The Lake District, One of the Most Beautiful Areas in England

Level A2/B1

The Lake District is a region of spectacular countryside in Cumbria, in the northwest of England. There are many lakes and more than 100 mountain peaks there. The Lake District is a national park. This area is also known as the Lakes and Lakeland.

Millions of years ago, the Lake District was an area of volcanoes. During the last Ice Age, 12,000 years ago, it was covered by enormous rivers of ice, called glaciers. These glaciers carved out the landscape, creating the lakes that are there today.

Scafell Pike, the highest peak in England is situated in the Lake District. It is 978 meters high. It is also home to England’s longest lake, Windermere, which is 17 kilometers long, and its deepest lake, Wastwater, which is 74 meters deep. The Lake District is the wettest place in England, with an average of more than 3.5 meters of rain a year in some parts.

The Lake District is one of the few places in the United Kingdom where the red squirrel can still be seen. Sundew, an insect-eating plant, can also be found there. Several species of endangered fish live in the lakes, including the vendace.

Drosera, sometimes called Sundews, are carnivorous or insect-eating plants. They use a thick gluey goo called mucilage to trap and digest their prey.

The Vendace fish is one of the UK’s rarest freshwater fish. It is also called whitefish. It prefers living in deep cold lakes. The Vendace fish is a small, streamlined and slim fish with a bluish green back, a white belly and silvery flanks. The Vendace fish is listed on the Red Data List.

People have been living in the Lake District for thousands of years. Standing stone circles built in ancient times can still be seen in many areas. The Lake District has been farmed since Roman times. More recently, mining of minerals such as copper and lead have been important industries for the local people and economy. In the 1900s tourism became the area’s most significant industry. Some 12 million people visit the Lake District National Park every year.

The Lake District has also attracted and inspired writers and artists for many centuries, including Daniel Defoe, William Wordsworth, and Beatrix Potter.

Beatrix Potter

Beatrix Potter is a conservationist, natural scientist, illustrator, and English writer. She is known for writing children’s books featuring animals. Beatrix Potter created Peter Rabbit, Squirrel Nutkin, Jemima Puddle-Duck, Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle, and other popular animal characters. Her most famous work to this day is The Tale of Peter Rabbit. The story of The Tale of Peter Rabbit was based on Potter’s own pets. The house of Beatrix Potter housed a collection of live wild animals.

Beatrix Potter’s first real name is Helen. She was born on July 28, 1866, to parents Rupert William Potter and Helen Leech. She grew up in an upper-middle-class household and lived a fairly comfortable life with her parents and a younger brother named Walter Bertram. Both Potter and her brother enjoyed family holidays in the countryside of Scotland or in the English Lake District. During these trips Potter studied and drew animals and plants.

When Potter was 27, she wrote and illustrated a story for a sick child. The story was about four bunnies named Flopsy, Mopsy, Cottontail, and Peter. She decided to publish it on her own in 1901 as The Tale of Peter Rabbit. In 1902 it was published commercially with great success. During the next 20 years Potter published 22 more books.

Potter made her books tiny, so even the smallest children could hold them. Her books have charmed readers with their simple style, touch of humor, and watercolor illustrations.

After Potter married in 1913, she spent the last 30 years of her life farming in the Lake District. She also continued creating children’s books. She died on December 22, 1943.

The Lake District in Questions and Answers 

  • The tallest peak in England is located in the Lake District. Which one is it? – Scafell Pike
  • In which English county is Lake District located? – Cumbria.
  • What are ‘fells’ in the Lake District? – Mountains.
  • What is the largest lake in the Lake District? – Windermere.
  • What is the deepest lake in the Lake District? – Wastwater.
  • When did the Lake District become a UNESCO World Heritage Site? – In 2017.
  • How many people visit the Lake District each year? – 16 million.
  • In which town in the Lake District is the Cumberland Pencil Museum? – Keswick.
  • Which ancient monument would you find on the hills just above Keswick? – The Castlerigg Stone Circle.
  • How are the mountains of the Lake District called? – They are known as the Cumbrian Mountains.
  • What is the traditional way in which fields are separated from each other on the Lakeland hills and fells? – By a dry stone wall.

Keswick, Town in England

Keswick is a market town in northwest England’s Lake District National Park, surrounded by mountains like Skiddaw.

In town, the Cumberland Pencil Museum documents the history of pencils, and the Keswick Museum & Art Gallery displays local artefacts.

On a hilltop east of town, Castlerigg Stone Circle dates back to the Neolithic era. Dating back to potentially 3,300 BC, it is one of the many stone circles that dot Britain. A distant cousin to Stonehenge, this is a great place to visit for its historic significance and beautiful view.

Vast Derwent Water lake is south of town, with boat tours and the Theatre by the Lake. 

Castlerigg Stone Circle

Watch the video about the Lake District and answer the questions.

  1. Where’s the Lake District situated?
  2. What lake is the largest in England?
  3. What is the second largest lake in the Lake District?
  4. When was the National Park created?
  5. Do you have to pay to enter the National Park?
  6. What was the National Park created for?
  7. How did Peter Rabbit help create the National Park?
  8. How many people visit the National Park every year?
  9. How many people work in the National Park?
  10. What are the main towns of the Lake District?
  11. Who built the first dry stone walls?
  12. What are dry stone walls used as?
  13. What is William Wordsworth famous for?
  14. What lake was converted into an artificial resrvoir? What for?
  15. What is the name of the most photographed bridge in the Lake District?
  16. What’s the name of the park’s tallest waterfall?
  17. What is the smallest lake in the Lake District?

Source:

https://kids.britannica.com/kids/article/Lake-District
https://kids.britannica.com/kids/article/Beatrix-Potter