The Lake District.

The Lake District National Park is the largest of ten national parks in England and Wales. It was established to conserve the natural beauty of this glaciated highland region for public enjoyment. The national park is administered by the Lake District Special Planning Board which controls development and maintains the tourist environment.

The Lake District is a unique upland area. The most recent glaciation (ending about 10,000 years ago) left U shaped valleys, hanging valleys, serries, trans and ribbon lakes. The Lake District is an eroded dome and rivers and lakes have developed in a radial pattern.

The economy of the national park consists of tourism, hill farming, quarrying, industry, water provision and forestry. There was once mining for lead, copper, iron, zinc and silver but today only slate is quarried near Coniston and granite at Snap Fell. Most of the national park’s land (63 %) is private, the National Trust owns 22 %, North-West Water – 7 %, Forestry Commission –5 %, the National Park – 3 %, and the Ministry of Defence owns 0,2 % of the land.

The Lake District receives millions of visitors every year. As a result there are many pressures on natural and man-made resources. Visitors’ activities in the park often conflict with the way of life of people who live and work there. The main work of conservation is to control pressure and conflict arising from overuse and to protect the environment from damage.

Narrow winding roads become congested, and car-parking areas are often filled to capacity. Walkers and day-trippers sometimes damage farm fences and frighten livestock. Continuous trampling of paths can wear them away, and footpath erosion is a problem. In severe cases, paths have turned into gullies. This occurs when visitors take the direct route between a car park and an amenity such as a lake shore. Damp areas are trampled into boggy expanses and vegetation may be completely worn down (degraded).

Special measures are needed to conserve the area as a whole. The Lake District Special Planning Board advises landowners on developments and there are strict planning controls on new buildings. They have to fit in with existing architectural styles. Landowners must make special efforts to blend their developments with the landscape. The Forestry Commission integrates its forests with the shape of the land. Plantations have wavy edges, deciduous trees are left along the rivers and streams and planted along the roads. The development of a tourist environment will to some extent conflict with efforts to conserve the national park. The aim has been to secure a balance between different interests.

ANSWER THE QUESTIONS:

1. Why was the Lake District National park established?

2. What does the economy of the national park consist of?

3. Which groups of people own the land in the Lake District?

4. Why are there conflicts and pressures in the national park?

5. What do you understand by: footpath erosion; degradation of vegetation; planning controls; conflict of use? Retell the text.

5. Find information about any national park in Great Britain and make a report about it (name the park and describe the principal features which attract visitors; describe and explain any conflicts in land use that exist there; is that park successful in conserving the country’s most attractive landscapes?, etc.)