Editing Lake District (section)

== Economy ==

=== Agriculture and forestry ===
[[File:Thirleme 069.jpg|thumb|A young [[Herdwick]] grazing above [[Thirlmere]]. Older sheep of this breed are grey or white.]]

Farming, and in particular [[Domestic sheep|sheep farming]], has been the major industry in the region since [[Roman Britain|Roman]] times. The breed most closely associated with the area is the tough [[Herdwick]], with [[Rough Fell]] and [[Swaledale (sheep)|Swaledale]] sheep also common. Sheep farming remains important both for the economy of the region and for preserving the landscape which visitors want to see. Features such as [[dry stone wall]]s, for example, are there as a result of sheep farming. Some land is also used for [[silage]] and [[dairy farming]].

[[File:Hughie - Lakeland Terrier.jpg|thumb|upright=.60|The [[Lakeland Terrier]] is a District namesake, and native of the area's farms.]]

The area was badly affected by the outbreak of [[foot-and-mouth disease]] across the United Kingdom in 2001. The outbreak started in [[Surrey]] in February but had spread to [[Cumbria]] by end of March.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Lake District 'nightmare' as fell farm is infected |last=Cadwalladr |first=Carole |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1327961/Lake-District-nightmare-as-fell-farm-is-infected.html |newspaper=The Telegraph |date=26 March 2001 |access-date=27 August 2012 |archive-date=26 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140426174133/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1327961/Lake-District-nightmare-as-fell-farm-is-infected.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Thousands of sheep, including the native [[Herdwick]]s which graze on the fellsides across the district, were destroyed. In replacing the sheep, one problem to overcome was that many of the lost sheep were ''heafed'', that is, they knew their part of the unfenced fell and did not stray, with this knowledge being passed between generations. With all the sheep lost at once, this knowledge has to be relearnt and some of the fells have had discreet [[electric fence]]s strung across them for a period of five years, to allow the sheep to "re-heaf".<ref>{{Cite news |title=If they go, it is the end of Lakeland |last=Griffin |first=Harry |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/apr/11/footandmouth.features11 |newspaper=The Guardian |date=11 April 2001 |access-date=27 August 2012 |archive-date=17 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140317020654/http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/apr/11/footandmouth.features11 |url-status=live }}</ref> At the time of the outbreak, worries existed about the future of certain species of sheep such as [[Ryeland]] and Herdwick in the district,<ref>{{Cite news |title=Rare breeds 'could be lost' |last=MacClean |first=Matt |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1233458.stm |work=BBC News |date=21 March 2001 |access-date=27 August 2012 |archive-date=1 March 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070301154754/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1233458.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> however these fears have been allayed and sheep now occupy the district in abundance.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Sheep breed resurrected decade on from foot and mouth |last=Clarke |first=Tom |url=http://www.channel4.com/news/sheep-breed-resurrected-decade-on-from-foot-and-mouth |work=Channel 4 News |date=9 February 2011 |access-date=27 August 2012 |archive-date=17 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110217033412/http://www.channel4.com/news/sheep-breed-resurrected-decade-on-from-foot-and-mouth |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Forestry on Harter Fell.jpg|thumb|Forestry operations on [[Harter Fell, Eskdale|Harter Fell]]]]

Forestry has also assumed greater importance over the last century with the establishment of extensive conifer plantations around [[Whinlatter Pass]], in [[Ennerdale Water|Ennerdale]], and at [[Grizedale Forest]] among other places. There are extensive plantations of non-native pine trees.

=== Industry ===
With its wealth of rock types and their abundance in the landscape, mining and quarrying have long been significant activities in the Lake District economy. In [[Neolithic]] times, the Lake District was a major source of stone [[axe]]s, examples of which have been found all over Britain. The primary site, on the slopes of the Langdale Pikes, is sometimes described as a "stone axe factory" of the [[Langdale axe industry]]. Some of the earliest [[stone circle]]s in Britain are connected with this industry.

Mining, particularly of copper, lead (often associated with quantities of silver), [[baryte]], [[graphite]], and [[slate]], was historically a major Lakeland industry, mainly from the 16th to 19th centuries. Coppiced woodland was used extensively to provide [[charcoal]] for smelting. Some mining still takes place today; for example, slate mining continues at the [[Honister Slate Mine|Honister Mines]], at the top of [[Honister Pass]]. Abandoned mine workings can be found on fellsides throughout the district. The locally mined graphite led to the development of the [[pencil]] industry, especially around [[Keswick, Cumbria|Keswick]].

[[File:Lake District near Torver.jpg|thumb|A typical Lake District scene]]

In the middle of the 19th century, half the world textile industry's [[bobbin]] supply came from the Lake District area. Over the past century, however, tourism has grown rapidly to become the area's primary source of income.

=== Development of tourism ===
{{More citations needed|date=September 2011}}

====Historical====
Early visitors to the Lake District, who travelled for the education and pleasure of the journey, include [[Celia Fiennes]], who in 1698 undertook a journey the length of England, including riding through [[Kendal]] and over [[Kirkstone Pass]] into [[Patterdale]]. Her experiences and impressions were published in her book ''Great Journey to Newcastle and Cornwall'':

<blockquote>As I walked down at this place I was walled on both sides by those inaccessible high rocky barren hills which hang over one's head in some places and appear very terrible; and from them springs many little currents of water from the sides and clefts which trickle down to some lower part where it runs swiftly over the stones and shelves in the way, which makes a pleasant rush and murmuring noise and like a snowball is increased by each spring trickling down on either side of those hills, and so descends into the bottoms which are a Moorish ground in which in many places the waters stand, and so form some of those Lakes as it did here.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Shirley|last1=Foster|first2=Sara|last2=Mills|title=An Anthology of Women's Travel Writing|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=81JxDbc2KeIC&pg=PA183|year=2002|publisher=Manchester University Press|isbn=978-0-7190-5018-3|page=183|access-date=4 March 2016|archive-date=4 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200804033227/https://books.google.com/books?id=81JxDbc2KeIC&pg=PA183|url-status=live}}</ref></blockquote>

In 1724, [[Daniel Defoe]] published the first volume of ''A Tour Thro' the Whole Island of Great Britain''. He commented on [[Westmorland]] that it was:

<blockquote>the wildest, most barren and frightful of any that I have passed over in England, or even Wales itself; the west side, which borders on Cumberland, is indeed bounded by a chain of almost unpassable mountains which, in the language of the country, are called fells.</blockquote>

[[File:Claife Station.jpg|thumb|Claife Station on the western shore of [[Windermere]]]]
Towards the end of the 18th century, the area was becoming more popular with travellers. This was partly a result of wars in [[Continental Europe]], restricting the possibility of travel there. In 1778 [[Thomas West (priest)|Thomas West]] produced ''A Guide to the Lakes'', which began the era of modern tourism. West listed "stations", viewpoints where tourists could enjoy the best views of the landscape, being encouraged to appreciate the formal qualities of the landscape and to apply aesthetic values. At some of these stations, buildings were erected to help this process. The remains of Claife Station (on the western shore [[Windermere]] below [[Claife Heights]]) can be visited today.

[[William Wordsworth]] published his ''Guide to the Lakes'' in 1810, and by 1835 it had reached its fifth edition, now called ''A Guide Through the District of the Lakes in the North of England''. This book was particularly influential in popularising the region. Wordsworth's favourite valley was Dunnerdale or the [[Duddon Valley]] in the southwest of the Lake District.

The railways led to another expansion in tourism. The [[Kendal and Windermere Railway]] was the first to penetrate the Lake District, reaching [[Kendal]] in 1846 and [[Windermere, Cumbria (town)|Windermere]] in 1847. The line to [[Coniston, Cumbria|Coniston]] opened in 1848 (although until 1857 this was only linked to the national network by ferries between [[Fleetwood]] and Barrow-in-Furness); the line from [[Penrith, Cumbria|Penrith]] through [[Keswick, Cumbria|Keswick]] to [[Cockermouth]] in 1865; and the line to [[Lakeside, Cumbria|Lakeside]] at the foot of [[Windermere]] in 1869. The railways, built with traditional industry in mind, brought with them a huge increase in the number of visitors, thus contributing to the growth of the tourism industry. Railway services were supplemented by steamer boats on the major lakes of [[Ullswater]], Windermere, [[Coniston Water]], and [[Derwent Water]].

[[File:STEAMER ON ULLSWATER.jpg|thumb|A steamer on [[Ullswater]]]]

The growth in tourist numbers continued into the age of the motor car, when railways began to be closed or run down. The formation of the [[Lake District National Park]] in 1951 recognised the need to protect the Lake District environment from excessive commercial or industrial exploitation, preserving that which visitors come to see, without any restriction on the movement of people into and around the district. The [[M6 Motorway]] helped bring traffic to the Lake District, passing up its eastern flank.

====Recent====
The narrow roads present a challenge for traffic flow, and since the 1960s certain areas have been very congested. This problem continues, with traffic congestion and parking problems in the towns and villages. [[Bowness-on-Windermere]] addressed the parking issue with a new car park at the edge of the community and by extending an existing car park.<ref name="auto1">{{cite web |url=https://falconwoodgcsegeography.weebly.com/a-uk-national-park-case-study.html |title=GCSE Geography: Tourism |date= |work=Falconwood GCSE |access-date=1 September 2022 |quote=}}</ref> The Lake District NP publishes a list and map of car parks within its area, allowing tourists to plan their visits accordingly.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.lakedistrict.gov.uk/visiting/getting-to-the-lake-district/carparks |title=Car parks|date= 30 January 2017|work=Lake District NP Authority |access-date=1 September 2022 |quote=}}</ref>

Whilst the roads and railways provided easier access to the area, many people were drawn to Lakeland by the publication of the ''[[Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells]]'' by [[Alfred Wainwright]]. First published between 1955 and 1966, these books provided detailed information on 214 fells across the region, with carefully hand-drawn maps and panoramas, and also stories and asides which add to the colour of the area. They are still used by many visitors to the area as guides for walking excursions, with the ultimate goal of [[Peak bagging|bagging]] the complete list of ''[[List of Wainwrights|Wainwrights]]''. The famous guides were revised by [[Chris Jesty]] between 2005 and 2009 to reflect changes, mainly in valley access and paths, and are currently being revised by Clive Hutchby, the author of The Wainwright Companion. The first of the revised volumes, Book One: The Eastern Fells, was published in March 2015; the most recent, Book Six: The North Western Fells, was published in April 2019.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/jun/13/books.ruralaffairs | work=The Guardian | first=Martin | last=Wainwright | title=Famed fells guides join the 21st century | date=13 June 2005 | access-date=17 December 2016 | archive-date=1 December 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161201214536/https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/jun/13/books.ruralaffairs | url-status=live }}</ref>

Since the early 1960s, the National Park Authority has employed rangers to help cope with increasing tourism and development, the first being [[John Wyatt (writer)|John Wyatt]], who has since written several guide books. He was joined two years later by a second, and since then the number of rangers has been rising.

The area has also become associated with the writer [[Beatrix Potter]]. Several tourists visit to see her family home, with particularly large numbers coming from Japan.

Tourism has now become the park's major industry, with about 12&nbsp;million{{Fix|text=Disagrees with figures in National Park section}} visitors each year, mainly from the rest of the UK and from China, Japan, Spain, Germany, and the US.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/holiday/destinations/lake_district_cartmel |title=Desintations: Lake District |publisher=BBC\ |date=27 January 2005 |archive-date=27 January 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050127144348/http://www.bbc.co.uk/holiday/destinations/lake_district_cartmel/ }}</ref> Windermere Lake Steamers are Cumbria's most popular charging tourist attraction, with about 1.35&nbsp;million paying passengers each year, and the local economy is dependent upon tourists. The negative impact of tourism has been seen, however. [[Soil erosion]], caused by walking, is now a significant problem, with millions of pounds being spent to protect overused paths. In 2006, two [[Visitor center|tourist information centres]] in the National Park were closed.

Cycling is now popular in the Lake District National Park.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lakedistrict.gov.uk/visiting/things-to-do/cycling|title=Lake District cycling|date=25 April 2017|website=Lake District National Park|language=en|access-date=29 May 2019|archive-date=29 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190529132440/https://www.lakedistrict.gov.uk/visiting/things-to-do/cycling|url-status=live}}</ref> A number of long-distance cycle routes go through the Lake District, including coast to coast cycle routes such as the [[Coast to Coast Cycle Route|C2C]], Hadrian's Cycleway, the Reivers Route and the Walney to Wear route. Several towns have also become hubs for road-cycling holidays and cycle touring, such as [[Keswick, Cumbria|Keswick]] and Ambleside. Mountain bikers use the trails constructed at Whinlatter Forest<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.forestryengland.uk/whinlatter/cycling-and-mountain-biking-trails-whinlatter|title=Cycling and mountain biking trails at Whinlatter|website=Forestry England|language=en|access-date=29 May 2019|archive-date=29 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190529132438/https://www.forestryengland.uk/whinlatter/cycling-and-mountain-biking-trails-whinlatter|url-status=live}}</ref> and Grizedale Forest and also have wilder routes available on bridleways.

Cultural tourism is becoming an increasingly important part of the wider tourist industry. The Lake District's links with a wealth of artists and writers and its strong history of providing summer theatre performances in the old Blue Box of Century Theatre are strong attractions for visiting tourists. The tradition of theatre is carried on at venues such as [[Theatre by the Lake]] in Keswick with its summer season of six plays in [[repertoire (theatre)|repertoire]], Christmas and Easter productions, and the many literature, film, mountaineering, jazz, and creative arts festivals, such as the [[Kendal Mountain Festival]] and the [[Keswick Mountain Festival]]. Two museums, The World of Beatrix Potter and [[Dove Cottage]] & The Wordsworth Museum, are also important aspects of the region.<ref name="auto1"/>

=== Gastronomy ===
Excellent mutton and lamb have been produced locally for generations and traditionally formed the basis of the region's many rustic dishes, such as Tatie Pot, a potato-topped mutton casserole. The Traditional [[Cumberland sausage|Cumberland Sausage]] is a spiced, unlinked pork sausage with [[Protected Geographical Status]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Traditional Cumberland Sausage |url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/271308/pfn-cumberland-sausage-pgi.pdf |publisher=Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs |access-date=26 October 2019 |archive-date=24 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190724150530/https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/271308/pfn-cumberland-sausage-pgi.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> The Lake District now has a growing reputation for its fine dining<ref>{{cite news|author1=Harry Wallop|title=Michelin Guide 2010: UK has more starred restaurants than ever before|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/foodanddrinknews/6998093/Michelin-Guide-2010-UK-has-more-starred-restaurants-than-ever-before.html|quote=the Lake District is becoming one of the best places to eat in Britain|access-date=8 January 2017|work=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]]|date=15 January 2010|archive-date=8 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308152803/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/foodanddrinknews/6998093/Michelin-Guide-2010-UK-has-more-starred-restaurants-than-ever-before.html|url-status=live}}</ref> although standard pub and café fare continues to dominate. There are 7 [[Michelin Star]] restaurants within the World Heritage Site boundaries, with three more less than 5 miles outside ([[L'Enclume]], Rogan & Co, and Dog and Gun Inn). Those inside the area are: The Cottage in the Wood, Allium at [[Askham Hall]], Old Stamp House, Forest Side, heft, [[The Samling Hotel|The Samling]], and SOURCE at Gilpin Hotel, one of the two restaurants at the Gilpin Hotel & Lake House.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Full List of Michelin Stars in the MICHELIN Guide Great Britain & Ireland 2023 |url=https://guide.michelin.com/gb/en/article/michelin-guide-ceremony/the-full-list-of-michelin-stars-in-the-michelin-guide-great-britain-ireland-2023 |access-date=2023-12-22 |website=MICHELIN Guide |language=en-GB}}</ref> Cumbria has many [[microbreweries]] and [[Distillery|distilleries]] which distribute local [[ale]]s, [[lager]]s, and craft [[gin]], [[vodka]], and [[whisky]] to pubs and restaurants throughout the region.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Breweries & Distilleries |url=https://www.visitlakedistrict.com/food-and-drink/breweries-and-distilleries |access-date=2023-12-22 |website=Visit Lake District |language=en-GB}}</ref>