Villages and Visitors

When I was writing my novel ‘Fragrance of Violets’, set in a Lake District village, I had to explain to one of my (American) beta-readers that an English village is not a town. Possibly the nearest American equivalent is a ‘township’.

Geneally speaking, an English village is a small and compact settlement of houses which, in the past, has been based on agriculture, mining, quarrying or fishing. I used to think it was size that distinguished a hamlet from a village, but evidently the difference is that a village has an Anglican church whereas a hamlet doesn't. A typical village (in the past) also had a pub or inn, a few shops catering to local needs, and a blacksmith.


The main difference between a village and a town is that a village’s administrative system is the ‘parish council’ which is the lowest tier of local government, below town (or borough), city and county councils.

In the UK, there still tends to be an idealised image of the village, which is seen as being a haven away from the bustle of modern life, and is represented as quiet and harmonious, if sometimes a little inward-looking. Families lived in the same village for generations, and everyone knew everybody else.

The reality today is somewhat different in many areas today, but especially in the Lake District which is a popular tourist area. The small roads became inadequate to cope with the influx of traffic, so extra roads (and large car-parks) have been built in what are known as the ‘honeypots’, the places which attract the most visitors. These have become commercialised and the shops cater for tourist requirements (souvenirs etc) rather more than simply meeting local needs.  

House prices were pushed up by ‘off-comers’ wanting to buy holiday homes, making them too expensive for the local people. In some places, nearly half the houses are holiday homes, bought either for personal use or for letting out. Many of these lie empty all winter. In an attempt to reverse this trend, some property is now restricted to ‘local occupancy’ meaning it can only be sold to people who are employed or about to be employed in the local area, or who have lived locally for over 3 years.

At the same time, however, it's accepted that tourism is the lifeblood of the Lake District, now that the old industries of the area have died out. The National Park Authority’s aim is to promote sustainable tourism i.e. to minimise the negative aspects and retain the advantages of tourism, while at the same time protecting the environment and people’s quality of life. (Incidentally, Jack and Abbey, my hero and heroine, find a way to reconcile their earlier, different views about this  in ‘Fragrance of Violets’.)

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The main Visitor Centre for the Lake District National Park is at Brockhole, between Windermere and Ambleside. It opened in 1969 and is set in 30 acres of terraced gardens leading down to the shores of the lake and with superb views of the Lakeland fells.

The house was built in the late 19th century by a wealthy Manchester merchant, who employed local landscape gardener Thomas Mawson to lay out the formal gardens, and landscape the rest of the 25 acres to provide stunning view of the lake and fells.

In the house, there are exhibitions about the Lake District, with film and slide shows and a wide variety of events is held every year. These include Easter treasure hunts, bird and animal recognition activities, water activities, musical concerts, and family fun days. For children there’s an adventure playground and climbing wall; for their parents, there are picnic tables and a café.

There are also Tourist Information Centres in most of the Lake District towns, including Ambleside, Bowness, Coniston, Grasmere, Hawkshead, Kendal, and Windermere, which provide a wealth of information of places to go, things to do, guidebooks and maps, transport, accommodation, and special events.

Our ‘local’ Tourist Information Office in Hawkshead was an Aladdin’s Cave of information, and I still have many books, maps and leaflets I obtained there. The office used to be near the main car park, and was always our first stop when we went into the village. The main reason was that the weather forecast information was always pinned up on the noticeboard outside the office.

We didn’t need to be told when it was pouring with rain though!