The lake district - national parks

It is in Cumbria in North-west England

A glaciated upland area

It became a national park in 1951

It regularly gets 12 million tourists (compared to 42,239 residents)

It has a wide range of ecosystems

101 SSSI (sites of special scientific interest)

Large lakes - ribbon lakes - and mountains/hills

Unique and varied landscape - moorland, marshes, limestone pavements, tarns and lakes

Literate and artistic heritage - Wordsworth and Beatrix Potter

Local culture

Walking - place Fell, Scafell Pike - mountain (Catsbells - a good family walk as it is a short and easy climb)

Historical sites

Honeypot sites - a place of natural or historical interest that attracts people in large numbers i.e. Lake Windermere

Lake District's only car ferry

Pinic sites and car parks

Boating on Lake Windermere

National park tourist information centre

Campling and caravan sites, hotels and cafes

Problems:

89% come by car, often just for the day

Narrow roads

Congestion and parking

Parking on grass verges in country side causing serious damage

Resolutions:

Public transport to be improved

Park and ride schemes

County strategic roads, such as dual carriageways, built round the edge of Lake District to help move traffic in and out es efficiently as possible

Traffic can be slowed down by traffic calming methods such as cattle grids in the countryside and an overall maximum speed limit

Environmental problems:

Footpath erosion - footpath held together well when lots of vegetation to hold soil together, as walkers walk along soil gets compacted, shallow gulley appears, any running water will carry soil away, further trampling more vegetation dies away leaving the rainwater to wash the soil away and underlying rock exposed, walkers find it hard to walk on the path so move to the sides making the problem worse

Not enough parking

Litter

Walkers/tourist disturb wildlife/leave gates open on farmland

Solutions:

Resting popular roots by changing the line of paths

Using more hard-wearing materials like gravel for footpaths (Tarn Hows a severely eroded path has been re-seeded with grass and the main route has been gravelled)

New small car parks hidden by landscaping and tree planting

Signposting routes

Signs encourging people to be responsible and reduce litter by taking it home

Speed limits on the lakes

Problems:

2nd homes/holiday cottages/flats not occupied all year

Holiday makers don't always support local businesses

Demand for property increases price driving people out

Planning permission

Solutions:

Local authorities build more houses

Promote timesharing

Ban second homes

Farming:

Visitors can trample crops and disturb livestock, signs and education can help

Offers hill farmers different/new opportunities in difficult economic times

Employment:

Jobs created

Many businesses thrive and make a profit

But seasonal, low pay and visitor numbers can be unpredictable

1. Official tourism strategy is to attract an extra 2 million visitos by 2018 and increase the amount tourists spend from £1.1 billion to £1.5 billion per year

2. Public transport improved making the lakes more accessible

3. Widespread advertising and marketing to make the area more well known

4. Farms will be encouraged to provide services alongside traditional farming which should attract more tourists to the area and help them

5.Time