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The 885-sq-mile Lake District is a hauntingly beautiful part of northwest England that is considered to be not only the most-visited national park, but also the nation's favorite. The region seduced Wordsworth and other literary giants, and continues to attract sightseers, walkers and adventurers in search of its fascinating heritage and abundant outdoor activities.
Until the mid-19th century the area was barely visited by outsiders – Daniel Defoe described it as "barren and frightful" in 1724 – but the Romantic poets’ idea of "sublime nature" encouraged an appreciation of wild places, and the introduction of the railway to Windermere in 1847 made mass tourism possible.
From Windermere to Scafell Pike, and the best things to do with your family, this first-time guide will tell you everything you need to know before visiting the Lake District.
The landscape in the region is spellbinding: shadowy ridges gilded with golden light, shimmering meadows ablaze with wildflowers, and sparkling blue lakes that reflect the whole glorious scene.
Lakes are plentiful, of course: to the west of Windermere is Coniston Water and west of there are Wasdale valley and Wastwater, the deepest lake in England. North of Wastwater you’ll find Lake Buttermere, absurdly scenic from all angles, and east of Buttermere is Derwentwater, with its lovely wooded islands. Further east, Ullswater is arguably the most majestic of all, and is where the daffodils that inspired Wordsworth can be found.
Here are some of the region's key locations and what you can do there.
Bowness-on-Windermere is still the entry point for most visitors. Its adjacent namesake lake ribbons for 11 glorious miles through the gently undulating southern portion of the park. Taking a cruise here is a classic Lakeland experience, albeit one you’ll share with plenty of fellow sightseers.
On the western side of Windermere is the village of Hawkshead, a pretty and atmospheric place to stay. It also has important connections to Beatrix Potter. You can visit Potter’s old home, a 17th-century cottage called Hill Top whose setting inspired much of her work.
Wordsworth was schooled in Hawkshead and lived for a time in Grasmere to the north of Windermere. You can visit his old home, Dove Cottage, where he penned some of the greatest poetry ever written – much of it concerned with the nature he found around him – and see his grave in St Oswald’s Churchyard.
Beyond here, heading further north into the middle of the park, the scenery becomes more wild and dramatic. Bottle-green valleys dotted with sheep and flanked by craggy ridges form great fissures in the landscape. Mountain passes, draped like bootlaces across the unforgiving terrain, link remote hamlets
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