Place that found mentions in Wordsworth's poems is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site

The Lake District on 8 July 2017 was awarded the UNESCO World Heritage status, placing it alongside Grand Canyon, Redwood National and State Parks and the Taj Mahal.

The announcement was made by the World Heritage Committee (WHC) of UNESCO following a meeting in Krakwo, Poland, where 33 different sites were under consideration.

The Lake District was praised by the committee for the inspiration that its natural beauty has provided for generations of writers, like poet William Wordsworth, who described the lakes as "the loveliest spot man hath found".

Other UK sites on the UNESCO list include Stonehenge, Durham Castle and Cathedral, the city of Bath, the Tower of London and the Giant’s Causeway.

About the Lake District

• The Lake District is a mountainous region in North West England.

• It is famous for its lakes, forests and mountains.

• The Lake District covers an area of approximately 2362 square kilometres.

• It also contains the deepest and longest bodies of water in England, respectively Wast Water and Windermere.

• It is also known for its associations with the early 19th century writings of William Wordsworth and the other Lake Poets, Beatrix Potter and John Ruskin. The Lake Poets were a group of English poets who all lived in the Lake District.

• Thomas Gray was the first poet to bring the region to attention, when he wrote a journal of his Grand Tour in 1769. However, it was only William Wordsworth whose poems were most famous and influential. Wordsworth's poem "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud", inspired by the sight of daffodils on the shores of Ullswater, remains one of the most famous in the English language.