Basak Tanulku, an independent researcher who conducted her PhD research study in Sociology at Lancaster University, says the Lake District’s natural and cultural landscape must never be forgotten

As a keen visitor to the Lake District and an admirer of its beauty, I would like to discuss the meaning and importance of its natural and cultural heritage in a time of change.

As anyone knows, the Lake District is famous for its natural landscape, such as fells, lakes, rivers, caves and even the all-changing air, all of which play their role in the making of this spectacular place.

However, it is also appraised for its cultural landscape which took shape as a result of a long history, different industries, particularly farming and mining, and the associated built environment, such as old farmhouses and cottages, mines, Victorian terraces, as well as stone circles, cairns, medieval churches, peel towers and castles.

It is a legendary landscape which can fascinate with stories about the last battle of the regional king Dunmail, who was killed near Thirlmere and whose crown was thrown in Grisedale Tarn and St. Herbert, a hermit who kept himself in isolation in a small island in Derwentwater.

It is also known for the literary and artistic heritage of the Lake Poets, scattered through the region, from the daffodils of Ullswater to the cataract of Lodore.

This landscape, both human and nature made, is experiencing some challenges emerging from the recent economic crisis, which has resulted in redundancies and cuts to local services.

This is furthered by Storm Desmond and the subsequent floods in December 2015, which led to losses in local businesses, road closures, and holiday cancellations.

Following the floods, there is the need to renovate damaged buildings and prepare the rest for an environmentally resilient future.

But, in addition, at the moment there is a tendency to modernise the area, to target more differentiated visitors’ profile, particularly the more affluent in our society.

Another challenge is the recent nomination of the Lake District as the UK’s candidate to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site under the category of 'cultural landscape' to be decided in 2017. This could be a good way to guarantee the protection of the area's heritage, for it to receive more funding and as a means of promoting the region to attract more visitors, particularly the more educated.

However, some will fear that becoming a World Heritage Site could lead to a frozen landscape, where any change is seen as damaging it the some will worry that the increasing number of visitors would lead to increasing pressure for building more facilities, which can ruin even the most isolated areas of the region.

All these challenges - economic crisis, climate change, the need to attract new visitors, and a potential change in its status, from a national park into a UNESCO World Heritage Site - should make us to think about the meaning of the protection and the heritage of the Lake District.

These might also create a tension between the old built environment, which can be regarded as part of the cultural heritage and the new one, aiming at attracting increasing numbers of visitors.

In this context, heritage might look like a luxury and a nuisance in a time of severe challenges and there is a danger it could be neglected as a result of the will to make more profit.

Heritage can also appear as something belonging to the past and contradicting with the novelty of the future.

However, it is important to create a balance between protection of heritage and provision of economic viability for the local people, while accommodating domestic and international visitors.

In this process, both natural and cultural landscape should be considered and anyone who would like to invest in the area, should respect the natural, cultural, literary and historic heritage of the Lake District.