LAND USES IN THE LAKE DISTRICT

1. LAND USES IN THE LAKE DISTRICT

2. The Lake District The Lake District has a limited number of land use opportunities, this is due to 2 main factors: • The Lake District is a National Park, this means that there are a number of regulations and restrictions to land use. Any activity that will damage or ‘spoil’ the natural beauty of the area will not be allowed. 2. The Lake District is an upland glaciated landscape, this means that the land is very steep. This automatically rules out many activities.

3. So what are the land uses in the Lake District? • Farming • Forestry • Quarrying • Water Supply • Settlement • Tourism

4. Farming • Farming in the Lake District is dominated by sheep farming, because most of the land is unsuitable for other types of farming because: • Podzol soils are leached by the heavy rain and have little humus. • The slopes are very steep, which makes the use of machinery very difficult. • The climate. Temperatures are low, which leads to a very short growing season, and cloudy conditions do not encourage plant growth. • The Lake District is quite remote. The nearest large settlement is about 150km away, therefore farmers cannot grow perishable produce. • There is some cattle grazing on the valley floors, where the land is too marsh to grow crops.

5. Forestry • 11% of the Lake District is forested, and this is increasing. • Forestry is such an important land use in the Lake District because: • It does not cause too many conflicts with other land users 2. It reduces soils erosion on steep slopes

6. Quarrying • In the past, there were many slate quarries, but very few remain open today. • There is a large granite quarry in Shap • There are some limestone quarries at the edge of the Lake District

7. Water Supply • The lakes and reservoirs are used by Greater Manchester and by Sellafield nuclear power station • There are many reservoirs in the Lake District because; • Reliable, heavy rain • Impermeable rock reduces infiltration • It is not too far from conurbations which need water, such as Manchester • It has ‘ready-made’ reservoirs in the form of lakes, which makes it cheaper than constructing man-made ones. • Demand for water is increasing

8. Settlement • The Lake District was quite densely populated during Pre-Roman times because there was water, fuel, building material and defense. • However, today the Lake District has a low population density because; • Farming is increasingly mechanized and offers few, low-paid jobs • It is difficult to attract manufacturing industries to an area with poor communications, little flat land, a small local market and a small labour force, so there are few well paid, skilled jobs • There are few high order shops and entertainments. • There is depopulation in the remotest parts • In some villages and towns the population is rising, as they become retirement centres or dormitory centres. • New housing and especially second homes are very controversial.

9. Tourism • Over 12 million visitors visit the Lake District every year. • It is the second most popular National Park because; • Natural attractions eg. It has the highest mountain in England, there are many upland glacial features, it offers a vast contrast to city life. • Human attractions eg the M6 allows easy access from Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds and Scotland, the cultural/historic connections eg. Wordsworth and Beatrix Potter. • Activities eg hillwalking and watersports • The number of tourists continues to increase causing conflicts.

10. Task 1 Thinking about all the different land uses in the Lake District, think of some conflicts that may arise between different land users, and give reasons for these conflicts. Task 2 Again, thinking about all the different land uses in the Lake District, think about what advantages and disadvantages these bring to the Lake District. You might want to think about employment opportunities etc.

11. Conflicts in the Lake District Read page 71 of the New Higher Geography textbook and answer the questions in Activity 4 at the bottom of the page.