Lake District Case Study

The Lake District National Park is located in Cumbria in Northwest England. It is renowned for its lakes, forests, mountains, glacial features, and famous figures such as Beatrix Potter. The park covers 912 sq. mi/2,362 km² and was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2017. What glacial formations can be found in the Lake District? What are the impacts on the Lake District? How can it be managed? Let’s dive into our Lake District Case Study!

Lake District case study formations

The Lake District is a glaciated landscape made up of many distinctive glacial formations such as drumlins, corries, arêtes, glacial troughs, and lakes. Let’s take a closer look!

Glacial erosional formations

Helvellyn mountain, located in the Lake District, is one of England’s tallest mountains and is home to several erosional formations such as the Striding Edge arête. What is a glacial erosional landform?

Helvellyn mountain, standing at 3,113 ft/949 m above sea level, was formed approximately 450 million years ago and is composed of igneous rock with many of the glacial features formed during the last glacial period over 20,000 years ago. Helvellyn mountain comprises Swirral Edge arête and Striding Edge arête, where the Red Tarn corrie or lake can be found. What is a corrie?

Fig. 1 - Helyvellyn mountain in the Lake District National Park

These glacial features were formed by rotational slip, plucking, and freeze-thaw weathering, which still affects the landscape today. Another formation found in the Lake District is ribbon lakes such as Ullswater. These lakes occupy deep glacial troughs or U-shaped valleys, with Lake Windermere named the largest ribbon lake in the Lake District.

Fig. 2 - Lake Windermere in the Lake District National Park

Glacial depositional formations

The Lake District is also home to several glacial depositional landforms, including moraines and drumlins, which form when debris or sediment is left behind by a moving glacier. As a result of deposition, boulder clay has been deposited at the bottom of valleys as drumlins, with the majority located in Swindale. Ground moraines also cover the Lake District in areas such as Bannerdale and Haweswater, despite being mainly covered by vegetation. These moraines were formed during the Younger Dryas period, displaying the extent of the plateau ice fields during this period.

Fig. 3 - Drumlins in Trusmadoor, Lake District National Park

Lake District case study impacts

On average, 15.8 million tourists visit the Lake District each year, bringing in £1.48 million as of 2018. However, despite the benefits that tourism brings to the region, there are many negative impacts too. Let’s explore the impacts below!

Social impacts

Public transportation has improved significantly due to investment in tourism, with the Lake District also offering a beautiful, scenic place for locals and tourists alike to go walking and hiking.

However, about 90% of visitors who visit the Lake District come by car, which causes severe congestion and traffic problems, especially in the summer, with attractions such as the Bowness shopping centre also becoming extremely busy during this period. Another disadvantage is that tourists might not always support local businesses, as they might buy from big supermarkets on the way to the park rather than from local shops.

The housing prices have also increased as 20% of the properties in the Lake District are private or secondary homes. This has also reduced housing availability for the local people, with many of the holiday homes not occupied for most of the year. This forces local people to move out of the area to find affordable housing in the outskirts, such as Kendal.

Fig. 4 - Holiday home in Grisedale, Lake District

Economic impacts

Tourism brings in around £1.48 million a year, with tourists visiting sites such as Hill Top, the family home of Beatrix Potter, beside Lake Windermere. This provides jobs for over half of the workforce in the Lake District as tour guides, water sports instructors, and in local shops and cafes. Money from tourism can also be invested in conservation and improving public transport. However, jobs in tourism are often seasonal and may not pay as well, with shops also perhaps catering more to tourists rather than locals.

Environmental impacts

The Lake District is a national park home to many animals, birds, insects, and plants. However, the Lake District is also threatened by many factors, such as increased littering from tourists. Pathway erosion also occurs due to the sheer volume of tourists walking along the paths in the Lake District and especially in the Cat Bells.

Fuel spillages result from ferries and power boating, causing water pollution and affecting local wildlife such as fish and birds. Lake Windermere also allows ferries, power boating, windsurfing, and water sports to occur, with the wash from these faster, damaging vehicles eroding the shore at an alarming rate. Air pollution and congestion cause damage to the environment due to the extreme volume of cars that drive to the Lake District, with vehicles often parked on grass verges also causing damage.

Fig. 5 - Motorboat on Lake Windermere

Lake District case study management

Several initiatives have been implemented to minimise damage caused by tourism. Read on to learn more about management in strategies in the area.

Traffic management

Effective road networks must be planned to manage traffic and congestion in the Lake District. This includes placing dual carriages and roads alongside the Lake District to manage traffic and reduce congestion in the town. Heavy lorries can be diverted away from the scenic routes, with traffic also slowed through measures such as cattle grids in the countryside and maximum speed limits.

Public transport

Bus lanes and Park and Ride operate in towns, limiting congestion and encouraging people to park on the outskirts and take a bus to the national parks instead. This will also help to improve air quality.

Management in tourist hotspots

Repairing and reinforcing paths will encourage people to stay on the routes and deter them from walking in protected areas. Roadsides and protected areas can be fenced off to prevent tourists from parking, and car parks can be reinforced to avoid damage and encourage people to park there.

Bins are also provided along walking routes for people to place their rubbish, reducing litter. Signs can also be placed alongside routes encouraging people not to dump their waste.

Housing management

Local authorities should build more affordable housing for local people within the area and perhaps limit holiday homes to provide for the local population.

Envrionmental management

Speed limits can be implemented for cars and boats to reduce environmental damage and pollution. Pedestrians are encouraged to keep to established routes, reducing environmental damage and erosion.

Lake District case study challenges

Despite these management strategies in place, there remain challenges within the Lake District, especially with tourists. For example, visitors can trample crops, leave gates open and disturb wildlife while out walking with dogs in particular, which puts them in conflict with farmers and park rangers. There is also conflict over the speed limit for boats, with many water sports, such as water skiing, relying on high speeds.

Tourists can also conflict with locals due to increased traffic congestion, noise, and air pollution. Mass tourism also results in the erosion of footpaths and littering in beauty hotspots, spoiling the landscape. Secondary homes and increased house prices also remain a significant issue in the Lake District, with local people pushed out to the outskirts.

Lake District case study conservation