Lake District National Park

Cumbria, England, United Kingdom

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The Lake District National Park in Cumbria, northwest England, is England’s largest national park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, covering 866 square miles (2,243 square km) of dramatic mountains, deep valleys, and crystal-clear lakes. It contains Scafell Pike, the highest mountain in England at 3,210 feet (978 meters), and Wastwater, the deepest lake in England, along with Windermere, the largest natural lake in the country. The park’s rugged fells, glacially carved valleys, and scenic villages like Keswick and Bowness-on-Windermere have inspired poets for centuries, most notably William Wordsworth, who lived nearby and is buried in Grasmere. About 39,000 people live within the park, but it welcomes around 14–16 million visitors annually for hiking, climbing, sailing, and wildlife watching, making tourism the main economic driver. Designated as a national park in 1951, the area is protected for its outstanding natural beauty, rich literary heritage, and traditional farming landscape of sheep-rearing and stone-walled fields.