Literary Tourism in the Lake District National Park (Cumbria, England)

The English Lake District is a worldwide known area in Northwest England – in the administrative county of Cumbria, which includes portions of historic counties such as Cumberland, Lancashire and Westmorland – for its extraordinary and picturesque landscapes, formed by: valleys, the Cumbrian mountains with the highest peak in England (the Scafell Pike, 978 metres), high hills called ‘fells’, lakes (including the deepest of England, Wastwater, with 74 metres deep; and the largest, Windermere, which is 14.8 square kilometres) and small mountain pools (‘tarns’), rivers and waterfalls. There are four main settlements: Kendal, Ambleside, Windermere and Keswick. With an economy based upon agriculture and metal extraction of copper and lead (until 1870, when it became uneconomic), the entire Lake District went through a massive deforestation process that risked irreparably compromising the scenic landscapes. The reversal process began when the state Forestry Commission started to restore the native woodlands in the area (except for the central upland), and, in 1951, the Lake District National Park was established to protect the harmonious beauty of its landscapes (The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2024). With the institution of the national park, the local economy also changed; considering that the increasing numbers of visitors are deeply fascinated by the natural sites and the rich historical background of the place, the tourism industry flourished and became the primary source of income for the entire region. In 2016, the area of the national park was extended (currently is about 2362 square kilometres), and on the 9th of July 2017 the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO officially added the English Lake District to UNESCO’s World Heritage List due to its Outstanding Universal Value linked to the cultural criteria ii-v-vi (UNESCO,2017) and its past association to the English Romantic Movement. It was in the 18th century that Lakeland began to be a depicted and celebrated subject by the Picturesque Movement, and then, from the 19th century, it was appreciated by various poets, artists, and talented explorers.

The local poet William Wordsworth was the first author (and also a pioneer of ecology) to write about travel literature in the Lake District. In 1810, after having explored Lakeland, he decided to write the Guide to the Lakes (which is considered the first essential guidebook of the region), where he described: the main routes, the leading natural see sights and the historical places and monuments of the region aiming to inform the incoming travellers; the Guide was expanded and revisited by the author until 1835, when the last edition was published (see Wordsworth & Yoshikawa, 2022, for more detail). After the Romantic poet, many other writers, artists or visitors were influenced by the stunning natural beauty of Lakeland, and the literary heritage expanded increasingly alongside the fame of the Lake District across the world. In 2022, the national park welcomed 18.14 million tourists, an outstanding result primarily due to its principal attraction: the literary road trip, which allows the traveller to explore independently the entire Lake District literary attractions and walking paths linked to specific authors or aspects of their lives in the Lakeland, such as House-Museums, private gardens and art collections opened to visitors, Research Centres, Libraries, Theme Parks, and various outdoor activities inspired by literary adventures. This network is reachable by any kind of visitor thanks to the helpful, up-to-date information stored on public websites and handy electronic resources (Apps, e-books, audiobooks, audio guides, and interactive maps), but also on modern printed guidebooks and updated maps with routes and paths.

The following paragraphs describe, in chronological order, the most characteristic literary places in the Lake District related to influential writers, artists and creators who chose to celebrate (or even to live upon) the shores and valleys of Lakeland.

William Wordsworth in Grasmere

Nearby the lake Grasmere (0.6 square kilometres), one of the smallest lakes of the region, lies the humble Dove Cottage, once the house of the English Romantic poet William Wordsworth (1770-1850) and his sister Dorothy, where they lived from December 1799 until 1808 when they decided to settle in larger quarters in Grasmere before moving to Rydal Mount near Ambleside in 1813. Today, the Dove Cottage is a House-Museum of the Wordsworth Trust with many objects of the poet’s family on display alongside the Garden Orchard and the Wordsworth Museum (the Jerwood Centre), home of a vast collection of books and art items. In his birthplace at Cockermouth in Cumberland, Dove Cottage is one of the most representative places, because it there that the poet brought to life some of his greatest poetry works, for example, I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud (or “Daffodils”), which appeared for the first time in Poems (2 volumes) in 1807 (Parrish, 2024). These texts were inspired by a picturesque field of daffodils that he saw after a walk in the countryside near the cottage. Ten years before, after the fortunate meeting with Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834), Wordsworth wrote the short lyrical poems Lyrical Ballads (published anonymously in 1798), a milestone for the English Romantic Movement, written to present an innovative approach to the relationship human-nature (Beer, 2024).

John Ruskin in Coniston Water

The Brantwood House-Museum, once home of the Victorian artist and writer John Ruskin (1819-1900), is located on the Eastern shore of the lake of Coniston Water, not far from Kendal. The original cottage bought by Ruskin, who was deeply fascinated by the Lake District scenery since childhood, was expanded many times over the decades and since 1951 came into possession of the Brantwood Trust, which aims to protect the House and Ruskin’s collection. Visitors may take a literary tour and see the majestic house, the garden inside the grand estate and the several collections displayed.

Beatrix Potter in Near Sawrey

Beatrix Potter (1866-1943) was a creative author and talented illustrator of many children’s books. She spent much time on her childhood holidays in Scotland and the Lake District, but it was the latest that literary stole her heart. Thanks to the great success of her first book starring Peter Rabbit, she bought Hill Top farmhouse (near Sawrey, between Hawkshead and Windermere). Today, this little gem is a National Trust property, open to visitors who may explore the House-Museum and the garden and even take farm tours. In Windermere, there is also a theme park (The World of Beatrix Potter) where the protagonists of her books “come to life” for the joy of children and adults.

Arthur Ransome in Coniston Water and Habbot Hall

Pioneer of the literary genre “holiday adventure”, the writer Arthur Ransome (1884-1967) was also a sailor and a journalist; born in Leeds, he grew up in Windermere, spending his summers at Nibthwaite (South of Coniston Water), where he learned to sail. His love for outdoor adventures and nature inspired him to write the fortunate children’s novels of 12 books translated into 18 languages, Swallows and Amazons (1930-1947) which, settled in the Lake District, followed a group of resourceful little explorers. Today, the Literary Society Arthur Ransome, located at Habbot Hall (Kirkland, Kendal), organises outdoor activities inspired by the book series.

Alfred Wainwright and John Cunliffe in Kendal

On South-east of Windermere lies the town of Kendal, an attractive place for visitors searching for the places where Alfred Wainwright (1907-1991) and John ‘Arthur’ Cunliffe (1933-2018) lived. Wainwright was a writer, an explorer and a skilled artist who, after an excursion in Windermere’s pike (the Orrest Head) in 1930 and bewitched by the majestic view, decided to move to Kendal and dedicate his entire life to exploring and mapping the area. From 1952 onwards, several handwritten guidebooks have been discovered (today more than 50), but his masterpieces were the seven definitive guides to the Lakeland Fells, the Pictorial Guides to the Lakeland Fell. The author and creator of TV shows, John Cunliffe, lived for six years in Kendal. Still, it was during this time that he took inspiration from the nearby small towns and villages in the valley of Longsleddale for creating the idyllic world of Postman Pat Clifton and his friends. The thirteen adventures were all set in Greendale (an alternative version of Longsleddale), and real Lakeland people inspired some of its characters. With the success of the BBC TV show, which aired in 1981, the 190 story books for children, Cunliffe aided in making Kendal’s territory a renowned literary destination. Today, at Kendal’s Museums of Lakeland Life, there is a room dedicated to the creator of Postman Pat.

How to cite this dictionary entry: Frittelli, E. (2024). Literary Tourism in the Lake District National Park (Cumbria, England). In R. Baleiro, G. Capecchi & J. Arcos-Pumarola (Orgs.). E-Dictionary of Literary Tourism. University for Foreigners of Perugia.