The Lake District

The Lake District is one of those few places which really is as good as it’s cracked up to be. Plunging into the heart of Lakeland, you will be among lush valleys of farms and villages surrounded by breathtaking hills, reflected in the still waters of the lakes which give the region its name.

The little towns of the Lake District are full of tourists in season, but there is at least good reason for that:  when the crowds have gone, their own charm appears.  They are also full of riverside walks, pubs, cafés and shops for fell-walkers, which is a very good thing.

This land was the birthplace and home of William Wordsworth, and of most of his poetry. A summer by a lake of Westmorland under the shadow of its fells will draw poetry from even the most hardened of men.

The Lakeland fells stretch over three counties, Cumberland, Westmorland and the northern parcel of Lancashire.  The Lake District itself is the mountainscape between the Eden Valley and Cumberland’s more pedestrian coastal lands, but the wider area includes the Eden Valley itself, a neglected delight, the Pennine fells beyond it, and to the north the Hadrian’s Wall Country in northern Cumberland and into Northumberland.

Sights to see

The fells, the dales, the lakes, the pretty villages and modest towns.

Things to do

  • The famous tops (ongoing work)
  • Picnics by the lakes:  see Lakes Explorer (ongoing work)
  • Wainwright bagging
  • Visiting the towns (ongoing work)

Getting there

 

Essential kit