Lake District National Park Tourism

admin ♦ June 14, 2010 ♦ Leave Your Comment

Lake District National Park is in North West England, in the county of Cumbria. It is the largest National Park in the country (occupying 885 sq. miles) and is considered one of its most scenic regions and England’s premier destination for hiking and climbing.

The main attraction is the lakes and fells carved by glacial erosion and providing dramatic and inspiring scenery although much modified by man’s intervention mainly by farming. It is the former home of cultural luminaries such as William Wordsworth and John Ruskin, and the walks and fells are famously documented by Alfred Wainwright.

First settled in the Stone Age (some residents still exist) and occupied by the Romans the area was heavily influenced by the Norse in their occupation circa 900A.D. They cleared the woods to produce charcoal to smelt lead in Glenridding and copper in the Borrowdale Valley and Coniston. They introduced the Herdwick sheep to the fells and left a legacy of language such as ‘gill’ gorge, ‘beck’ stream, ‘tarn’ lake, ‘dale’ valley and ‘force’ waterfall; of them all ‘thwaite’, a clearing in a wood, is the most common.

The Agricultural Revolution and the Enclosure Acts in the 18th century saw the erection of the dry stone walls which are a predominant feature on the fellsides. The 19th Century saw the advent of tourism with the arrival of the railway in the town of Windermere where it terminates.

The destination is popular with national and international visitors and this can easily cause congestion in busy periods at the most popular locations. Visitor attractions are numerous and not limited to scenic attractions.Error processing request