Lakes of the Lake District

It is a misconception that the Lake District has "lakes." It is much more than that. If you go by name alone it has only one lake, Bassenthwaite Lake. Semantics aside, the Lake District does has more than one lake. In fact it has multiple lakes of different sizes in the form of meres, waters and tarns, dotted throughout this rugged, yet beautiful landscape. These words are synonymous with the bodies of water that were born is this wide open land, either by glacial withdrawal or by human intervention.

Thanks to the last glacial period of 10,000 years ago, the retreating ice left us with glacially eroded valleys that formed the lake district we see today. Not only the ice, but people too, are responsible for changing the landscape. Haweswater and Thirlmere are reservoirs, although the former was once a natural lake. It was dammed to raise the water level in a bid to supply fresh water for the people of Manchester, at a price that flooded two Cumbrian villages, now lost to the murky darkness. The once ebb and flow of ice and, in much more recent times, people, continue to have an effect on the natural backdrop of the second oldest national park in England after the Peak District, which were both formed in 1951.

The larger of the lakes usually carry the suffix of mere or water, whilst the humble tarn is usually reserved for the smaller bodies of water. However, there are some tarns larger than lakes, just to confuse matters. An example of this is evident in Blea Water (a tarn) being slightly lager than Elter Water, which is the smallest of the lakes. Each body of water, large and small, encompassed by neighbouring fells, woodland and moors, bestow a natural beauty individual in character. One of the best ways to experience this is on foot.

Etymology

The origin of "Mere"

Mere: Pool, small lake, pond. From Old English mere meaning "sea, ocean; lake, pool, pond, cistern," from Proto-Germanic mari. Also from:

• Old Norse: marr
• Old Saxon: meri → "sea"
• Middle Dutch: → maer / Dutch: meer → "lake, sea, pool"
• Old High German: mari / German: meer → "sea"
• Gothic: marei → "sea," mari-saiws → "lake"

The source of these come from the Proto-Indo-European root word mori, meaning "body of water." The larger sense of "sea, or arm of the sea" has been obsolete since Middle English. Mere in this instance refers to the names Buttermere, Grasmere, Windermere, Kentmere, which are recorded from the late 12th or 13th century. The term "water" is used more often for the larger of the lakes.

The origin of "Water"

• Water:

The Lakes of Lakeland

The lakes of the Lake District are creations of nature; beautiful and inspiring. The National Park is home to the deepest and the four largest lakes in England and Wales. Set against a backdrop of Lakeland mountains, known locally as fells, one can easily conjure up thoughts of bygone authors and poets who so loved their craft; forever sealing a picturesque impression of a romanticised setting in one of the wettest parts of the UK.

Water is abundant here; reason alone for its green hues in summer and long, grey winters. There are hundreds of bodies of water in the Lake District, ranging in size from the largest lakes to the smallest pools, many more than most people would ever care to visit. The popular destinations are what brings the masses here to break away from everyday routine. From hardcore hikers and cyclists to the casual, fair-weather day trippers, visitors to the area who explore this great outdoors, do so because its appeal draws them in, time and time again. The lakes are just one, albeit predominantly so, reason for this influx of people every year.

The lakes have been immortalised in text and image by the very people, past and present, with a passion for this rugged landscape. The big lakes are the quintessence of Lakeland, and listed below are 17 bodies of water that give this National Park its name. How these are classified, one would rightly so surmise, is by size. But size alone cannot be the only trait for there are some tarns bigger than the smallest of the big lakes, for example, Burnmoor Tarn near Wast Water, and Seathwaite Tarn near the Old Man of Coniston, both of which are bigger than Elter Water and Brothers Water. One could easily say that each of the lakes have their own distinctive character, companioned by the landscape in which they sit. Size, depth, inflows, outflows, location, and human intervention all play a vital role in our understanding of these expanses of water, which, seen from above, appear to radiate outwards from a central point near the fell of High Raise in Langdale.

Each lake below is the subject of a compendious listing, with a link to the lake's main article (when these have been written).

Bassenthwaite Lake

Main article: Bassenthwaite Lake

Brothers Water

Main article: Brothers Water

Buttermere

Main article: Buttermere

Coniston Water

Main article: Coniston Water

Crummock Water

Main article: Crummock Water

Derwentwater

Main article: Derwentwater

Elter Water

Main article: Elter Water – The smallest of the lakes

Ennerdale Water

Main article: Ennerdale Water

Esthwaite Water

Main article: Esthwaite Water

Grasmere

Main article: Grasmere'

Haweswater

Main article: Haweswater (Reservoir)

Loweswater

Main article: Loweswater

Rydal Water

Main article: Rydal Water

Thirlmere

Main article: Thirlmere (Reservoir)

Ullswater

Main article: Ullswater – The 2nd largest of the lakes

Wast Water

Main article: Wast Water – The deepest of the lakes

Windermere

Main article: Windermere – The largest of the lakes

Further reading

• Smith, Alan (2012). The Big Lakes of Lakeland. The Landscapes of Cumbria No.5. Keswick: Rigg Side Publications
• Smith, Alan (2014). The Smaller Lakes and Tarns of Lakeland. The Landscapes of Cumbria No.6. Keswick: Rigg Side Publications
• Whaley, Diana (2006). A Dictionary of Lake District Place-Names. English Place-Name Society. School of English Studies, University of Nottingham