Lake District - Case Study

The Lake District is a National Park in Cumbria. It gets around 15 million visitors a year. There are several reasons why it is so popular:

• Tourists come to enjoy the scenery - for example Lake Windermere and Scafell Pike.
•  There are many activities available. e.g. bird watching ,walking, pony-trekking,boat rides, sailing and rock climbing.
•  There are also cultural attractions , e.g. the Beatrix Potter house( in Hil Top Winderemere)and William Wordsworth  house ( Grasmere).

• Coping with extra traffic: public transport in the area is being improved so people can leave their cars at home. There are also campaigns to encourage people to use the new services . e.g. ' give the driver a break ' campaign. This provides leaflets that show the routes available and offers discounts at cafes and on lake cruises for people presenting bus or train tickets. There is also the 'ring and ride ' service for the elderly people /disabled to transport them to and from.

• Coping with the erosion of footpaths: solutions include encouraging visitors to use less velnerable areas instead ' resting ' popular routes by changing the line of the paths, and using more hard wearing materials for paths. e.g. at Tarn Hows ,severely eroded paths have been covered with soil and reseeded , and the main route has been gravelled to protect it. e.g. ' fix the fells'.

• Protecting wildlife and farmland: There are signs to remind visitors to take their litter home and covered bins are provided at the most popular sites. There have also been campaigns to encourage visitors to enjoy the countryside responsibly. e.g. by closing gates and keeping dogs on a lead.
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