Lake District Peninsulas

You can't go many miles on the Lake District Peninsulas without meeting water - sea, lakes, tarns, rivers, becks, waterfalls - it's got the lot.

BIRKETT HOUSES TARN - This little known tarn is secluded and quiet when Windermere just a mile or two away is heaving. In summer it can be a riot of colour when it is covered with water-lilies. Arthur Ransome lived nearby at Low Ludderburn and fished and skated here.

KELLY HALL TARN - This little tarn on Torver Back Common is a gem, especially in winter when it freezes and the Coniston Fells have snow. Those who tramp the Cumbria Way along the shore of Coniston Water would do well to make a short detour to take in this splendid view. In fact many who follow the path up from the Land Rover garage to the left of the tarn miss the view as well - you need to go right of the tarn across the outflow and up a small incline to get this view (it is open access land).

URSWICK TARN - This reed-fringed lowland tarn is at the head of a sheltered valley surrounded by low hills or "drumlins" and is only a couple of miles from the coast. It occupies a hollow or "kettle" left by receding ice. Water is scarce in limestone country so wild animals would have gathered here, leading to the old English name of Urse-wic or Bison lake. In turn, a human settlement arose making the area very rich in history since Roman times. The tarn is a wildlife haven.

YEW TREE TARN - Visible from the Coniston to Ambleside road, next to a lay-by, this pretty tarn was man-made to provide a trout fishery for the Monk Coniston Estate. A 20 minute walk provides a delightful circular tour round the tarn with a very good variety of bird life along the way. In spring the west bank is a riot of colour with every shade deciduous azalea.