Photographing the Lake District: The Most Beautiful Places to Visit (Fotovue Photographing Guide)

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The Lake District (or Lakeland) is by far the UK's most popular national park and it's easy to see why. The Lake District, is a mountainous region in the northwest corner of England, in the county of Cumbria and home to England's highest mountain, Scafell Pike (978m). Known for its panoramas of craggy hilltops (or fells), mountains, tarns and lakes, this area attracts over 15 million visitors a year and is a real draw for photographers. Unlike many national parks around the world, people live and work within the park and their lifestyles, working practices, homes and traditions are intertwined with the location making it a fascinating place to explore and photograph.

Hallinn Fell, Gowbarrow Fell, Silver Crag, and Place Fell provide elevated views of the area, but most photographers will want to stay close to the water’s edge to shoot reflections and foreground.The area around Buttermere is another beautiful Lake District spot for sunrise. Walk around the lake making sure you are near the stand of trees for when the sun finally appears over Dale Head and lights up the scene. CONISTON & ELTERWATER In the above image I wanted to use the drystone wall as a leading line so I was actually looking above the crag and standing on Lingmoor Fell to get this image, but there are many options for compositions on Side Pike itself. While from Waterhead in Ambleside, which is situated at the northern most end of the lake, there are some great photographic opportunities looking south down the lake, with boats often moored here for added interest. Between Windermere and Bowness there is the National Trust owned land of Miller Ground, which runs along part of the eastern shoreline and commands wonderful views of the Langdale Pikes across the water.

Follow the B5285 from Coniston and then signs to Tarn Hows – home to one of the Lake’s best-loved viewpoints. This shot was taken near the roadside, but you can also access the lakeshore slightly higher up via a footpath (near Hassness Country House), and the views from this point give a slightly different perspective again. One of the most photographed buildings in the Lakes. Just near Pooley bridge, go early in the morning and you make get a temperature inversion, making a moody shot. Another classic, especially in the autumn when Catbells seems to turn red and gold, and the pure blue of the Lake below is just magical.Buttermere Valley. This is a place where you can’t go wrong. The whole area around the lake is beautiful and you can go see the famous Lone Tree near the village end of the lake. There are lots of footpaths to explore and several hides which look out over a tarn and wetland, perfect for bird watching.

The prevailing weather and light will definitely play a large part in the success of your images at this location. Ideally, it’s best to coincide your visit with flat, calm conditions and early morning light, but the clouds can open up and provide intermittent light at any time of the day. So, don’t be put off if you can’t make it for dawn. I’ve usually photographed this area in very still, calm conditions and, similarly to Buttermere, the reflections of the surrounding fells can make for some very interesting images. Although the wider, panoramic approach definitely works here too, I liked the more abstract feel of trying to capture the weird shapes and symmetry of the nearby crags and fells for this image. At the foot of the lake, close to the village, are great lakeside views and the pebbly shoreline is home to exposed, gnarly roots. There is also a shapely lone tree on the shore here, which is understandably popular among photographers as it provides a great anchor in a wide-angle composition. While there is plenty to explore in the Penrith and eastern areas of the lakes, Ullswater is the jewel in the crown. Being approx. 9-miles in length, it is the second largest lake in the Lake District.If you visit Ashness Jetty in the morning, you will have the sun lighting the fells in the distance; you can also capture a great shot at sunset, as the sun drops below the distant horizon. A short distance from Ambleside, a walk up Loughrigg Fell soon gives you enough height for a view down the lake, a stile is often used here for the foreground, but you can almost certainly find a point of interest yourself without too much difficulty. When you think of England, your mind probably jumps to Big Ben or the Tower Bridge or the centuries of history the country holds but breathtaking landscapes? That’s not something you immediately associate with England unless of course, you know the country well. Hidden up in the North Western part of the country lies a beautiful little place called the Lake District.

As already mentioned there are various spots to park along the lake edge but please do not park in passing places or obstruct traffic. If time allows, I‘d recommend a walk along Lingmoor Fell from Side Pike. As you climb higher the fells, which are so beautifully wrapped all around the Little Langdale and Great Langdale valleys, become ever greater in number. You’ll find 360 degree views that really are quite staggering. You can park near the cattle grid on the road between Blea Tarn and Great Langdale, although parking is limited to just a few cars. Early morning typically provides the best light here. The jetty shot is a very recent one, and was actually taken the week before all of 2021’s flooding took place. We were able to set up under an umbrella, and were actively waiting for the heavier showers to roll down Derwentwater.To put that into perspective, more than a quarter of the population of the UK will visit the Lakes at some point in a typical year. So, what’s so special about the area? Why visit the Lake District? If you don’t fancy climbing up to Loughrigg to shoot the ‘big’ view, explore the southern end of Grasmere shoreline instead, where there is a weir and good views stretching over the lake toward the Daffodil Hotel. Once voted Britain’s favourite view, it’s easy to see why Wastwater has become one of the Lake District’s most iconic scenes. By the time you reach its shingle shores you feel as though you've entered another world entirely. Even by Lake District standards it’s impressive. Drumburgh Take the short walk from the car park to a viewing platform where you’ll find a beautiful carving showing all the wildlife that can be found on this lowland peat bog. Much of the life here is on the wing with rare large heath butterflies in summer and snipe and short-eared owls in winter. The nature reserve is one mile south of Drumburgh village on the Solway coast, for more information visit www.cumbriawildlifetrust.org.uk Welcome to my collection of professional Lake District Landscape Photography. All pictures are available for sale online as gallery quality, framed landscape prints or stretched canvases to enjoy the Lake District scenery on your walls at home.