The Lake District, a true world wonder
Hope that UN accolade will give tourism a boost
ITS stunning scenery has inspired generations of poets and painters.
Now the Lake District has been recognised as a World Heritage Site by Unesco – joining the Taj Mahal, Grand Canyon and Great Barrier Reef.
Yesterday’s decision by a committee in Krakow, Poland, marks the end of a 31-year bid for Unesco status, which it is hoped will boost tourism.
Lord Clark of Windermere, who led the bid, said the decision to recognise the region’s culture, arts and landscape was ‘momentous’.
He said: ‘It is this exceptional blend which makes our Lake District so spectacularly unique and we are delighted Unesco has agreed.
‘A great many people have come together to make this happen and we believe the jobs. The committee praised decision will have long and the area’s beauty, farming and lasting benefits for the specthe inspiration it had protacular Lake District landvided to artists and writers. scape, the 18million visitors It is home to England’s largwe welcome every year and est natural lake, Windermere, for the people who call the and the country’s highest National Park their home.’ mountain, Scafell Pike.
Visitors to the Lakes spend The landscape’s outstanda total of about £1.8billion ing beauty inspired the ‘Lake each year, providing 18,000 Poets’, including William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. The area was also home to Peter Rabbit author Beatrix Potter.
The bid was formally made by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and Historic England.
Tourism minister John Glen said: ‘It is a unique part of the world that combines a vibrant farming community with thousands of archaeological sites and structures that give us an amazing glimpse into our past. This decision will undoubtedly elevate the position of the Lake District internationally, boosting tourism and benefiting local communities and businesses.’
The Lakes are the 31st place in the UK and overseas territories to be put on the Unesco World Heritage List and is now one of about 1,000 worldwide. British sites include the Tower of London, Stonehenge and Durham Cathedral.