Are Cumbria and the Lake District worth visiting? Honestly, probably not.
Flat, wet, cold and miserable — you definitely wouldn’t want to spend any time there.
While you might pass through it on the way to Scotland, it’s not something worth paying any attention to.
10 reasons why Cumbria and the Lake District are not worth visiting
To prove the point, here are 10 reasons why Cumbria and the Lake District really aren’t worth your time.
The towns are terrible
Take Ambleside, just north of Windermere. Awful.
Then there’s Grasmere, Hawkshead and Buttermere — all equally bad.
In fact, there are so many of these supposedly charming places that it becomes exhausting to list them all.
The lakes are completely overrated
Behave.
Windermere is England’s largest natural lake, lined with lively spots like Bowness-on-Windermere and used for watersports. Hardly impressive.
Ullswater is just a long, winding lake people insist on calling one of the most beautiful in England, complete with picturesque villages.
Derwentwater, near Keswick, is surrounded by fells and somehow ends up being ideal for exploring by boat or on foot. Not exactly inspiring, is it?
In fact, just look at one:
The food is dreadful
Kendal Mint Cake — just a peppermint-flavoured sugar block that happened to get Edmund Hillary up Everest. Nothing special.
Herdwick lamb — a distinctive meat from sheep native to the fells. Again, nothing to shout about.
Cumberland sausage - Where would we even be without it?
Sticky toffee pudding - Thanks to Cartmel, this is another unforgettable dish.
It’s flat and boring - a hiker’s nightmare
The Lake District is only England’s largest National Park so clearly there’s nowhere to go.
You’ve probably heard of the five peaks, Striding Edge, or Scafell Pike - England’s highest mountain.
Scafell Pike & Scafell at close quarters today. #LakeDistrict #Cumbria pic.twitter.com/RO1hvDkUi0
— Phil (@PhilSipocz) April 7, 2023
As Zanna Van Dijk puts it: “As an avid hiker, it is true hiking heaven.
“Glacial lakes, fell mountains, quaint villages and dramatic landscapes which wouldn’t go amiss in New Zealand.”
Sounds dreadful.
No one famous has ever come from there
Name one famous Cumbrian? Exactly, there are only these few:
- Sir Chris Bonington, climber and explorer
- Lee Brennan, singer with the pop group 911
- Stan Laurel, Ulverston-born film comedian
- Beatrix Potter, writer of children's tales and farmer
- Donald Campbell, world record breaker
- Postman Pat, animated creation of John Cunliffe
- John Ruskin, poet, writer and conservationist
- William Wordsworth, writer and Poet Laureate
- Jonathan Swift, writer of Gullivers Travels purportedly born in Whithaven.
- Emlyn Hughes, Barrow-born footballer
- Eddie Stobart, Businessman, haulier and entrepreneur
- John Dalton, noted scientist and father of the Atomic Theory
- Helen Skelton, do we need to explain?
What do we have to thank the Lake District and Cumbria for?
The aforementioned sausage and pudding, but also a hell of a lot more.
The Lake District inspired famous writers and artists, including Wordsworth and Potter, but many, many more.
The main "Lake Poets" of the Romantic era in the Lake District were Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
These poets were heavily inspired by the region's landscape and natural beauty, which influenced their work, including Wordsworth's "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" and Coleridge's "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner".
The Lake District also inspired and led to the creation of the conservation movement and the National Trust.
I can’t imagine driving through there. What is there to see anyway?
Lake District, Windermere, UK pic.twitter.com/1zr8ajWhCr
— 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘀 (@visualsofearth1) October 30, 2025
The views are nothing special
You certainly wouldn’t want to look around.
The lakes, the fells, the landscapes — all completely underwhelming.
Do they even know what football is in Cumbria?
Carlisle United arguably produced one of the most dramatic last-minute goals of all time.
Aguero? Nope, Jimmy Glass.
With less than a minute left on the clock in the final game of the 1998/99 season, Carlisle needed to score to win the game and stay in the football league.
None other than goalkeeper Jimmy Glass stepped up and saved the club.
Only his third game for Carlisle, whilst on loan, we should add.
And the wildlife? Just sheep, surely
Except for endangered red squirrels, ospreys, golden eagles, red deer, and otters.
But yes, mostly just sheep.
Alright then, maybe it is worth visiting after all.
What’s your favourite place to visit in Cumbria? Tell us in the comments below.
