by “There is certainly no other place in this wonderful world like Lakeland,” wrote Alfred Wainwright in 1948. The accountant-turned-fall-climber, enamored with the region, inspired a generation of hikers, cyclists, wildlife watchers and vacationers. to explore the region, and cemented its heritage as a prominent place in the process.
It is a stark contrast, then, that documents leaked in 2023 revealed that “raw sewage” had been released into Windermere, now one of the country’s most popular national parks. And this week, environmental campaigner Chris Packham accused a landowner of suspected illegal tree felling, on the shores of the same lake. The Forestry Commission was informed of the alleged version in September, but no action has been taken.
Windermere is, for many, the “gateway to the Lake District”; which welcomed around 18 million visitors in 2022. Wainwright went on to write that the region was “absolutely beautiful”, that “no other was as pleasant” – but because environmental damage and overcrowding summer dominating the headlines, it seems we are in danger of losing our composure.
Still, one could argue that the Lake District has always been a place of extreme conditions. Victorian tourists, pushed by Wordsworth, Southey and Coleridge, were preoccupied with the idea of noble fields, inhabited by rural farmers, with the magnificent mountains above them. “Nature breathes among the hills and stones,” Wordsworth wrote in The Prelude – but this same nature was in danger.
These extremes still exist – but the most pressing is between the fake lows of raw sewage, and, most significantly, the number of luxurious places for hopeful stays.
The most notable of these luxury resorts is Langdale Chase, a 30-room hotel sitting on the shores of Lake Windermere. The building itself dates back to 1890, but began life as a hotel in 1937. Refurbished to include everything from dog-friendly rooms to a newly landscaped garden, the hotel is just one of many wonderful places to stay in the National Park. Take The Lakes Hotel and Spa in Bowness. He has installed hot tubs on each balcony, and those without a car can take advantage of his “Bentley chauffeuring service”.
Then there is the food. Secretly, Cumbria is the most Michelin-awarded English county. L’Enclume in Cartmel is essentially an old hand – it was awarded its first star in 2005, its second star in 2012 and its third last year. He appeared in the first series of The Trip with Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon; this newspaper described it as “a clear demonstration of culinary genius”.
More recent additions include The Sampling in Ambleside, The Dog and Gun in Skelton, Forest Side in Grasmere: each had its own star. On the shores of Windermere, the Michelin Guide describes SOURCE at the Gilpin Hotel in Bowness as “sophisticated but not overly sophisticated”.
All of this, then, feels quite a long way from Wainwright’s all-weather journey. He might be dismayed to see that his “lonely ridges” have become, in places, almost unmanageable.
The traffic jams – particularly around Windermere – have become notorious. In early December, a heavy snowstorm left drivers stranded and roads impassable. Cumbria Police confirmed a major incident; community centers offered assistance to those forced to spend the night in their cars.
It is in the summer months, however, that there is a problem with the influx of visitors. Social media is often flooded with images of overflowing sidewalks and long queues for ferry rides. The most famous parts of the region, especially towns such as Bowness – on the shores of Windermere – and Kendal, have increased in popularity after the lock down. Of course, this is what National Parks are for; they are there for the public to enjoy. But there is a sense that the infrastructure is struggling to cope.
Indeed, there is something very ironic about the fact that the most popular part of the Park is also the most polluted. According to researchers, illegal dumping of raw sewage into Windermere took place for up to 70 days in 2022. Matt Staniek, director of the Save Windermere campaign, believes it will inevitably affect the visitor experience.
“I couldn’t believe that even here – a beautiful place, within a national park and a World Heritage Site – is not free from the exploitation of the water industry,” says Staniek.
“Last year, we saw the biggest blue-green algal bloom ever recorded on the lake. You could see it from space,” he says. “No one knew what to do. There were no warning signs telling people not to swim in the lake because it could be toxic.”
It doesn’t sit well with the Romantic idea of the Lake District. It also doesn’t match the image that luxury hospitality options are trying to convey.
Why, then, can’t we get the Lake District right? In part, the problems we face across the country are the problems of the Lake District. Difficulty of access means tourists are concentrated in certain areas – the rail network, reliable as it is, only takes visitors to Oxenholme in the South and Penrith, further north. Cars clog the roads and car parks near Windermere, as people push towards the most famous spots.
Gill Haigh, the managing director at Cumbria Tourism, recognizes that this is an issue. A much-anticipated new Destination Management Plan “will help address some of the problems facing rural destinations,” she says. “These include better access, infrastructure and visitor services, as well as attracting new investment, bringing in new talent and encouraging innovation.”
However, more attractions are planned: in August, the advisory body to Unesco warned that plans to install a zip wire network in Langdale would “disrupt the tranquility of the area”. Vocal opposition from local people stated that the area could not cope with excessive traffic; many are concerned that their opening could jeopardize the Lake District’s World Heritage Site status.
For Matt Staniek, the sewage in the lake is a symptom of the area. “How can we continue to develop the economy here sustainably, and support people coming here, if the infrastructure can’t cope?” he asks, pointing to waste spills as evidence that the region is under pressure.
There is a sense that the Lake District is trying to be an adventure park, and in the process forgetting what made it exceptional in the first place. Moving away from Windermere, and into the less well-known parts of the region – going further north, or west, may reduce the pressure on the most popular tourist sites. or to the coast. But something more radical must be done if the National Park is to remain the place Wordsworth called “Paradise”.
