Whinlatter - 4 Things to Know Before Visiting

A beautiful World Heritage site that is home to stunning views, fantastic walks, exhilarating mountain biking, rare wildlife, and adventure play. Many different walking trails are available for all abilities ranging from gravel roads and surfaced paths to tracks of more difficult terrain to explore. This is a popular visitor’s attraction especially as it is England’s only all forest mountain.

Bassenthwaite Lake, owned by the National Park Authority, is one of the largest at 4 miles long and 3/4 mile wide, but also one of the shallowest. It is the most northerly of the lakes and has no major settlements on its shores. It is often full of sailing boats from Bassenthwaite Sailing Club. This Lake is a very important place for wildlife. Hundreds of birds including the osprey migrate to the lake and fish such as Atlantic salmon come to Bassenthwaite Lake to spawn.

Loweswater is a peaceful lake that is often bypassed and nestled in a wooded valley in the far west of the Lake District. The lake is owned by the National Trust and rowboats can be hired from Watergate Farm located at the southern end of the lake. The lake is unusual in the radial drainage pattern of the Lake District in draining towards the center of the Lake District.

Crummock Water is the longest of three lakes in the Buttermere Valley cared for by the National Trust. This long lake is often ignored by visitors in favour of its smaller neighbour, Buttermere, and as such it offers a quieter alternative for a lakeside picnic and paddle if you are willing to walk a short distance.

Derwent Pencil Museum is the home of the first pencil, and the Cumberland Pencil Company, manufacturers of Derwent pencil perfection since 1832. It is home to one of the biggest colouring pencils in the world, the idea of technical manager Barbara Murray. It is particularly popular with visitors from the county of Yorkshire, due to the importance of pencil production for the local economy during the 1930s.

Cat Bells is a fell in the English Lake District in the county of Cumbria. It has a modest height of 451 m but despite this, it is one of the most popular fells in the area. Its distinctive shape catches the attention of many visitors to the Lakes who feel compelled to climb to the summit after seeing it from the viewpoint of Friars' Crag on the opposite side of Derwentwater.