Lake District finally secures World Heritage status

Granada
Lake District
World Heritage
Cumbria
Sunday 9 July 2017 at 4:51pm

View of Ullswater from Gowbarrow Park. The photo was included in the Lake District’s bid for World Heritage Status. Credit: Lake District National Park/Andrew Locking

The Lake District has been named as a World Heritage Site, Unesco has announced.

The region joins sites including the Taj Mahal, the Grand Canyon and Stonehenge on the prestigious list.

Lord Clark of Windermere, who chaired the Lake District's bid, said the decision to recognise the region's culture, art and literature, as well as its landscape, was "momentous".

18 million people visit the national park each year.

It's the third time the national park has tried to get the status.

A Unesco committee in Krakow, Poland, backed the national park, in Cumbria and home to England's highest mountain Scafell Pike, which was among 33 nominations of sites all over the world.