The Rough Guide to the Lake District (Rough Guide Travel Guides)

305 Pages·2007·17.43 MB·English

by  Rough Guides, Jules Brown

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The Rough Guide to
The Lake District
written and researched by
Jules Brown
NEW YORK • LONDON • DELHI
www.roughguides.com
Contents
Colour section 1–16 The western fells and
valleys........................171–196
Introduction ............................... 6 Ullswater ....................197–214
Where to go ............................... 8
Out of the National
When to go .............................. 11 Park ...........................215–246
Things not to miss ................... 12
Contexts 247–282
Basics 17–46
History ................................... 249
Getting there............................ 19 Books .................................... 258
Getting around......................... 21 Habitats of the Lake District
Accommodation....................... 25 ....................................... 266
Food and drink ........................ 29 Climbing in the Lake District
Festivals, shows, sports and ....................................... 273
annual events........................ 31 William Wordsworth: A Life .... 279
Walking and climbing............... 35
Boating, water sports and Travel store 283–290
swimming ............................. 38
Organized holidays, courses
and outdoor activities ........... 39 Small print & Index 291–304
Travel essentials ...................... 41

Guide 47–246 Writers and artists in
the Lake District
Windermere................... 47–84 colour section following
p.160
Grasmere and the
central fells ..................85–108
Coniston Water, Hawkshead Out and about in the
and the south.............109–134 Lakes colour section

Keswick, Derwent Water following p.208
and the north .............135–170
3
Above Glenridding The view from Cat Bells
| CONTENTS |
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| INTRODUCTION | WHERE TO GO | WHEN TO GO
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| INTRODUCTION | WHERE TO GO | WHEN TO GO
Introduction to the
Lake District
The Lake District is England’s most celebrated, most
visited and most hyped scenic area. Tucked into a bulge
between the industrial cities of northwest England and
the Scottish borders, the small region – just thirty miles
across – is irresistible to the twelve million visitors a year
who pour in to experience its famous lakes, picturesque
villages and alpine landscape. To many, the lure is of a
misty-eyed English past – quiet country lanes, ivy-clad
inns, agricultural shows and sheepdog trials – while
others seek to tick off English superlatives, including
the country’s highest mountain (Scafell Pike), and its
largest and deepest lakes (Windermere and Wast Water
respectively). The sundry pastoral images could hardly be
better known, whether bolstered by the siren words of
the Lake Poets or embedded in the minds of the nation’s
children who grow up with the lakeland tales of Beatrix
Potter, Arthur Ransome and John Cunliffe’s Postman Pat.
It’s hard to think of a region in Britain
with a similar breadth of scenery in such
a small area – wild fells to walled grazing
land, glacial lakes to forested valleys,
steeply pitched mountains to tumbling
waterfalls. Tourist numbers are concen-
trated in fairly specifc areas and even on
the busiest of summer days it’s relatively
easy to escape the crowds by climbing to the higher fells or exploring
more remote valleys. There are parts of the region, particularly in the north
and west, where tourism is still decidedly low-key. Choose to come in the
early spring, late autumn or winter – when magical crisp, clear days often
6 enhance the natural backdrop – and even the most beaten paths and over-
visited sights can be refreshingly uncluttered.
Sea wall, Ravenglass
| INTRODUCTION | WHERE TO GO | WHEN TO GO
The scenery is, of course, the major
attraction, and if hiking and the great Fact file
outdoors isn’t your bag, it’s tempting
• The Lake District National
to say that you’re on the wrong holiday. Park was established in 1951
The central lakeland crags – the birth- and covers 885 square miles
place of British rock-climbing – still (half a million acres).
lure climbers from far and wide, while • Most of the land within the
the lakes, paths and valleys support an park (59 percent) is privately
owned. The rest is owned by
entire industry of adventure activi-
the National Trust (24.8 per-
ties, from kayaking and windsurfng to
cent) and water and forestry
pony-trekking and of-road biking. concerns (12.4 percent), with
The region’s literary connections 3.8 percent owned by the
are justly famous, though you may National Park Authority itself.
be surprised to fnd that it’s not all • There are 42,000 people liv-
Wordsworth, Coleridge, Southey and De ing within the National Park.
Up to fifty percent of all jobs
Quincey: writers and poets as diverse as
are attributable in some way to
Sir Hugh Walpole, Norman Nicholson
tourism.
and John Ruskin have left their mark,
• Farming accounts for just
and their houses, haunts and places of
ten percent of the Park’s
inspiration form the backbone of many working population – and the
a lakeland literary trail. There’s a long National Trust alone owns 91
industrial history, too, which manifests farms.
itself in scattered mining works, scarred • The highest mountains are
quarry sites, surviving mills (one still Scafell Pike (3210ft), Scafell
(3162ft), Helvellyn (3118ft)
working at Stott Park) and a couple
and Skiddaw (3053ft); the
of old railway lines – Ravenglass to
deepest lakes are Wast Water
Eskdale, and Lakeside to Haverthwaite (243ft), Windermere (204ft)
– now converted to tourist use. and Ullswater (200ft).
7
| INTRODUCTION | WHERE TO GO | WHEN TO GO
Scafell
The Lake District has one of the country’s
highest concentrations of classic rural pubs
and inns, many of them former coaching
inns dating back several hundred years.
Locally brewed beer is widely available,
and a circular walk and a pint in front
of a roaring fre at the end of it takes
some beating for an afternoon out. Stay
overnight and you can experience another
Lake District speciality, the country-house
hotel: some of the grandest specimens
in England occupy exclusive lakeview
positions. Finally, in summer the region
hosts many of its annual sports, festivals,
shows and events, providing a fascinating
snapshot of traditional rural life.
Where to go
t’s easy to see a great deal of the Lake District in just a few days, even if you
are travelling by public transport or getting around on foot. If you’re pushed
for time, you could tour around most of what’s detailed below in a week,
Ibut you’d be doing precious little hiking or relaxing. It’s far better to pick
a base and see what you can from there, walking rather than driving between
villages, and building in time for doing nothing more strenuous on occasion
than taking out a rowboat or picnicking in a meadow. Windermere is the
longest and largest lake, featuring a cruise service which calls at all points
north and south. Two late Victorian mansions on its shores provide must-see
attractions: the National Park’s Lake District Visitor Centre at Brockhole,
and Blackwell, whose restored Arts and Crafts interior is one of England’s
architectural gems. The lake’s towns – Windermere, Bowness and, especially,
Ambleside – have populations of just a few thousand but are among the
region’s busiest settlements and, given their choice of accommodation, cafés,
restaurants and pubs, they make obvious bases. Even if they don’t plan to stay
there, most people at least pass by Windermere on the way to Grasmere and
the famous Wordsworth houses of Rydal Mount and Dove Cottage, or to
pretty Hawkshead and Beatrix Potter’s house at Hill Top.
8 Nearby Coniston sits at the head of Coniston Water which boasts the
big draw of Brantwood, comfortably endowed home of the critic and
Foxglove
| INTRODUCTION | WHERE TO GO | WHEN TO GO