(Ebook) The Rough Guide to the Lake District by Jules Brown ISBN 9781858288949, 1858288940

(Ebook) The Rough Guide to the Lake District by Jules Brown ISBN 9781858288949, 1858288940

[SCAN]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 literally 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 sheep-dog 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 – wild fells to walled grazing land, glacial lakes to forested valleys, steeply pitched mountains to tumbling waterfalls – in such a small area. Tourist numbers are concentrated in fairly specific 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 enhance the natural backdrop – and even the most beaten paths and over-visited sights can be refreshingly uncluttered.