The Lake District National Park is located in the north-west of England and is the largest of the English National Park

National parks of England and Wales

The national parks of England and Wales are areas of relatively undeveloped and scenic landscape that are designated under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949...

s and the second largest in the United Kingdom. It is in the central and most-visited part of the Lake District

Lake District

The Lake District, also commonly known as The Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous not only for its lakes and its mountains but also for its associations with the early 19th century poetry and writings of William Wordsworth...

.

The National Park was formed in 1951 to protect the landscape by restricting unwelcome change from industry or commerce. Almost all of the land in the Park is in private ownership, with small areas belonging to the National Trust

National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty

The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...

. In common with all other National Parks in England, there is no restriction on entry to or movement within the park along public routes, but access to cultivated land is usually restricted to public footpaths.

The highest mountains in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 are within the Park boundary.

The lakes and mountains combine to form impressive scenery unique to this corner of England. Farmland, hill and settlement add aesthetic value to the natural scenery with an ecology

Ecology

Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...

 modified by human influence for millennia

Millennium

A millennium is a period of time equal to one thousand years —from the Latin phrase , thousand, and , year—often but not necessarily related numerically to a particular dating system....

 and including important wildlife habitats.

Water

The lake

Lake

A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...

s and river

River

A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...

s are cool and mainly unpolluted. The level of nutrients in the water of different lakes varies providing varied habitats for different plant and animal species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

. Charr

Salvelinus

Salvelinus is a genus of salmonid fish often called char or charr; some species are called "trout". Salvelinus is a member of the Salmoninae subfamily of the Salmonidae family. Charr may be identified by light cream pink or red spots over a darker body. Scales tend to be small, with 115-200 along...

, crayfish

Crayfish

Crayfish, crawfish, or crawdads – members of the superfamilies Astacoidea and Parastacoidea – are freshwater crustaceans resembling small lobsters, to which they are related...

, schelly

Schelly

The schelly is a designation for four populations of freshwater whitefish in the English Lake District, Cumbria. The native populations of this fish inhabit the Brothers Water, Haweswater, Red Tarn and Ullswater, and occupy a total area of about 20 square kilometers...

 and vendace

Coregonus vandesius

Coregonus vandesius, the vendace, is a freshwater whitefish found in the United Kingdom. Population surveys of this species since the 1960s have revealed a steady decline.-Taxonomy:...

 are found in different lakes.

Proposed extension to national park

In December 2009, Natural England

Natural England

Natural England is the non-departmental public body of the UK government responsible for ensuring that England's natural environment, including its land, flora and fauna, freshwater and marine environments, geology and soils, are protected and improved...

 proposed extending the national park in the direction of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. The proposal was opposed by Cumbria County Council

Cumbria County Council

Cumbria County Council is the county council of Cumbria, a county in the North West of England. Established in 1974, following its first elections held a year before that, it is an elected local government body responsible for the most significant local services in the county, including county...

 who said it would lead to less democratic control and would make local housing less affordable.

Woodlands

Below the tree line are wooded areas, including British and European native oak

Oak

An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...

 woodlands and introduced softwood plantations. The woodlands provide habitats for native English wildlife. The native red squirrel

Red Squirrel

The red squirrel or Eurasian red squirrel is a species of tree squirrel in the genus Sciurus common throughout Eurasia...

 is found in the Lake District and in a few other parts of England. In parts of the Lake District the rainfall is higher than in any other part of England. This gives Atlantic moss

Moss

Mosses are small, soft plants that are typically 1–10 cm tall, though some species are much larger. They commonly grow close together in clumps or mats in damp or shady locations. They do not have flowers or seeds, and their simple leaves cover the thin wiry stems...

es, fern

Fern

A fern is any one of a group of about 12,000 species of plants belonging to the botanical group known as Pteridophyta. Unlike mosses, they have xylem and phloem . They have stems, leaves, and roots like other vascular plants...

s, lichen

Lichen

Lichens are composite organisms consisting of a symbiotic organism composed of a fungus with a photosynthetic partner , usually either a green alga or cyanobacterium...

 and liverworts the chance to grow. There is some ancient woodland

Ancient woodland

Ancient woodland is a term used in the United Kingdom to refer specifically to woodland that has existed continuously since 1600 or before in England and Wales . Before those dates, planting of new woodland was uncommon, so a wood present in 1600 was likely to have developed naturally...

 in the national Park. Woodlands are differently managed: some are coppiced, some pollarded

Pollarding

Pollarding is a pruning system in which the upper branches of a tree are removed, promoting a dense head of foliage and branches. It has been common in Great Britain and Europe since medieval times and is practiced today in urban areas worldwide, primarily to maintain trees at a predetermined...

, some left to grow naturally, and some provide grazing and shelter.