Cumbria's Mountain Landscapes

Cumbria is famous for its mountains. The stark grandeur and remote beauty of their landscapes has inspired generations of visitors and their diversity has provided a wealth of habitat for the flora of the fells.

 

 

The Lake District

The Lake District is a land of spectacular mountain scenery. There are open fells with a mosaic of high craggy peaks and screes, heaths, bogs, heather moorland and grassland, as well as remote valleys with fast flowing streams and tarns. Deep glaciated valleys radiate from the central fells, sheltering lakes and woodland, alongside farmland with traditional stone farm buildings. The area is designated as a national park to protect these special qualities and encourage people to enjoy them.

The North Pennines

The North Pennines is a landscape of high moorland ridges divided by broad pastoral dales. The remote summits and the severe climate, with high rainfall, cold winters and short summers, give the area a uniquely wild quality. By contrast, in the sheltered dales are colourful hay meadows, peaceful villages and scattered farmsteads built from local stone. Much of the North Pennines is protected as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Cumbria's limestone fells

Lower lying than the mountains of the Lake District, Cumbria’s limestone fells are a landscape of rolling upland farmland. High limestone walls criss-cross fields and ancient villages, built in local stone, blend naturally into the scene. There are only a few woods, and on the heights are moorlands and commons with areas of rare limestone pavement. This landscape has only limited protection leaving its special qualities at risk.

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