Remember the First Time?

With far flung holidays being out of reach this summer, like many other people you may well have decided to spend your summer break in the glorious Lake District and for many of you, it will be your first visit.

It’s a bit daunting, isn’t it? Normally your packing routine would possibly consist of swimwear, shorts, sandals and sarongs but for the Lakes you’ll need to think a little bit harder about your holiday wardrobe. We’re all about layers here because as you know, the UK climate can be somewhat unpredictable. Plus, how do you navigate the 912 square miles of this stunning National Park and get the very best out of your visit?

With so many places to see, we know your initial visit might be overwhelming. What to pack? Where to walk? How to explore safely? And with those common questions in in mind we created #LakeDistrictKind, a how-to guide that’s been designed to help you enjoy every second you spend in the Lakes, while also helping us to look after this landscape we all love .

What to wear in the Lakes…and what not to wear

You’re not alone in exploring the Lakes for the first time. Even the hardiest of our visitors were new here once, including me.

I was about 25 when I first spent some serious time in the Lake District and having never been before, some of the contents of my luggage were highly questionable. Luckily, my partner at the time had grown up holidaying in the Lakes and while he didn’t discourage my more fanciful additions to the suitcase, he did encourage more sensible ones.

It pains me to share this but having just received a pair of red patent leather heels for my birthday, I felt it would be remiss of me not to take them along with me. Yes, really. Luckily, I’d also received my first pair of walking boots so they came too. The juxtaposition of them sat side by side, eagerly waiting for new adventures, is still something I think about (and worry about) regularly.

In my defence, I was staying in a caravan not a tent. Because of course it’s much more acceptable to take red heels to Bassenthwaite if you’re in a caravan…

Heading for the hills?

As I learned over time, planning is key – fail to prepare and prepare to fail, trust me. That extra waterproof? Yes, you will need it because when it rains here, it rains! To help you make less mistakes than I made, our Walker’s Checklist will give you sound advice on what you need to bring if you’re coming with the intention of exploring our fabulous fells. And if you’re aiming to stay here, then there's this webpage.

One of the key messages of #LakeDistrictKind is we’re asking everyone to not only help look after this landscape this summer but also the people and wildlife that live within it. Every year in the Lakes is busy but with restrictions placed on foreign holidays we expect 2021 will be busier than normal but there are lots of ways you can make your stay happy and harmonious for yourself and others.

The Lake District is a working landscape, so we’re asking all of our visitors to be mindful of that and respect things like access for farmers and locals and to also be patient when it comes to things like shopping and accessing tourist attractions. We’re all adapting to a new normal and this transition period is a learning curve for everyone.

Parking in the Lake District

Another thing you will need to navigate is the traffic and parking here. Our country roads and lanes were not made for heavy traffic so expect queues at the busiest times and park sensibly. We’ve opened up even more car parks this year to accommodate as many people as possible and to make that even easier, we’ve created a web page that lets you see the live status of our car parks. Whatever you do, please don’t just abandon your car in frustration and head out on a walk, roads get busy and while it might look like an OK place to park, remember there’s a good chance that you could be blocking access for not only farmers and other road users including emergency vehicles.

The things that brings us all here is the beauty of the place, and we want to keep it that way so please leave no trace from your visit, don’t litter and don’t have camp fires or barbecues because especially in the summer months, out of control fires are one of the biggest threats to the destruction of the landscape and habitat.

Make memories in the Lakes

My first visit was memorable for both the right and wrong reasons. I never got to wear my red heels but that’s OK because my beloved and well-worn walking boots took me on adventures I will never forget. My first fell was Red Pike (having to get that colour in somewhere) and as well as being grateful for the more sensible footwear, I also learned how incredibly important a flask of coffee and a banana would be. Turns out that not only does the bendy fruit give great sustenance while out on a trek, it can also double up as sugar stirrer...as I said, preparation is key. So plan your journey, keep safe, respect the landscape and make memories that will make you fall in love with this place like I did.