English Lakes: A History

With more than 20 million visitors every year, the Lake District maintains a 200-year reputation, fostered by such figures as JMW Turner, Beatrix Potter and Alfred Wainwright, as one of England's most beautiful and magical regions. Keen local fell-walker Ian Thompson considers the Lakes' special allure, tracing its origins to the Georgian fascination with the Alps, the outbreak of the Napoleonic Wars and the shaping of perceptions by Wordsworth, Coleridge, Southey and De Quincey.