Friday 13th August marks 70 years of the Lake District National Park as it was founded in 1951.
Home to Scafell Pike, the highest mountain in England, the Lake District is steeped in history and a popular holiday destination for anyone who enjoys the great outdoors . It is the perfect place to enjoy scenic walks, visit market towns such as Kendal, Ambleside and Keswick, swim in the famous lakes and tarns, go fell-running and Wainwright hill-bagging, to name just a few things this magnificent National Park and World Heritage Site has to offer.
If you love the Lake District or are planning to visit, here are some of our favourite guides and maps:
GUIDES
Walking the Tour of the Lake District: A nine-day circuit of Cumbria’s fells, valleys and lakes
£14.95
The 145km Tour of the Lake District takes in the best of this beautiful region in a circular tour. The route is presented in nine stages, plus an optional ‘prologue’ stage from Windermere station to the start-point in Ambleside.
Wild Guide Lake District and Yorkshire Dales
£15.99
With over 750 secret adventures, hidden places and wild weekend escapes. Taking you to places no other guidebook reaches.
Swimming Wild in the Lake District
£20.00
An informative and inspiring book for both new and experienced wild swimmers, exploring the larger lakes in the beautiful Lake District National Park.
Lake District National Park: 10 Leisurely Walks
£6.99
An Ordnance Survey guide with 10 carefully curated walks in the Lake District/South Downs National Park for the casual and less experienced walker, with a focus on accessible routes, quieter areas, parking and public transport options.
Lake District A-Z Visitor’s Atlas & Guide
£5.95
With contoured road mapping at 1:70,000 (1” to 1.1 miles) to show the topography, 15 street plans with guides to main locations, plus a 26-page guide to other places of interest in the region.
Lake District Great Mountain Days: 50 Classic Routes for Exploring the Lakeland Fells
£18.95
Mark Richards’ large format Cicerone guide exploring the classic routes of the Lakeland Fells. The guide is both practical and inspirational in providing details of 50 diverse expeditions on the high fells.
DK Eyewitness Top 10 Lake District
£8.99
This guide breaks down the best of the Lake District into helpful lists of ten – from selected highlights to the best walks, swims and journeys, castles, churches and gardens.
Walking the Lake District Fells – Buttermere
£14.95
This guide describes ascents of 32 Lake District fells that can be climbed from the Buttermere, Crummock, Loweswater and Newlands valleys, including Haystacks, a perennial favourite, and the mighty Grasmoor.
£12.99
Ordnance Survey Pathfinder Lake District covering Coniston, Kewswick and Devoke Water. This selection offers interest, regional variety and balance of routes in the Lake District providing great walks in the area.
MAPS
Wainwright Summits Collect and Scratch Print
£14.99
Scratch Off Wainwright Hill-bagging Print shows all 214 Wainwright fells including their heights, covered by a scratch-off latex. Also featured on the map is a tally that you can update with a dry wipe pen as you go along so you can see how many more you need to ‘Bag’.
Lake District A-Z Visitors’ Wall Map
£9.95
This full colour Visitors’ Map of the Lake District includes a detailed road map at a clear 1 mile to 1 inch (1:63,360) scale, town centre street maps, place of interest details and much more.
Lake District National Park Aerial Map
£9.95
The Fir Tree Aerial Map of the Lake District National Park is a hand-painted, full colour, folded panoramic reference map of the Cumbrian landscape.
Lake District Wainwright Fells GuideUs Map & Tick List
£9.99
Folded map showing the Wainwright Fells divided into seven areas according to the classic series of guides by A. Wainwright at 1:110,000 with names of hills, valleys, passes, lakes, major towns and main roads.
The English Lakes – North-Western Area – Keswick, Cockermouth & Wigton OS Explorer OL4
£8.99
The Explorer series, Ordnance Survey’s most detailed maps recommended for anyone enjoying outdoor activities, provides topographic coverage of Great Britain at 1:25,000. Use our OS Map Search to find the Ordnance Survey map for where you are planning to go.
Kendal & Morecambe – Windermere & Lancaster OS Landranger 97
£8.99
Ordnance Survey’s Landranger series covers the whole of Britain at 1:50,000. National Trails and selected other long-distance paths are marked, as well as on-road and traffic-free cycle routes with their National/Regional Cycle Network numbers. Use our OS Map Search to find the Ordnance Survey map for where you are planning to go.
STANFORDS RECOMMENDS:
English Pastoral: An Inheritance
£20.00
Shortlisted for the 2021 Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing. The author of The Shepherd’s Life returns with a stirring history of family, loss and the land over three generations on a Lake District farm.