Shropshire Star

13 stunning pictures of the Lake District as it becomes a World Heritage Site

The region has become the 31st World Heritage Site in the UK.

Published
early autumn reflections in Buttermere

The Lake District has joined an illustrious list of places around the world as it becomes a World Heritage Site.

The region, in north-west England, was announced by culture organisation Unesco as the latest addition to a list that includes the Taj Mahal, Grand Canyon, Macchu Picchu and Stonehenge among others.

Lord Clark of Windermere, who chaired the Lake District’s bid, said the decision to recognise the region’s culture, art and literature, as well as its landscape, was “momentous”.

There aren’t many UK regions more beautiful, so what better way to celebrate than looking at some of its stunning scenery?

This is Lake Windermere, the largest body of water in England at 10.5 miles long.

Visitors enjoying the view of Lake Windermere from the summit of Orrest Head, in the Lake District, Cumbria.
(Yui Mok/PA)
Autumn reflections are seen on Lake Buttermere
(Owen Humphreys/PA)
A general view of Buttermere in the Lake District
(Neil Squires/PA)

The rest are all known as meres, tarns and waters. So here’s the Lake District’s one proper lake.

Bassenthwaite Lake
(Mike63/Getty Images)
the Northern Lights, or Aurora Borealis, shining over Derwentwater
(Owen Humphreys/PA)

Even when they don’t make a proper appearance, their effects can still be impressive – take this purple sky reflected over Tewet Tarn, with the famous Blencathra mountain on show, as an example.

A purple sky caused by the Northern lights know as the Aurora Borealis reflected in Tewet Tarn with the famous Blencathra mountain
(Owen Humphreys/PA)
A aerial view of Ullswater in the Lake District
(Owen Humphreys/PA)
Scafell Pike
(krwhitehouse/Getty Images)
Wastwater in the Lake District
(Steven Hogg/GettyImages)
A aerial view of Derwentwater near Keswick in the Lake District
(Owen Humphreys/PA)
A display of muted autumn colours at Derwentwater
(Owen Humphreys/PA)

The famed landscape was obviously one factor, but so were some of the country’s most beloved writers including Beatrix Potter, who owned Hill Top Farm, and poets William Wordsworth, Samuel Coleridge and John Ruskin.

The Lakes also boasts sites of historical importance such as King Arthur’s Round Table, said by English Heritage to be a neolithic earthwork henge believed to be the legendary monarch’s jousting arena.

The UK now has 31 World Heritage Sites including the city of Bath, the Tower of London, Canterbury Cathedral and the Giant’s Causeway.

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