Lake District aims to become Britain's 'Adventure Capital'

By Thorsten Wiese Aug 10, 2010, 13:23 GMT

Keswick, England - Are the mountains really that tall, or is it that the clouds are hanging so low?

As our group makes its ascent through Langdale Valley in drizzling rain, the peaks of the mountains of the Lake District are hidden. But pausing a moment to take in the scenery still has its rewards.

Looking up, one sees pastures and sheep standing on the edge of the trail, hawks and squirrels. Tiny waterfalls spill down the mountainside.

Langdale Valley stretches a number of kilometres north-west of the largest lake, Lake Windermere. A hike through the valley is one of the best-known tours in what is England's largest National Park, mountain guide Andy Cave tells our group.

In clear weather, the view is spectacular, he assures us - a panorama of wide valleys, green pastures and isolated country cottages.

Andy can attest to this - he is one of the most experienced high-altitude mountain climbers in Britain and has conquered many peaks around the world. For a long time now he has observed a gradual change taking place.

'A lot has changed. There are more and more tourists. And nearly all of them hike along the same trail,' he says.

Actually high visitor numbers were not the usual case in the recent past. Almost 10 years ago foot and mouth disease posed a huge problem for tourism promoters in the Lake District.

'Everything is different since 2001,' says a man named Jeff in the tourism information office in Keswick, one of the larger towns in the Lake District. 'Many tourists have never returned after the epidemic. Beforehand, tourism simply happened here.'

For decades, the attraction was the charm of rural England: old British country estates, resplendent cottage gardens, tea houses and stone walls which enclose lush green pastures. Lovers would escape to a cozy country hotel for a weekend.

Pensioners would book a vacation home, or even buy one outright as their place of retirement. Tennis courts and yacht marinas on the shores of the 16 larger lakes are evidence of this.

The region has now evolved from being a retirement community for the well-heeled into a family vacation area and a destination for physically active holidaymakers.

In Keswick's pedestrian zone this development is in evidence - there may be a few pensioners around still, but they are now wearing colourful outdoor clothing and carrying hiking sticks.

One outdoor equipment shop next to the other lines the streets of the town. Everywhere, books about hiking routes or mountain bike tours through the National Park are on sale.

In 2012, the Lake District has ambitions to win the title of 'UK's Adventure Capital' by offering new routes for mountain bikers, new climbing parks, guided tours and excursions with canoes and kayaks or on horses.

The tourism promoters even try to put positive spin on the legendary lousy weather - they point out that the Lake District never gets really hot in the summer, nor ever really cold.