Lake District, England

England's. Lake District, is one of the prettiest, parts of the country, as we'll. Show you in our driving, tour that's going to be visiting, most of the link of this, wonderful, area in the northwest, of England sharing. With you some, astonishingly. Pretty, views we'll. Also visit some, of the small towns that dot this landscape, and we'll take you on a boat ride from, one end of olds, water to, the other it's, the second largest lake, in the, Lake District, although, it's only 9 miles long so. You'll find that the Lake District, is relatively. Compact, in size, it's. About 30 miles wide, and about 40, miles from north to south all. Included, in the National Park that was created, in 1951. There. Are no admission, fees to the park without any, restriction, on the movement of people into, and around the district the, park, was created to, protect the environment, from excessive. Commercial, or industrial, exploitation. Preserving. That which the visitors come to see and they have done a very good job keeping. The landscape, clean, and green while, still allowing a lot of private property ownership in the park and several. Hundred farmers, mostly raising, sheep later, on I'll tell you how Peter, Rabbit, helped create the, National Park, tourism. Is the main source of income with. Sixteen thousand. Workers taking. Care of sixteen. Million, annual, visitors. So. While they do have the, country's biggest lake windermere, the, lakes are really, not, all that huge, which, makes them more, accessible. Especially. When, guided, by a tour company like mountain, goat in their, minibus, that will take you to all of the main sights without, any effort on your part we're gonna show you a one-day, trip, summarized, in this movie in which, we see ten of the major lakes. While, it's called the Lake District, for a good reason that's, the main attraction, there are many other sites to see like the old stone, bridge the, beautiful country sides were driving, past the. Mountain, streams, and lakes. Of course, will. Also drop in on market, day at the main town of Kecak, right in the heart of the district we'll. Take you to the oldest, known Historic. Site the megalithic. Circle, of rocks at Castle, rig built, 5000 years ago here, are the main lakes, and places, that will be visiting, starting, right now in the, capable, hands of our driver guide Kevin, from mountain goat tours, only. Doing a two and a nice slow drive through central Lakes don't, posture shawls or wing to me I'll. Take us down some nice little Hamlet's. And villages. First. Of all having a look at Windermere. The largest, lake in England. We'll. Be stopping and, taking, you out of the van frequently, during the day so we, can get some beautiful vistas and get our photographs, with. Windermere, as the, perfect backdrop, we. Were quite, lucky on this fine day in, made to run into perfect. Weather, sunshine. Blue, skies and. No wind at this early, time of the day with amazing, reflections. In the water as we drive by. You. Passing. The Ambleside, pier at Waterhead, which is a busy docking, area on the, north end of lake windermere there's, all sorts of pleasure boats there's a marina here you can get the lake cruise ship that will take you back down to bonus, on Windermere, as we, show you in a different movie or. You, could even rent, a canoe and go paddling, around on your own there. Are some ruins of an ancient Roman barracks, in the adjacent, field but, we're not stopping we're continuing, on heading, into Ambleside, town for, a quick, drive through its.

Population, Of a few thousand, makes it one of the main towns of the Lake District with. Many shops restaurants. Bed. And Breakfasts, pubs, and various. Hiking, trails around it making. This a pretty, good home base for your visit to the lakes if you wish, Ambleside. Is a deservedly. Favorite. Center for tourists. Of every kind with its natural beauty and convenient. Situation, combined. With this good road network rendering. At one of the most popular, spots in the Lake District its, smallest, residence, is this, historic, mill house at one time occupied, by a large family, numerous. Excursions. Can be made from amyl sites such as to, the ratha, Valley on the border of town which, is well wooded, and watered, by several streams or, you could walk up once felled Pike about. 1,700, feet high that can be seen in a couple of hours within, a few minutes of leaving the town, of Ambleside were right, away out in the country, it's typical. Of the rural, scenery that we'll be enjoying for most of the day green, rolling hills stone, walls and sheep. Continuing. Along to, riedel water. This. Is one of the smallest lakes, in the National Park just three-quarters of a mile long and quarter-mile. Wide and, it's the shallowest at 65, feet deep but, it is so beautiful that the, poet Wordsworth, lived, at or near this lake for most of his time in the area I'll. Say more about Wordsworth. When we get to the next village grasmere where he also lived there. Is a footpath, that goes all the way around the lake and you, can also hike, in the nearby hills the. Name write all comes from the rye grass that grew around it. Continuing. On to the next Lake Grassmere which, is right next door as we, look down on it from the road up above heading. On our way to the town of Grasse mirror the, lake is so sheltered. And, peaceful. And serene that just looking at it gives you a feeling of tranquility if. You're, keeping track that's three. Lakes we've seen already with. Many more to come yet. The scenic, beauty of this drive, is not just about the lakes it's this rolling hillside.

The, Beautiful. Mountains, the endless, stone walls the, estimate, there are about seven, thousand, miles of stone walls in the Lake District, first. Built they believe by Viking, settlers, and then. Maintained. Ever since for the past thousand, years, many. Of the houses are made of stone some of them using a drywall technique. Where there's hardly any mortar, holding the stones together. We. Next arrived in the small village of grasmere, one of the most popular, places in the Lake District, notably. Because of its association with William, Wordsworth, who lived here in dub, cottage, and is, buried here in the church cemetery, along, with his wife and his children and other, acquaintances. Wordsworth. Was born, on the outskirts, of the Lake District, and lived, here for sixty of his 80 long, years, amid, the lakes and mountains becoming, a poet, laureate, of the natural landscape. Born. In, 1770. He started, school here then went, south to Cambridge, for college. Graduated. Returned to the Lake District and made it his home his, nine, years at dove cottage living. With his wife and children and sister were, among the most productive of his career he. Called grasmere the, loveliest spot that man hath, ever found. Grasmere. Is a charming, little village, something, right, out of a, picture postcard, with, its old stone, buildings, quaint. Little shops, inns. That, go back to the Year 1761. There's. Pubs there's restaurants and there. Are quite, a few vacation. Rentals available here, in fact that's become, an issue it's. So, desirable. For travelers, that locals, are feeling the pinch as their, housing, supply erodes. Away and gets converted to vacation, rentals. It's. Ironic that Wordsworth. Was an, environmentalist, who tried to stop any mass invasion, of tourism, even back then in the 18th, century and yet. He wrote poetry, that, made the area famous and then, he wrote a guidebook that invited, people to come in and go on hikes so. He bears some responsibility, or. Blame, or, credit as. You will for, the, growing popularity, of tourism, in the Lake District if, you don't want to spend your time in grass Mears gift shops or drinking, in a pub there is a nice, little stream, walk right in the village itself, illustrating.

How Easy it is to get close to nature when, you're here in the Lake District, and all around grasmere, there are many hiking trails for, the serious. Exploration. Of the outdoors, a. Major. Award. Was, bestowed, on the Lake District, in. 2017. By UNESCO. When, they designated, it as a, World Heritage, Site and recognized. Its, outstanding, significance. As a, cultural. Landscape. The. Award. Was based on several factors including the, beautiful. Topography. With, its valleys, and mountain, in streams, and, lakes the sheep farming, which has created, a landscape, of enclosed, fields, and farms and also. Because of the very strong environmental. Protections. That have been in place for a. Hundred years which. Led to the birth of the conservation. Movement in Britain. Our. Next, Lake was a scene of some of those conservation, battles, because, Cyril, mirror was a natural, lake that was converted into an. Artificial, reservoir. When it was dammed up to, supply, drinking water to, the nearby city of Manchester. Back in, 1894. And there, was a lot of controversy about it at the time and it still supplies, drinking water to the surrounding, communities, it, worked out very nicely, because, the lake itself looks, like a natural lake just, as beautiful, as it ever was, we're. Very much in the center of the Lake District, now heading, on to two of the, most beautiful, lakes during, water and cold water where, we'll take you on that boat ride, often. When driving, from one Lake to the next you are heading up out of one Valley over, a ridge and down into the next Valley so, the scenery gets, quite rugged and grand as you get higher on the hills our driver. Has brought, us up a steep, little side road to a very, special, place where we can get one of the best views in the Lake District, looking, at Derwent, water the big island in the middle with the house on that's. Derwent. Island that was built by an injustice called Joseph pop Winton New York Sherman who built several houses here during. Water at one, point, two miles wide is, the, broadest of the lakes giving it more of an oval shape than the other Lakes but it's, a highly irregular, oval, broken. By many, promontory. And Bay and on, its surface there, are four charmingly, wooded, little islands, here's. Our lookout point it. Sits in a basin surrounded, by, a variety of hills which. Impressed, Wordsworth, who said that Derwin, is, distinguished, from all the other lakes by, the fantastic. Mountains around it of Borrowdale to the south, solitary. Majesty, of Skiddaw to the north bold. Steeps of willow, crag and loader to the east and to the west the, clustering, mountains of Newlands just. Below that lookout, point you've also got, to stop at ash ness bridge it's probably, the most photographed, bridge. In the lake district made, from traditional. Old-fashioned. Stone, construction. It's, been standing for hundreds of years they. Suspect. It was built, originally in, the smaller version for the pec horses going through the area, but. It's so popular now everybody, knows about ashna's bridge, and has to stop here that it can be pretty hard to get a photograph of just the bridge with, maybe a few people in there not a crowd or a car but, just be patient get the right angle and you'll. Come home with a fine shot we. Get a different, view of durham water now as we're driving along sided you can also take a boat ride on this lake which we have shown you in a different movie for, now we're driving by heading, south and then, driving up another tall Ridge over Hannes. Tur pass one. Of the highest in the Lakes area and also, with a road that's one of the steepest it's. A nice warm sunny day here in the month of May but this area can, have, some ferocious, storms, especially, in the winter time and this, pass actually, holds the rainfall, record, of Great, Britain for total.

Rain In 24 hour period 14. Inches, this. Mountain, stream is heading, downhill, where, it will be feeding into our, next, Lake butter, mirror another, one of the gorgeous. Watery, landscapes, on the. Map you can see the routing we're taking, from narrowing water going, up over the ridge through, Hannes tur pass and down along butter, mirror and then, we'll go up another ridge through Newlands Valley heading, back, up north to, the town of Quezon. Utter. Mirror is a small, lake some 2,000. Meters by 400. Meters but. It's a place of great scenic. Value, situated. Towards the head of the valley of the river Tucker, there's. A pleasant. Foot path around the lake which, is about four and a half miles long at. One point it takes you through a short rock, tunnel the name, butter mirrors perhaps derive, from, a lake by the dairy pasture, because of the, fertile, alluvial soil, at both ends of the lake that supported, dairy farming, another. Connected, Lake just beyond his chromic water climbing. Up through butter muir valley we reach a waterfall, called, moss force one, of the park's tallest, at a hundred, metres high so. Naturally, we've got to get out and take some pictures, described. As fearfully. Savage, by samuel. Taylor coleridge, another one of the great, literary figures, who lived in the lakes area, the. Upper valleys, tend to be quite dry despite, occasional, heavy, rains but, as you get lower the fields, turn a lush, green all, watered, by natural. Rainfall primarily. Areas, of dairy and sheep farming the bright yellow flowers that we see almost everywhere, are along these roads and scattered in the fields look very pretty but, actually it's a noxious weed called, coarse arriving. In the town of Kazik, we'll be taking a lunch break here and lucky. For us it's market, day every. Thursday, and Saturday it, looks just like this very busy lots, of colourful market stalls selling food. And clothing handbags. Dog, leashes lots. Of dogs in this town but, for now in the movie we're just stopping briefly we, have a lot more of kazakh we'll show you in our movie about the, towns of the Lake District, but this movie is more about the lakes and countryside, and, some historic, sites such as castle. Rig stone circle, you're. Familiar of course with Stonehenge, a much larger, stone circle, and much more famous but, Castle rig is actually older. In fact. It's believed this may be the oldest, known, stone, circle. In the British Isles dates back about, 5,000, years, and. Yes, as you might suspect certain. Rocks line up with the summer and winter solstice. So. It was probably some, kind of calendar and stone but it was believed, to be so special, that it was a multi-purpose. Kind, of place, perhaps. Sometimes, a gathering, spot for the leaders also, it, may have been some sort of a marketplace because this area was famous, in the, Stone Age for. Making, excellent, stone, axes, that, were traded, all over England and there, have been traces, of the axes found here, in archeological, studies. It's. Nice that you can get right up close to the stones you can even touch them it's okay unlike. Stonehenge. Which, is highly. Protected. As we've, shown you in our movie about Stonehenge, look. For it in our collection. This. Afternoon, is going to offer us yet more glorious, scenery, following, up on the beautiful morning, and lunch, at Kazik departing. Castle Rigg now as you see on the map and we are heading, down to a big, lake called, olds water where, we're going to enjoy, a boat ride from one end of the lake to the other it. Can, happen that you grow, tired of beautiful, scenery, if you're out all day and it keeps going by more, and more hills and, sheep and stone walls and farms, but in, this case it just seems to keep getting better and maybe. The best is yet to come driving. Downhill, again and, curving. Around roads. With, sweeping vistas. That unfold, mysteriously. And majestically. Coming. Upon one of the great sights of the day the. View looking, down at, oles water. It's. So convenient, to be in the hands of a experienced. Driver guide who knows the, most scenic routes and has. The timing, down perfect, so that we arrive at the boat dock just, in time to get out of our minibus, and stroll, over to the dock and, casually. Board, the boat, hemmed. In between, two great mountain, ranges on, the east and west side all's, water is second. Largest of all the lakes nine. Mile long and 3/4, mile wide with a maximum, depth of about two hundred feet, it's. Similar in shape to Windermere, long. Narrow, and winding and. Comparatively. Level, at one end and mountainous, at the other but. It makes more of a sharp bend and Windermere. Which divides, it into three, different sections. About. Midway the boat makes a stop at the pier at how town there. Are some hikers who walk, partway around the lake and others. Just join in at this point there's. A few stops along the route makes. It convenient, if you want to get out and take a walk and wait for the next boat coming by it's, operated.

By Alts, water steamers, which, has been running boats on the lake for, visitors, for a hundred and fifty years, many. Visitors find that old water is the most beautiful of all the lakes because, of its particular shape, and, being surrounded by mountains, the way it is with, a walking, path around most of it and this excellent, boat service but, it's tough to pick any one lake as the best as you've seen they're all quite. Beautiful, in their own right, the. Complete, ride takes, just less than one hour and the time goes quickly especially. With that bar, and cafe, service down below and the different, seats that you can pick indoors, and out pet the dogs take, a walk around the ship enjoy, the views in before, you know it you've, arrived at glen ridding the end of the voyage you. Can see the shores of the lake is, a perfectly. Idyllic. Spot to, linger, and take a little stroll maybe just sit on a bench and enjoy the view our our. Journey, is nearly, done but we have one more Lake and we have another mountain, pass to drive, over and some. More historic, sights to enjoy on our way back to Windermere. Brothers. Water is the, smallest of, the lakes, and one of the least noticed because it's overshadowed, by all the other wonderful lakes with their hiking trails, boat. Rides and grand, vistas, but, it completes, our list of 10 lakes that we saw on this one-day tour we've. Got one more mountain to climb or, at least a mountain, pass to drive through that's Kirk stone Pass it's the highest pass, in the Lake District that nearly 1500, feet and it. Does offer a grand, view looking back at little brothers, water which. You can enjoy from the outdoor tables, of a pub it's, the Kirk stone pass in the third highest, pub. They, offer a pint, with a view and you, can have a meal here or spend the night in one of their rooms as, we. Come down from Kirk stone paths having, south will getting lower elevations, getting away from the dry rocky, hilltops, and down, to, truck, Beck looking. Down into the valley there's, a small, farm, down there very, important, farm because it was owned by Beatrix. Potter the. Famous author of Peter, Rabbit and many other stories, she. Lived in the Lake District, for most of her life and played an important, role in creating the Lake. District, National Park, because, she. Made, a lot of money with her many children's, books and invested. That money in purchasing, land. Ultimately. Donating. 4,000, acres and 14. Farms. To the National Trust which, has formed the basis of today's National Park Potter was also a champion, breeder, and farmer. Of her guack sheep and one of our first, environmentalists.

That. Rascal, bunny Peter Rabbit is her most famous creation, so. Perhaps we can thank him for the park that we see today, however. He. Was very naughty he, ran into mr. McGregor's garden, squeezed, under the gate ate some lettuces French. Beans and then ate some radishes chased. Away he, hides in a toolshed then, makes his way across the garden and finds his way home, joining Flopsy. Mopsy and, Cottontail the. Good little bunnies this. Was her first book and she had to self print it because no other publisher, would accept it when she added these famous illustrations. And it was finally, picked up and went on to become one of the best-selling books in the world with 45, million copies. Beatrix. Potter was a lady of many, talents. Including, business, where. She invented, the concept of selling, merchandise to, go with her books such. As her, very popular, doll of Peter, Rabbit her, main home was, at Hilltop farm which, is open to the public as one, of the most popular. Park attractions. All-in-all. This has been a great, day driving, through the lakes with the help of our friends, at mountain goat they have a couple dozen excellent, drivers, and several, different routes available, through the district the day can be summarized, in a nutshell by looking, at a satellite enhanced. Map of the lakes and even. More accurately, this satellite, photograph, taken, by NASA shows, the earth-toned, hills, and mountains rising. Above the lower lying lands, that are carpeted, with green the. Geology. Of the area is quite fascinating and begins, about a half a billion years ago when, this land was at the bottom of an ancient sea, I'll explain, more as we have some final views looking, down on Lake Windermere. 400. Million years ago the land emerged. From the sea up thrust as giant, mountains, that were probably as high as the Himalayas, today but, then erosion. And tectonic, shifts, sent the mountains back down to the bottom of the ocean and then, they came up again about, 300, million years ago forming. What are today, considered, some of the oldest, mountains in the world not. Only, did these mountains, rise and, fall, they also traveled. North probably. Beginning south of the Equator about 500, million years ago the. Landscape gained, its present, form of, rounded. Mountains, and Hills about two million years ago when. Pleistocene. Glaciers, crept, and covered most of mainland, Britain the, glaciers advanced, and retreated many, times and carving deep valleys, that filled up with meltwater and, rain thus. Creating, the lakes that we can enjoy today. Okay. I finished, the geology. Lecture, just in, time to get us back to bonus, on Windermere, the little village along the lakeshore that's, our home base for our visit to the lakes be. Sure to look for our other movies in this series including one, that explores, the main talents, of the lake bonus, Windermere. Ambleside. And quezon all part of our longer series on, England, Scotland and, Ireland. You.

2018-06-24 18:47

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