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Lake District

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Geography of Great
Britain

   The panorama across Eskdale from Ill Crag. Harter Fell and Hard Knott
   can be seen, also a small tarn.
   Enlarge
   The panorama across Eskdale from Ill Crag. Harter Fell and Hard Knott
   can be seen, also a small tarn.

   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.

Geography

General Geography

   The location of the Lake District, shown in white, within Northern
   England
   Enlarge
   The location of the Lake District, shown in white, within Northern
   England

   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.
   Enlarge
   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 valley of Borrowdale from Grayrigg Forest
   Enlarge
   The valley of Borrowdale from Grayrigg Forest

   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 (of those given an individual chapter in the
   Pictorial Guides by Alfred Wainwright) are:
    1. Scafell Pike, 978 m / 3210 ft
    2. Scafell, 965 m / 3162 ft
    3. Helvellyn, 951 m / 3118 ft
    4. Skiddaw, 931 m / 3054 ft
    5. Great End, 910 m / 2986 ft
    6. Bowfell, 902 m / 2960 ft
    7. Great Gable, 899 m / 2949 ft
    8. Pillar, 892 m / 2926 ft
    9. Nethermost Pike, 891 m / 2923 ft
   10. Catstycam, 889 m / 2917 ft
   11. Esk Pike, 885 m / 2903 ft
   12. Raise, 883 m / 2896 ft
   13. Fairfield, 873 m / 2863 ft
   14. Blencathra, 868 m / 2847 ft
   15. Skiddaw Little Man, 865 m / 2837 ft
   16. White Side, 863 m / 2831 ft
   17. Crinkle Crags, 859 m / 2818 ft
   18. Dollywaggon Pike, 858 m / 2815 ft
   19. Great Dodd, 857 m / 2807 ft
   20. Grasmoor, 852 m / 2795 ft
   21. Stybarrow Dodd, 843 m / 2772 ft
   22. St Sunday Crag, 841 m / 2759 ft
   23. Scoat Fell, 841 m / 2759 ft
   24. Crag Hill, 839 m / 2753 ft
   25. High Street, 828 m / 2717 ft

   A more extensive lists of fells can be found on the list of fells in
   the Lake District.

Lakes

   Boats on Ullswater.
   Enlarge
   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
     * Windermere

   More lakes, tarns and reservoirs can be found on the list of lakes in
   the Lake District.

Geology

   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.

Climate

   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.

Wildlife

   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 pair 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.

Industry and agriculture

   Forestry operations on Harter Fell
   Enlarge
   Forestry operations on Harter Fell

   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". One drawback of this new
   fencing is that they can have an effect of compass readings of hikers
   due to the electromagnetic interference. Fell walkers have been warned
   to take care when using a compass near these fences as the readings may
   be misleading.

   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'
   Enlarge
   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.

Development of tourism

   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.
   Claife Station on the western shore of Windermere
   Enlarge
   Claife Station on the western shore of Windermere

   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.
   A steamer on Ullswater
   Enlarge
   A steamer on Ullswater

   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.

   Whilst the roads and railways provided easier access to the area, many
   people were drawn to the Lakes by the publication of the Pictorial
   Guide to the Lakeland Fells by Alfred Wainwright. First published in
   the 1950s, these books provided detailed information on 214 peaks
   across the region, with carefully hand-drawn maps and panoramas, and
   also stories and asides which add to the colour of the area. They are
   still used by many visitors to the area as guides for walking
   excursions, with the ultimate goal of bagging the complete list of
   Wainwrights.

   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. . 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.

Literature

   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.

Nomenclature

   A number of words/phrases are local to the Lake District and are part
   of the Cumbrian dialect. 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.

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