Lake District confirmed as UK nomination for World Heritage status

View of Ullswater from Gowbarrow Park Credit: Lake District National Park/Andrew Locking

The Lake District has been put forward as the UK's 2017 nomination for World Heritage status.

It's the country's only submission for next year following the Government’s announcement in 2014 that it would be submitting the Lake District for consideration in the category of ‘cultural landscapes’.

Since then, the Lake District National Park Partnership has been working with 25 partners, including the National Trust, Cumbria County Council and Forestry Commission to create a case for international recognition.

The bid document submitted to the United Nations’ cultural agency UNESCO highlights how the Lake District inspired the Romantic poets and is the birthplace of a global conservation movement, including the early formation of the National Trust.

If the bid's successful the Lake District would become Cumbria’s second World Heritage Site after Hadrian's Wall.

There are 29 World Heritage sites in the UK, four of which are in the category ‘cultural landscape’ including the volcanic archipelago St Kilda in Scotland, and the Blaenavon Industrial Landscape in Wales.