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Diagram of Lake District, (not to scale). Introduction
The Lake District has been shaped by man for centuries. After the last ice age and up until Britain was cut off from the rest of Europe by the rising sea there were 34 native trees in Britain, of which 22 have been estimated to have been in Cumbria. As exemplified by Great Mell Fell with deciduous trees growing almost to its summit, most of the land below 1500' feet in the Lake District would have been covered mainly in deciduous woodland, which would have included ash, birch, oak, wild cherry, hazel, rowan, hawthorne, wych elm and in water logged areas, alder. The non-deciduous yew was also native. Though native to the south of England, trees, such as beech, poplar, whitebeam, hornbeam and the large leaved lime had not reached Cumbria in this period. (For more information on native trees go to the Woodland Trust.) As man changed from hunter-gatherer to farmer, the trees were cleared for pasture and growing food and later used for boat building and to make charcoal for the iron industry. This resulted in the landscape of today with hills covered mainly in grass, bracken and heather, though in places such as Ashness Wood near Grange, Johnny's Wood near Rosthwaite, and Stonethwaite Woods, all in Borrowdale, native woodland still exists. These are remnants of the temperate rainforests that once covered the western coasts of Britain, They are dominated by sessile oaks and provide a splendid habitatat for liverworts, lichens, ferns and mosses. They have been designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest and Special Areas of Conservation. A different habitat, where oaks can be found, is on the rocky south face of Causey Pike. Here a group of stunted oak trees cling precariously to the fell side. Plantations of non-native coniferous trees have been planted in the recent past, some on land up to 1500 feet in areas like Thornthwaite Forest to the west of Bassenthwaite lake. Some of these plantations are being felled for their timber and hopefully replacement trees will include a higher proportion of native ones. The Lake District is the main source of walks for the Penrith Ramblers. If one is being pedantic, the Lake District strictly has only one lake, Bassenthwaite Lake, with most of the others called meres or waters. There are over 50 tarns. As regards mountains, it has 7 higher than Cross Fell in the Pennines, the next highest after the Lake District, but these don't compare in height terms with Snowdon, the highest in Wales at 3560' or Ben Nevis, Scotland's highest at 4406'. However the beauty of the Lake District is not in doubt and though it only has 4 mountains above 3000' there are many close to this. Many lake district walks by the Penrith Ramblers in the winter months, especially the lower graded walks, are low level near to the lakes or keep to the valleys such as Borrowdale, St John's in the Vale or Newlands valley.. The lakeland towns and villages are all worth visiting but try to avoid going on bank holidays, when they and the roads to them can become extremely crowded. A policy of the Penrith Ramblers is to run walks outside the main tourist areas at such times. Grasmere, well known for its Gingerbread shop together with Keswick are in areas of especially lovely scenery, each with fells and lakes close by. Livestock in the fells is mainly sheep, usually the hardy Herdwick or Swaledales.
Red squirrels can still be seen wild in the woodlands but these are getting rarer as the grey squirrels, introduced from North America, encroach into the red squirrels' habitat. The greys carry the squirrel pox virus, which is harmless to them but deadly to the reds. Serious attempts are now being made to keep the greys at bay.
Lakes in order of length.
There are too many named tarns to list here but a few pictures show that many are still worth visiting. Here are two tarns with the same name.
Here is one 1km NE of the Langdale Pikes.
The Lake District's mountains over 2750 feet. Where there is more than one top on a mountain with a given name, such as Crinkle Crags or Blencathra, only the highest top is given.
Lower mountains with views.
As many walkers know, better views can often be obtained from a low peak, with lakes, tarns and higher peaks close by, rather than on the higher peaks themselves. Some fairly low tops, in alphabetical order, worth visiting are:
Man-made Attractions.
Besides the lovely scenery of the Lake District, much of which has been shaped by man over the centuries, there are many other man-made attractions.
Adventure Centres.
Ghyll Scrambling, canoeing and kayaking are available at the Newlands Adventure Centre at Stair near Keswick. Also available are high rope courses, mountain biking, climbing, abseiling , archery and orienteering all with qualified instructors. Low Wood Watersports, 2 miles north of Windermere provides water skiing, water surfing, kayaking, canoeing and boat hire as well as changing rooms with showers, refreshments and free parking. Aquaria. Cafes, Tea Rooms, Inns. Forest Parks. Galleries, craft shops and museums. In Cockermouth there is The Percy House Gallery, which has exhibitions of textiles, photographs, paintings, jewellery, glass, metalwork and sculpture and is well worth a visit. The Beatrix Potter Gallery is in the centre of Hawkshead and is run by The National Trust. It has Beatrix's original artwork and material from the film "Miss Potter" on display. You can view Beatrix Potter's personal collection of china, furniture and paintings at Hill Top, which was owned by Beatrix Potter for 38 years. It is in the village of Near Sawrey, 2 miles south of Hawkshead. For Beatrix Potter fans, young and old, there is also The World of Beatrix Potter in Bowness-on-Windermere. Here all 23 tales of the author are brought to life in an indoor recreation of the Lake District countryside. The Kirkstone Galleries are situated on the A593 at Skelwith Bridge beteween Coniston and Ambleside. They specialise in handpainted crockery, glassware, contemporary home furnishing and items from pendants to pastry boards made from a sea green stone quarried only in Cumbria. Blackwell, The Arts and Crafts House 1.5 miles south of Bowness, with its stained glass windows and original carved oak panelling, has exhibitions of contemporary and historical applied art in its upper galleries. Furniture and turned wooden gifts can be seen being made from the viewing gallery at Peter Hall & Son's workshop, Stavely near Kendal, where there is also a gift shop. 3 miles north is The Kentmere Pottery Studio, which specialises in ceramics and multi-fired English enamels, including lamps and tableware.To Top On the west coast at Whitehaven there is the Beacon Art Gallery and Museum, where you can discover the town's industrial and maritime past, including its connections with mining and slavery. At Egremont you will find Lowes Court Gallery showing a wide range of paintings, prints and craft work. In Keswick is the Pencil Museum which has exhibits and film showing the heritage of pencils over the last 170 years and the Motor Museum, which has 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang', Batmobiles and other vehicles from TV and film. In Priest's Mill, Caldbeck in the North Lakes is the The Wool Clip, which is a local co-operative of farmers and craft workers using wool from Herdwick and Swaledale sheep in the area. Rugs, throws, cushions, hats, scarves and lots more are available. Thornthwaite Galleries are situated in Thornthwaite, which lies north of Braithwaite on a minor road running roughly parallel to the A66. The gallery is open daily except Tuesdays. Demonstrations in painting, wood carving and jewellery are held. Go to noticeboard of local media gallery for callender of events. Gosforth Pottery is in Gosforth just off the A595 and to the south west of Wasdale Valley, which has the highest mountain, the deepest lake and the smallest church in England. Besides hand-thrown pottery, photographs of the Lake District taken by local photographers and printed on canvas are available. The Lakeland Motor Museum is at Holker Hall in the south of Cumbria. It houses 30,000 pieces of motoring memorabilia. including cars, cycles, motorcycles and the Bluebird exhibition dealing with Donald Campbell's racing exploits on land and water. It includes a mock-up of Donald Campbell's Bluebird. You can visit the Hall and its garden while you are there. See also Ruskin Museum (Homes of famous Lakeland people).To Top Garden Centres. Gardens. Muncaster Castle is well worth a visit. The castle, about a mile from the mouth of the River Esk, has been the home of the Penningtons for over 800 years. It has an octagonal library, elegant dining room and a tapestry room said to be haunted. It is the headquarters of the World Owl Trust and has over 70 acres of plants and trees including rhododendron and Camellia collections.
Homes of famous Lakeland people. Brantwood, Coniston was the home of John Ruskin, artist, critic and social reformer for the last 28 years of his life The house still houses his paintings, furniture and personal treasures and offers an insight into his world. You can explore the gardens beautifully located by the lake.
Hill Top, a 17th century farmhouse, near Sawrey is where Beatrix Potter wrote and illustrated many of her famous children's stories. It is now owned by the National Trust and has been kept exactly as she left it, complete with furniture, china and a traditional cottage garden. Called 'Manor from Heaven' by Melvyn Bragg, the broadcaster, Mirehouse is a historic family home, at the foot of Skiddaw on the east side of Bassenthwaite Lake. It has pleasant sheltered gardens and a peaceful walk beside the lake. The house is open in the summer months, when family members look after visitors often accompanied by live piano music! Mining Museums. Motor launch trips. Coniston Launch provide an environmentally friendly solar electric passenger boat service to 7 jetties in Coniston Water. It operates 2 services - the Northern Service visiting Coniston and 3 other jetties in the north of the lake and the Southern Service visiting Coniston and 5 other jetties stretching to Lake Bank jetty in the south of the lake. Both sevices visit Brantwood jetty part of the 250 acre Brantwood estate. In winter only the Northern service operates. Windermere Lake Cruises sail daily throughout the year between Ambleside, Bowness and Lakeside. Special cruises include Jazz/Buffet, Island, Christmas Lunch, Evening and Santa specials.You can charter any of their launches or 'Steamers' for private use, such as weddings or corporate entertaining. A ferry service operates approximately every hour between Ferry Nab on the east side of Windermere and Ferry House on the west. The ferry is capable of taking 18 cars and 100 passengers. Ring Cumbria Highways on 01228 227653 for more information. Sellafield Visitors Centre: Steam railways: Stone circles - North Lake District:
On Askham Fell, east of Ullswater is The Cockpit, map reference NY483222. This consists of a ring of stones 3m wide formed in a circle with internal diameter 25m. (See also Stone Circles in Eden Valley). Water mill:. Camping sites. Zoos. More general information on the Lake District.
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