Gaining National Park status in 1951, the Lake District has been one of the best-loved and most-visited areas of England for decades, its sheer abundance of outstanding natural beauty and spectacular landscapes and environments inviting people from all over the world to experience the same kind of visual splendour and peaceful atmosphere that provided inspiration for poets and writers like Wordsworth, Keats and Coleridge, or opportunities for sport and recreation that makes a holiday cottage in the Lake District a popular base for an outdoor activity vacation. Alfred Wainwright was a more recent author and another great advocate for the beauty and versatility of 'the Lakes', his books first published in the 1950's detailing his own personal encounters with over 214 peaks across the region, the vivid descriptions of wildlife and scenery, and intricate hand-drawn panoramas and route maps provoking a flood of interest for walking in the area with many people renting cottages in the Lake District just to further their quest to 'bag' the complete set of 'Wainwrights'!
Home to all the land in England over 3000 feet above sea level, the Lake District is naturally attractive to walkers, some of whom are keen to conquer Scafell Pike, the highest Peak in the country, as well as many others that can offer a serious challenge to the most experienced hiker or climber, even though these fells are often best enjoyed at a more leisurely pace when taking plenty of time to reach any summit will give you the chance to take in the remarkable views that accompany every step of your journey. Also boasting Wastwater, the deepest lake in England, cottages in the Lake District make an excellent base for fishing, sailing and other types of watersport in a region with too many lakes, reservoirs and tarns to mention and certainly more than could be properly investigated unless you spend every vacation you ever have at a cottage rental in the Lake District!
Situated on the far north-west coast of England and taking into account a mountainous topography coupled with the vast number of lakes and rivers that exist across Cumbria, cottage rentals in the Lake District are never chosen by those expecting endless days of unbroken, blistering sunshine or cloudless blue skies which, in all honesty, can never be guaranteed wherever you might want to rent a holiday cottage in England. Even though glorious weather can be relied on when you spend a summer holiday at a cottage in Cumbria, un-announced downpours often feature as part of everyday life in any town or village in the Lakes, more predictably-so in winter, and if looked upon as being as essential to the region's true identity as its unique natural heritage, they could prove to be a very welcome sort of dampness, especially if you've been hiking up the Langdale Pikes, mountain-biking through the Grizedale Forest or are wet anyway from windsurfing on Coniston Water!