"Ben-UK's Lake District page " a Lake District National Park Travel Page by Ben-UK

In the north-west of England, set amongst the Cumbrian Mountains, the Lake District is a great place to visit. There are 16 lakes, ranging from the largest, Lake Windermere (over 10 miles / 6km long), to the smallest, Brothers Water (less than half a mile / 0.3km long).

For walkers and climbers, there are 4 peaks in excess of 1,000 ft (300m), including Scafell Pike , at 3210 ft (987m) England's highest peak. The Lake District covers an area of 866 square miles (2,243 square kilometres) so if you want to explore it thoroughly make sure you have a good map with you when you go.

Of course the main attraction is the dramatic scenery -- the lakes, the fells (rocky, large hills or small mountains ) the dales (valleys) and the peaks -- but there's lots of history here too: there is evidence of Stone Age civilisation; the Romans certainly left their mark with the roads and forts they constructed; the Norse occupied the area around 900AD and cleared forests to start industry and it's thought they introduced the Herdwick sheep, the hardy breed that are so familiar on the Lake District fells to this day.

In more recent times, literary giants such as William Wordsworth and John Ruskin lived here and artists such as Turner and Constable painted the Lakes vistas -- such affinities helped develop the tourism industry that the Lake District enjoys today.

Unfortunately the Lake District has a reputation for attracting rainy weather -- however it's not always like that -- I took the above photo from Ambleside at the north end of Lake Windermere on January 29th, 2005 -- blue skies and sunshine in January, it was perfect ...

So, there's lots to see and do in the Lake District -- I hope my photos and tips will give you some indication of what the area has to offer and if you visit I hope you have some sunny days to enjoy it.