Cumbria and the Lakes Travel Guide

The Lake District is England's most hyped scenic area, and for good reasons. Within an area a mere thirty miles across, sixteen major lakes are squeezed between the steeply pitched faces of England's highest mountains, an almost alpine landscape that's augmented by waterfalls and picturesque stone-built villages packed into the valleys. Most of what people refer to as the Lake District - or simply the Lakes - lies within the Lake District National Park , England's largest national park, established in 1951. This, in turn, falls entirely within the northwestern county of Cumbria , formed in 1974 from the historic counties of Cumberland and Westmorland, and the northern part of Lancashire. Consequently Cumbria contains more than just its lakes, stretching south and west to the coast , and north to its county town of Carlisle , a place that bears traces of a pedigree that stretches back beyond the construction of Hadrian's Wall. To the east, Penrith and the Eden Valley separate the lakes from the near wilderness of the northern Pennines.

Everywhere in the Lakes and Cumbria is connected by local bus , with Stagecoach in Cumbria the biggest operator. Their Explorer Tickets (one-day £6.50; four-day £15) are valid on the entire network and can be bought on the bus, while other bus-and-boat combination tickets offer a variety of good deals. All routes are all spelled out in detail in the free Lakeland Explorer timetable , available on board buses or from local tourist offices. Even more comprehensive is the Getting Around Cumbria and the Lake District timetable book produced twice a year by Cumbria County Council and available from tourist offices throughout the region. Or call Traveline (daily 7am-8pm; tel 0870/608 2608, ), which can advise about all the region's bus, coach, rail and ferry services.

For more information about all aspects of the National Park, visit ; while the official site of the Cumbria Tourist Board is .