The Lake District is an area of truly outstanding natural beauty being approximately 885 square miles in area, the largest and second oldest of the eleven National Parks in the UK It is bounded to the north by Carlisle and Hadrian's Wall, to the west by Whitehaven and the Irish Sea, to the east by The Yorkshire National Park and to the South by the approaches to Lancaster and the industrial North West towns and cities. It boasts numerous artists, writers and poets as past and present residents. The scenery has to be witnessed to be appreciated. To say it is stunning is simply not doing it justice. It would better be described as perfect.

It is steeped in history from Neolithic times onwards, has the highest English mountains, the deepest lakes and some of the most beautiful buildings. Due to its designation as a National Park, visitors are privileged to view it in most instances as it has been for the past few hundred years. Its most numerous residents (the sheep) have shaped the landscape by keeping the vegetation looking as it is today, green rolling fells with open countryside. Historically, farming, in particular of sheep, has been the major industry in the region. The breed most closely associated with the area is the tough Herdwick. However the area was badly affected by the foot-and-mouth outbreak across the United Kingdom in 2001. Thousands of sheep, ordinarily grazing on the fellsides close to the North of the Park, were destroyed.

Although the Lake District countryside may seem wild, its appearance is due to human activity, particularly farming. People have been using the area for at least 10,000 years and in 1951 it was designated as a National Park to protect it for future generations. The area covers high fells, rocky crags, lush green dales, long still lakes, vibrant villages and quiet hamlets. The National Park covers a part of the West Coast, with its sandy beaches and rocky tide pools. From England’s highest mountain of Scafell Pike to Wast Water, the deepest lake, this National Park is best loved for its variety and contrast of landscape.

The Lake District encompasses one of England's best known National Parks. The outstanding natural beauty of this area with its magnificent mountains and beautiful lakes has inspired many famous people such as John Ruskin, William Wordsworth and Beatrix Potter.  The whole area is full of beauty and wonderment. To illustrate this point did you know that Wastwater Head is the home of England’s tallest mountain, the deepest lake, the smallest church and the world's biggest liar? There are well known towns to wander round such as Ambleside, Coniston and Keswick, where the pencil was invented. Kendal is home of the legendary Kendal Mintcake and Windermere the location of England’s largest lake. Picturesque villages include Grasmere, home of Sarah Nelson’s Gingerbread and Cartmel, famous for its sticky toffee pudding.

The highest point in England is the peak of Scafell Pike. The Ordnance Survey gives the height as 3206 feet (978 m). Alfred Wainwright gave a list of 214 fells in his seven Pictorial Guides to the Lake District, which walkers still avidly use today. Wainwright however, gives four of these a height of over 3000 ft ; Scafell Pike (3210 ft, 980 m), Scafell (3162 ft, 965 m), Helvellyn (3118 ft, 951 m) and Skiddaw (3053 ft, 932. Despite the area’s name, there is only one body of water in the park with the word lake in the name, Bassenthwaite Lake. All the others such as Windermere, Coniston Water, Ullswater and Buttermere use other forms, with the suffix 'mere' being particularly common.

Many of the most picturesque names date to the Viking invasion, especially fell, the natural English word in the North for mountain. The Lake District's location in the north west of England, coupled with its mountainous geography, makes it the wettest part of England. The Meteorological Office calculates average annual precipitation of more than 2,000 mm.Mean temperatures in the valleys range from about 3 °C in January to around 15 °C in July. The relatively low height of most of the fells means that while snow is expected during the winter, they can be free of snow at most times of  the year. Normally significant snow fall only occurs between November and April. Hill fog is common at any time of year, and the Lake District averages only around 2.5 hours of sunshine per day.

In Neolithic times, the Lake District was a major source of stone axes, examples of which have been found all over Britain. The primary site, on the slopes of the Langdale Pikes, is sometimes described as a 'stone axe factory' of the Langdale axe industry. Some of the earliest stone circles (the largest near Keswick) in Britain are connected with this industry. Mining, particularly of copper, lead, silver, graphite and slate, was historically a major lakeland industry, mainly from the 16th century to the 19th century. Some mining still takes place today - for example slate mining continues at the Honister Mines, at the top of Honister Pass. Abandoned mine-workings can be found on fell-sides throughout the district. The area has been at various times in history famous for the production of minerals, charcoal, pencils, textile industry bobbins, wool and currently tourism, which has grown rapidly to become the area's primary source of income.