Fells, lakes and the poets' countryside
The Lake District packs England's highest mountains and largest lakes into a compact corner of Cumbria. Windermere is the busiest lake, with steamers and the towns of Bowness and Ambleside, while Ullswater, Buttermere and Derwentwater around Keswick feel wilder. Walkers come for the fells, including Scafell Pike, the highest peak in England, and Helvellyn along Striding Edge. Wordsworth's homes at Dove Cottage and Rydal Mount and Beatrix Potter's Hill Top farm draw literary pilgrims. Stone pubs and cosy inns wait at the end of the day.