For centuries, the English Lake District has been renowned as an important cultural, sacred and literary landscape. It is therefore surprising that there has so far been no in-depth critical examination of the Lake District from a tourism and heritage perspective. Bringing together leading writers from a wide range of disciplines, this book explores the tourism history and heritage of the Lake District and its construction as a cultural landscape from the mid eighteenth century to the present day. It critically analyses the relationships between history, heritage, landscape, culture and policy that underlie the activities of the National Park, Cumbria Tourism and the proposals to recognise the Lake District as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It examines all aspects of the Lake District's history and identity, brings the story up to date and looks at current issues in conservation, policy and tourism marketing. In doing so, it not only provides a unique and valuable analysis of this region, but offers insights into the history of cultural and heritage tourism in Britain and beyond.

About the Author
Professor John K. Walton is IKERBASQUE Research Professor at the Department of Contemporary History, University of the Basque Country, Leoia, Bilbao, Spain and Jason Wood, is Director of Heritage Consultancy Services, Lancaster, UK.

Reviews

"The book is alert to ironies, conflicts, and complications within the development of tourism as a cultural practice, and between tourism and other claims of the landscape. Chapters acknowledge some of the social exclusions in the making of the Lake District as a tourist landscape." - The AAG Review of Books, Stephen Daniels, University of Nottingham, UK

"...for any advocate of landscape history and devotee of the Lake District, it is a must read. The bulk of the book is the elegantly told story of the central role the Lake District has played in the evolution of the British preoccupation with and love of landscape." - Dame Fiona Reynolds DBE, Master of Emmanuel College, Cambridge and former Director-General of the National Trust

"Overall, the essays in this volume are full of interest, both substantive and methodological." - Harriet Ritvo, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

"... this book is interesting, informative, and a good read adding an additional dimension to our knowledge of the cultural processes underpinning the development of the Lake District as a tourism destination." - The Journal of Historical Geography

"... this book is an excellent read for anyone interested in the Lake District, the history of tourism, cultural landscapes and national parks." - Landscape History

"This book effectively explores the complex making of the destination with richly written essays providing perspectives from a variety of academic fields (including history, literature, and museum studies). The book successfully identifies and illustrates how the 'key themes in the Lake District's history and identity' (p. xv) have worked both individually and together to create the Lake District as a distinctly unique tourist destination." - Journal of Heritage Tourism

"To be welcomed as full of variety and of historical perspectives with which most literary critics will be unfamiliar, but which allow the poetry and prose of the Lakes to be approached with an informed, as well as quizzical eye, while still demonstrating its significant cultural and geographical legacy." - European Romantic Review

Book Information
ISBN 9781138246256
Author Jason Wood
Format Paperback
Page Count 296
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 430g