The Lake District

Hello there. Can you see my sparkly water. My water is like a big, shiny mirror for the bright blue sky. I have tall, green mountains where fluffy white sheep live and say, 'Baa. Baa.' If you listen very closely, you can hear the birds singing pretty songs in my trees. You can hear my little streams go bubble, bubble, bubble as they run down the hills. I am a beautiful, happy place. I am the Lake District in England.

A very, very long time ago, big, slow rivers of ice moved across the land. These were called glaciers. They were like giant ice bulldozers that carved out my deep valleys and big hollows. When the ice melted, the hollows filled up with water and became my lovely lakes. That was about 15,000 years ago. Many friends have come to visit me. A kind lady named Beatrix Potter loved me so much. She imagined a little bunny named Peter Rabbit hopping and nibbling in my gardens. On October 16th, 1943, she shared her farms so that I would stay beautiful forever. Another friend, William Wordsworth, saw my yellow flowers and wrote a happy poem about how they danced in the sunshine.

So many people loved me and my dancing flowers. They wanted to keep me safe and pretty for all the children in the world to see. So, on a sunny day, May 9th, 1951, I became a very special place called a National Park. This means I am protected so everyone can come and visit. Now, families come to play here every day. They sail little boats on my lakes and walk together on my green paths. I am a place full of happy stories and fun adventures. I am waiting for you to come and play, too.