Lake District
The Lake District National Park is one of thirteen National parks in the United Kingdom. It lies in the county of Cumbria. The park 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 they are called, were made famous during Victorian era in the poetry and writings of William Wordsworth. This whole land of snow-clad fells presents wonderful and mystic scenes for painters and photographers and many can be found there rambling.
The highest point in England is the peak of Scafell Pike. The exact height differs according to source : Alfred Wainwright, writer of many popular guides to the mountains looming above The Lakes, gives it as 3210 feet (978m) but the Ordnance Survey gives 3206 feet (977m).
Alfred Wainwright gave a list of 214 fells in his Pictorial Guides to the Lake District, which walkers still use today. The four highest are Scafell Pike, Scafell, Helvellyn and Skiddaw, all above 3000 feet.
Despite its name, there is only one body of water in the park with the word Lake in the name, Bassenthwaite Lake. All the others such as Windermere, Coniston Water, Ullswater and Buttermere use other forms, with 'mere' being particularly common. Many of the most picturesque names date to the Viking invasion, especially fell, the natural English word in the North for mountain.
Historically, farming, in particular of sheep, was the major industry in the region. Over the past century, tourism has grown rapidly to become the area's primary source of income. However the area was badly affected by the foot-and-mouth outbreak across the United Kingdom in 2001. Thousands of sheep, ordinarily grazing on the fellsides in the North of the Park were destroyed.
Amongst the area's many attractive towns are Grasmere (once home to William Wordsworth), Ambleside and Windermere.
See also
- Keswick
- List of national parks of England and Wales
- National parks (Scotland)
- Peak District National Park
- Yorkshire Dales