What is the Lake District? Print
Written by Peter Burgess   
Sunday, 17 June 2007

Lakeland peaks
Lakeland peaks
OK, you've found this site but how much do you know about the Lake District?  This is a short article giving some information about the Lake District National Park; Britain's largest but perhaps most beautiful and diverse landscape.

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Covering 885 square miles (2,292 square kilometres) the Lake District is the largest and most spectacular of Britain's National Parks and vies with the Peak District for being the most-visited of 'Britain's fifteen National Parks.  Since it was established in 1951 the park now receives about twelve million people a year which vastly outnumbers its resident population of 42,000.

The lesser known Loweswater
A Land of Lakes
Despite its name, the Lake District has only one named lake; Bassenthwaite, whilst all the others are either 'waters', 'meres' or 'tarns'.  Having said that, there are seventeen valley lakes (if you include Brothers' Water) the most famous of which is perhaps Windermere.  This lake has the distinction of being the longest in England at 17 kilometres or 10.5 miles from Waterhead to Lakeside.  Wastwater, which is also in the National Park is England's deepest at 79 metres or 258 feet.

Of course, the region is famed for its dramatic mountain scenery.  Scafell Pike is England's highest mountain at 977 metres or 3210 feet above sea level although the most climbed probably has to be Helvellyn west of Ullswater which rises to 950 metres or 3118 feet above sea level.

Scafell Pike - the highest Lakeland peak
Scafell Pike
There is no doubt to many, that Lakeland is a paradise on Earth - maybe God's very own garden.  As stated by Griff Rhys Jones  on the BBC TV series 'Mountain', The Lake District is the "Epitome of Britain".



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