Wrong track

The Lake District needs to confront its unconscious bias against millennial and non-white visitors who are put off by its backwardly rugged terrain. Such seems to be the gnarled logic of the Lake District National Park Authority’s head, Richard Leafe, who has sparked a furore with claims that the beauty spot must tackle its “deficient” numbers of young and ethnic minority visitors to justify its public funding.

Mr Leafe might address his own unconscious bias – in particular, the rather patronising implication that certain groups may perceive the lakes as intimidating or too much hard work. In fact, since the area first captivated the Romantics, primitivism has proved the secret to its appeal. As Alfred Wainwright put it: “The fleeting hour of life of those who love the hills is quickly spent, but the hills are eternal.”