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Lake District: North England’s hidden jewel

If you are interested in holidaying in North England then Lake District is the place to be. It is not echoed by the any individual opinion but the words are echoed in every nook and corner of the city.

The Lake District, also known as “The Lakes” is a mountainous region in North West England and completely filled with nature’s bounties. An upcoming popular holiday destination in North England still remains unexplored, lesser known and unrecognized beyond expression.

The Lake District is famous not only for its lakes, forests and mountains, but also for its associations with the early 19th century poetry and writings of William Wordsworth and the other Lake Poets. The Lake District is home to a plethora of wildlife, due to its range of varied topography, lakes, flora, fauna and forests. It provides a home for the red squirrel and colonies of sundew and butterwort, two of the few carnivorous plants native to only Britain.

Keswick is an all year destination with people coming for walking, mountain climbing and sightseeing. The seasons bring changes to the scenery with snow on the fells during the winter, beautiful shades of green on the trees, daffodils and of course thousands of lambs being born in the Spring, Summer with the opportunity to swim in the lakes and in Autumn the golds and oranges of the leaves changing colour.

The Lake District is a major sanctuary for the red squirrel and has the largest population in England. It is estimated there are 140,000 red squirrels in the United Kingdom, but are approximately 2.5 million gray squirrels that have displaced the indigenous red population since their introduction to the British Isles.

The Lake District is home to a range of bird species, and the RSPB maintain a reserve in Haweswater. England's only nesting pair of Golden Eagles can be found in the Lake District. The female Golden Eagle has not been seen since 2004 although the male still remains. Conservationists believe he is now the only resident golden eagle in England.

Keswick is an all year destination with people coming for walking, mountain climbing and sightseeing. The seasons bring changes to the scenery with snow on the fells during the winter, beautiful shades of green on the trees, daffodils and of course thousands of lambs being born in the Spring, Summer with the opportunity to swim in the lakes and in Autumn the golds and oranges of the leaves changing colour.

Spring and Autumn are considered the most favourite times of the year and generally it usually has good weather for visitors to enjoy. Keswick is a market town with market days on Thursdays and Saturdays.  The markets sell local produce as well as souvenirs for visitors.

Plenty of bars and cafes to eat and drink in, during the summer there are tables outside to enjoy a coffee or taste locally produced beers. Derwentwater lake is beautiful.  A walk around the lake is about 10 miles - a fairly level walk.  Alternatively there is a launch service with boats departing every 30 minutes during the summer months.  Boats do run all year subject to weather conditions.  People can hop on or off or walk part way round the lake and catch the boat back.

Keswick is accessible by road, rail or coach.  The nearest rail station is Penrith with direct links to London about 3 hrs.  A bus from Penrith to Keswick takes about 30 minutes or there are local taxi firms that are happy to collect from the station.

Keswick Pencil museum is one of our more famous tourist attractions - known worldwide for the Derwent pencils used by artists and architects.

From Keswick it is possible to travel by bus to Grasmere, Ambleside and Windermere or further afield.  By car which can be hired from a garage in town or from the usual large hire companies, we can give directions to many beautiful places that are not accessible by public transport.

The renowned writers William Wordsworth and Beatrice Potter are well-known for their links to the Lake District and there are several tourist attractions in the area with connections to both of them.  Keswick has a Peter Rabbit gift shop with all things connected to the Beatrice Potter character!

Keswick has many colourful and engaging festivals during the year which attract numerous visitors.  There are lot of festivals that can keep people engaged when around the city. Some of them include a Beer Festival, Mountain Festival, Keswick Convention and Jazz Festival to name a few.
 
For Accommodation


There are various hotels and resorts where you can stay but the most popular one happens to be Portland House at Leonard Street, Keswick. It is not only affordable but also very well furnished with delicious breakfast served every morning.

Best Time to visit Lake District: From October to February.

Lake District can be visited anytime round the year but ideally one should visit during October and February. The remaining months are rainy and quite cold. The worst of the rainfall is usually reserved for the beginning and end of the winter, however heavy showers can strike in the Lake District almost anytime during the year so carrying an umbrella is highly recommended.

Heavy snow fall is common and frequent in midwinter, especially between the months of November and February, when some of the rural roads in village become absolutely impassable and unmanageable.The busiest season is between June and August, when prices at various hotels reaches rocket, car-parks are over-crowded, packed and traffic appears too chaotic.

Therefore, the best time to visit the destination in the shoulder months which are April and May, when the weather is generally settled and sunny. If not then September and October are also the months when the woodlands blaze with autumnal colour.

Tourist attractions in Lake District

  1. Windermere
  2. Keswick
  3. Hill Top
  4. Tarn Rows
  5. Brantwood
  6. Green Langdale
  7. Cockemouth
  8. Newlands Valley

For more information on Lake District you can try Google or simply check out www.keswick.org which is the local tourism website and gives basic details of what's on and where.
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