Читать книгу Britain: The Lake District - Vivienne Crow - Страница 6

The regional chapters of this guide are ordered roughly according to the route of a traveller entering the Lake District from the south, and the final chapter covers areas outside the National Park.

South Lakes covers Kendal, Windermere and Bowness as well as Coniston, Hawkshead and the southern peninsulas that jut out into the immense sands of Morecambe Bay. Cruises on England’s largest lake start from Bowness, and the area is also home to a number of interesting historical attractions such as Sizergh Castle, Levens Hall, Townend, Furness Abbey, Brantwood (the former home of John Ruskin) and Beatrix Potter’s farm, Hill Top. This is a ‘softer’ landscape than the central Lakes, with gently rolling hills and wooded valleys only slowly giving way to higher fells as the visitor heads north and west.

Ambleside and Grasmere are at the physical and spiritual hub of the Lake District – it’s where the mountains proper begin and, for many years, was the home of William Wordsworth. The spectacular scenery of Langdale is also accessible from here.

Beyond Kirkstone Pass is Ullswater and the North East Lakes, a quieter corner of the Lake District. Ullswater winds for miles through the mountains to the very foot of the craggy Helvellyn range. To the northeast is the town of Penrith, and hidden between Ullswater and the M6 are the remote eastern fells around Haweswater.

Keswick and the North Lakes is home to the Lake District’s largest town, the towering mountain, Skiddaw, one of the largest and most beautiful of the lakes, Derwent Water, and probably the most popular of the Lakeland valleys, Borrowdale. Heading north is Bassenthwaite Lake, where the Lake District’s only ospreys can be seen, and where tiny, scattered villages lie at the base of the grassy Northern Fells.

Crossing Honister Pass, the visitor reaches the Western Lakes and the Coast – Buttermere, Loweswater, Ennerdale, Wasdale, Eskdale and a long stretch of the Irish Sea and Solway coast that is beloved of bird-watchers. The most inaccessible of the western dales contain some of the wildest scenery, as well as fascinating historical sites. There are also some lovely old settlements, including Whitehaven, with its attractive harbour, and the colourful Georgian town of Cockermouth.

East Cumbria is often overlooked in favour of the National Park, but this area is worth a visit in its own right. Carlisle, with Hadrian’s Wall nearby, is a must, as are the many gorgeous villages of the Eden Valley. Alston, close to the county’s border with Northumberland and County Durham, is surrounded by the wild, lonely moorland of the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Further south still and there is a surprise in store – a chunk of the Yorkshire Dales National Park that falls within Cumbria’s borders. The main settlements here are the quaint old market towns of Kirkby Stephen, Sedbergh and Kirkby Lonsdale.