale is the wettest inhabited place in the
British Isles with an average of 3,300 mm of rain a year, while nearby Sprinkling Tarn is even wetter, recording over 5,000 mm per year; by contrast, Keswick, at the end of
Borrowdale receives 1,470 mm per year, and
Penrith (just outside the Lake District) only 870 mm. March to June tend to be the driest months, with October to January the wettest, but at low levels there is relatively little difference between months.
The Lake District is also windy, although sheltered valleys experience
gales on an average of five days a year. In contrast, the coastal areas have 20 days of gales; while the fell tops may have 100 days of gales per year.
The maritime climate means that the Lake District experiences relatively moderate temperature variations through the year. Mean temperature in the valleys ranges from about 3
°C in January to around 15 °C in July. (By comparison,
Moscow, at the same latitude, ranges from -10°C to 19°C.)
The relatively low height of most of the fells means that, while snow is expected during the winter, they can be free of
snow at any time of the year. Normally significant snow fall only occurs between November and April. On average, snow falls on
Helvellyn 67 days per year. During the year, valleys typically experience 20 days with snow falling, a further 200 wet days, and 145 dry days.
Hill
fog is common at any time of year, and the fells average only around 2.5 hours of sunshine per day, increasing to around 4.1 hours per day on the coastal plains.
The area is home to a plethora of wildlife, some of which is unique in England. It provides a home for the
red squirrel and colonies of
sundew, one of the few
carnivorous plants native to
Britain. England's only nesting colony of
Golden Eagles can be found in the Lake District.
The lakes of the Lake District support three rare and endangered species of fish: the
vendace, which can be found only in Bassenthwaite Lake and Derwent Water, the
schelly, which lives in Brothers Water, Haweswater, Red Tarn and Ullswater, and the
arctic charr, which can be found in Buttermere, Coniston Water, Crummock Water, Ennerdale Water, Haweswater, Loweswater, Thirlmere, Wast water, and Windermere.
In recent years, some important changes have been made to fisheries byelaws covering the North West region of England, to help protect some of the rarest fish species. The
Environment Agency has introduced a new fisheries byelaw, banning the use of all freshwater fish as live bait or as dead bait in 14 of the lakes in the Lake District. Anglers who do not comply with the new byelaw could face fines of up to £2,500. The byelaw was introduced on 26 July 2002.
There are 14 lakes in the Lake District which are affected. These are: Bassenthwaite Lake, Brothers Water, Buttermere, Coniston Water, Crummock Water, Derwent Water, Ennerdale Water, Haweswater, Loweswater, Red Tarn, Thirlmere, Ullswater, Wast Water and Windermere.
The lakes and waters of the Lake District do not naturally support as many species of fish as other similar habitats in the south of the country and elsewhere in Europe. Some fish that do thrive there are particularly at risk from accidental or deliberate introduction of new species.
The introduction of non-native fish can lead to the predation of the native fish fauna or competition for food. There is also the risk of disease being introduced, which can further threaten native populations. In some cases, the introduced species can disturb the environment so much that it becomes unsuitable for particular fish. For example, a major problem has been found with
ruffe. This non-native fish has now been introduced into a number of lakes in recent years. It is known that ruffe eat the eggs of vendace, which are particularly vulnerable because of their long incubation period. This means that they are susceptible to predators for up to 120 days. The eggs of other fish, for example roach, are only at risk for as little as three days.
In
Neolithic times, the Lake District was a major source of stone
axes, examples of which have been found all over Britain. The primary site, on the slopes of the Langdale Pikes, is sometimes described as a 'stone axe factory' of the
Langdale axe industry. Some of the earliest
stone circles in Britain are connected with this industry.
Since Roman times,
farming, in particular of
sheep, was the major industry in the region. The breed most closely associated with the area is the tough
Herdwick, with
Rough Fell and
Swaledale sheep also common. Sheep farming remains important both for the economy of the region and for preserving the landscape which visitors want to see. Features such as
dry stone walls, for example, are there as a result of sheep farming. Some land is also used for
silage and
dairy farming. There are extensive plantations of non-native pine trees.
The area was badly affected by the
foot-and-mouth outbreak across the
United Kingdom in
2001. Thousands of sheep, grazing on the fellsides across the District, were destroyed. In replacing the sheep, one problem to overcome was that many of the lost sheep were
heafed, that is, they knew their part of the unfenced fell and did not stray, with this knowledge being passed between generations. With all the sheep lost at once, this knowledge has to be re-learnt and some of the
fells have had discreet electric fences strung across them for a period of five years, to allow the sheep to "re-heaf".
Mining, particularly of
copper,
lead (often associated with quantities of
silver),
baryte,
graphite and
slate, was historically a major lakeland industry, mainly from the
16th century to the
19th century. Coppiced woodland was used extensively to provide charcoal for smelting. Some mining still takes place today — for example slate mining continues at the Honister Mines, at the top of
Honister Pass. Abandoned mine-workings can be found on fell-sides throughout the district. The locally-mined graphite led to the development of the
pencil industry, especially around
Keswick.
 |
A 'typical Lake District scene' |
In the middle of the 19th century, half the world textile industry's bobbin supply came from the Lake District area. Over the past
century, however,
tourism has grown rapidly to become the area's primary source of income.
Early visitors to the Lake District, who travelled for the education and pleasure of the journey, include
Celia Fiennes who in
1698 undertook a journey the length of
England, including riding through
Kendal and over
Kirkstone Pass into
Patterdale. Her experiences and impressions were published in her book
Great Journey to Newcastle and Cornwall:
As I walked down at this place I was walled on both sides by those inaccessible high rocky barren hills which hang over one's head in some places and appear very terrible; and from them springs many little currents of water from the sides and clefts which trickle down to some lower part where it runs swiftly over the stones and shelves in the way, which makes a pleasant rush and murmuring noise and like a snowball is increased by each spring trickling down on either side of those hills, and so descends into the bottoms which are a Moorish ground in which in many places the waters stand, and so form some of those Lakes as it did here.In 1724,
Daniel Defoe published the first volume of
A Tour Thro' the Whole Island of Great Britain. He commented on
Westmorland that it was:
the wildest, most barren and frightful of any that I have passed over in England, or even Wales itself; the west side, which borders on Cumberland, is indeed bounded by a chain of almost unpassable mountains which, in the language of the country, are called fells.Towards the end of the
18th century, the area was becoming more popular with travellers. This was influenced by wars in
Continental Europe, restricting the possibility of travel there. In
1778 Father
Thomas West produced
A Guide to the Lakes, which began the era of true tourism.
West listed "stations" - viewpoints where tourists could enjoy the best views of the landscape, being encouraged to appreciated the formal qualities of the landscape and to apply aesthetic values. At some of these stations, buildings were erected to help this process. The remains of Claife Station (on the western shore of
Windermere below
Claife Heights) can be visited today.
William Wordsworth published his
Guide to the Lakes in
1810, and by
1835 it had reached its fifth edition, now called
A Guide through the District of the Lakes in the North of England. This book was particularly influential in popularising the region.
Wordsworths favourite valley was Dunnerdale or the
Duddon Valley nestling in the South West of the Lake District. The noted Author and poet
Norman Nicholson came from the South West Lakes, living and writing about
Millom in the twentieth century - he was known as the last of the
Lake Poets and came close to becoming Poet Laureat.
The railways led to another expansion in tourism. The
Kendal and Windermere Railway was the first to penetrate the Lake District, reaching
Kendal in
1846 and
Windermere in
1847. The line to
Coniston opened in
1848 (although until 1857 this was only linked to the national network with ferries between
Fleetwood and
Barrow-in-Furness); the line from
Penrith through
Keswick to
Cockermouth in
1865; and the line to
Lakeside at the foot of
Windermere in
1869. The railways, built with traditional industry in mind, brought with them a huge increase in the number of visitors, thus contributing to the growth of the tourism industry. Railway services were supplemented by steamer boats on the major lakes of
Ullswater,
Windermere,
Coniston Water, and
Derwent Water.
The growth in tourist numbers continued into the age of the motor car, when railways began to be closed or run down. The formation of the National Park in
1951 recognised the need to protect the Lake District environment from excessive commercial or industrial exploitation, preserving that which visitors come to see, without (so far) any restriction on the movement of people into and around the district. The
M6 Motorway helped bring traffic to the Lakes, passing up its eastern flank. The narrow roads present a challenge for traffic flow and, from the 1960s, certain areas have been very congested.
The county has also become associated with writer
Beatrix Potter. A number of tourists visit to see her family home. Particularly large numbers come from
Japan.
Tourism has now become the park's major industry, with about 14 million visitors each year.[
1]. Windermere Lake Steamers are now the UK's second most popular charging tourist attraction and the local economy is dependent upon tourists. The negative impacts of tourism have been seen, however.
Soil erosion, caused by walking, is now a significant problem, with millions of pounds being spent to protect over-used paths. The fickleness of tourism is also a problem - numbers have fallen in the
Windermere area with the introduction of a ten miles per hour speed limit on the lake. In 2006, a number of
Tourist Information Centres in the park were closed.
The Lake District is intimately associated with
English literature in the
18th and
19th centuries.
Thomas Gray was the first to bring the region to attention, when he wrote a journal of his
Grand Tour in
1769 but it was
William Wordsworth whose poems were most famous and influential. Wordsworth's poem
I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud, inspired by the sight of daffodils on the shores of Ullswater, remains one of the most famous in the English language. Out of his long life of eighty years, sixty were spent amid its lakes and mountains, first as a schoolboy at
Hawkshead, and afterwards living in
Grasmere (
1799-
1813) and
Rydal Mount (
1813-
50).
In the churchyard of
Grasmere the poet and his wife lie buried, and very near to them are the remains of
Hartley Coleridge (son of the poet
Samuel Taylor Coleridge), who himself lived for many years in
Keswick,
Ambleside and
Grasmere.
Robert Southey, the friend of
Wordsworth, was a resident of
Keswick for forty years (
1803-
43), and was buried in
Crosthwaite churchyard.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge lived for some time in
Keswick, and also with the
Wordsworths at
Grasmere. From
1807 to
1815 John Wilson lived at
Windermere.
De Quincey spent the greater part of the years
1809 to
1828 at
Grasmere, in the first cottage which
Wordsworth had inhabited.
Ambleside, or its environs, was also the place of residence both of
Thomas Arnold, who spent there the vacations of the last ten years of his life and of
Harriet Martineau, who built herself a house there in
1845. At
Keswick, Mrs Lynn Linton (wife of
William James Linton) was born, in
1822.
Brantwood, a house beside
Coniston Water, was the home of
John Ruskin during the last years of his life.
In addition to these residents or natives of the Lake District, a variety of other poets and writers made visits to the Lake District or were bound by ties of friendship with those already mentioned above. These include
Norman Nicholson,
Percy Bysshe Shelley,
Sir Walter Scott,
Nathaniel Hawthorne,
Arthur Hugh Clough,
Henry Crabb Robinson,
Thomas Carlyle,
John Keats,
Lord Tennyson,
Matthew Arnold,
Felicia Hemans, and
Gerald Massey.
During the early
20th Century, the beloved children's book author
Beatrix Potter was in residence at
Hill Top Farm, setting many of her famous
Peter Rabbit books in the Lake District. Her life is currently being made into a biopic
film, being filmed in the Lake District and the
Isle of Man, starring
Renee Zellwegger and
Ewan McGregor. In more recent times,
Arthur Ransome was resident in several areas of the Lake District and set a number of his
Swallows and Amazons books in a fictionalised Lake District setting.
The novelist
Sir Hugh Walpole lived at
Brackenburn on the lower slopes of
Catbells overlooking
Derwentwater from 1924 until his death in 1941. Whilst living at Brackenburn he wrote the
The Herries Chronicle detailing the history of a fictional Cumbrian Family over two centuries.
Some students of
Arthurian lore identify the Lake District with the
Grail kingdom of
Listeneise.
A number of words/phrases are local to the Lake District. These include:
*
fell - brought to England by
Viking invaders and close to modern
Norwegian 'Fjell' meaning
mountain*
tarn - a word that has been taken to mean a small lake situated in a
corrie, it is a local phrase for any small pool of water
*
Yan Tan Tethera - the name for a system of
sheep counting which was traditionally used in the Lake District. Though now rare, it is still used by some and taught in local schools.
*
Keswick*
List of national parks of England and Wales*
National parks (Scotland)*
Peak District National Park*
Yorkshire Dales*
Cumbria*
Geology of the United Kingdom*
UK topics*
The Fell & Rock Climbing Club of the English Lake District*
Share the Fell Walking Experience*
Lake District official website*
Lake District Walks *
Illustrated Guide to the Lake DistrictPhotographs of the area
* http://www.andyfellwalker.com/thealbums.htm
* http://www.thelakedistrictmountains.org/
* http://www.lakedistrictdesktops.com/
* http://www.lakelandcam.co.uk/
* http://www.buyimage.co.uk/photonet/lakes/lakes.html
* http://www.bbc.co.uk/cumbria/in_pictures/index.shtml
* http://www.virtual-lakes.co.uk/
* http://www.lmpics.com/Landscapes/Lakes/The%20Lake%20District.html
* http://www.lakelandscape.co.uk/gallery.htm
* http://www.wordsworthcountry.com/wallpapers/index.htm
* http://www.photoboxgallery.com/srsteel
*Hollingsworth, S. 'The Geology of the Lake District: a review',
Proc. Geologists Assoc., 65 (Part 4) 1954
*Moseley, F.
Geology of the Lake District, Yorkshire Geologic
