Lake District - Great Britain

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May 2009

The twinning of Lakes Windermere. More information ...

The Lake District National Park is located in the County of Cumbria, in the North West of England. Established as a National Park in 1951, it is England’s largest National Park, covering an area of 2,292 square kilometres. The Lake District is characterised by small village settlements, although there are three larger towns within the National Park: Keswick, Windermere and Ambleside.

Climate:

Precipitation is 3,500 millimetres in the wettest area, but precipitation is very variable across the region. The mean temperature is 15 °C in July and 3 °C in January.

Lakes:

There are more than 80 lakes, tarns and reservoirs in the Lake District National Park, but there is only one official lake: Bassenthwaite Lake. All the others are "meres" or "waters". With its maximum depth of 74 metres, Wastwater is the deepest lake. Windermere, with a surface of 14.8 sq. km, is the largest natural lake in England. The 14 main lakes cover together an area of 56.69 sq. km.

Flora and Fauna:

There are 155 recorded bird species including migratory species. The Lake District is unique in England for its abundant freshwater habitats such as mires, upland heath, lakeshore wetlands, estuary, coastal health and dunes.

1,373 plant species have been recorded here. Some of them such as Mudwort (Limosella australis)

and Slender Naiad (Najas flexilis) are in the red list of IUCN.

Three rare and endangered fish species live in the lakes: the Vendace (Coregonus vandesius) is only found in the Lake District, the Schelly (Coregonus lavaretus) and the Arctic Charr (Salvelinus alpinus).

The Lake District provides home to Eurasian Red Squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris).

Geology:

The Lake District´s rocks provide a record of nearly 500 million years, with evidence of colliding continents, deep oceans, tropical seas and kilometre-thick ice sheets.

Land use:

Around 48 % of land is grassland, heathland and moorland; 31 % is cultivated land, 12 % is woodland and forest and 2 % is developed land. Major employment sectors in the area are tourism, retailing, transport and catering (37.5 %); service (29.8 %); and agriculture, forestry and fishery (9.9 %).

Threats:

The National Park is extremely accessible. Many habitats and species remain threatened by the pressure for development and the sheer number of residents and visitors, approx. 8.3 million visitors a year taking more than 22 million visits. Other problems are intensive farming, aqua culture and non-native plants.

The Lake District National Park Authority was established as a local authority. It employs 200 staff, of them 70 are involved in lake activities. Its mission is to conserve and enhance the natural beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage of the Lake District National Park; help people understand and enjoy the special qualities of the Lake District and foster the social and economic wellbeing of the local community. The National Park Authority is the unitary Planning Authority for the National Park. The Park Authority is member and supporter of the Lake District Tourism and Conservation. It has also established a Business Task Group to collaborate with the business community on economic development and other initiatives of mutual interest.

Contact:

Lake District National Park Authority

Contact person: Bob Cartwright, Director of Park Services

Murley Moss, Oxenholme Road

Kendal, Cumbria, UK LA9 7RL

Phone: +44 - (0) 15 39 - 72 45 55

Phone: +44 - (0) 15 39 - 79 26 79 (Mr. Cartwright)

Fax: +44 - (0) 15 39 - 74 08 22

E-mail: hq@lake-district.gov.uk;

BobCartwright@lake-district.gov.uk

Website: www.lake-district.gov.uk