Geography Fieldwork - The effects of Tourism in Keswick

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Oliver Simon        Geography Fieldwork

Content Page

Content Page        

Introduction        

Background to the Lake District.        

Theory        

Tourism        

Footpath Erosion        

Key Terms        

Aims        

Hypothesis        

Sampling        

Systematic sampling        

Random Sampling        

Methodology        

Analysis        

Human Analysis        

Physical Analysis        

Evaluation        

Bibliography        


Introduction

The Lake District is a rural area in North West England; it is located in the county of Cumbria. Refer to the maps for further location information.

The areas of the Lake District we are focusing on are the town of Keswick and the

walk up to the peak of Cat Bells

Background to the Lake District.

  • The size of the national park is 2,292Km2
  •  It has a population of 42,239.
  • It became a national park in 1951.

There are many types of rock in the Lake District according to wikipedia some of the rocks date back ‘500 million years’ and include limestone, sandstones, siltstones, mudstones and slate. The Lake District has one of the dampest climates in England. According to wikipedia the average annual precipitation is over ‘2000mm’, this is mainly due to the relief and northerly position. The Mean temperature ranges from ‘3  in January to around 15 °C in July’ says wikipedia this is relatively high for it’s latitude for example when compared to Moscow which has the same latitude, ranges from -10°C to 19°C. In Fact The Lake District is one of the rainiest areas in England, in 2005 there was extreme flooding in Keswick.

Theory

In this section I will discuss several theories, which the National park authorities have to take into consideration when making new policies

Tourism

Tourism along with mining and farming are the three highest earning industries in the Lake District. Tourism has a major affect the local and regional economy. Tourism in the Lake District only became popular in the late 18th century, with the invention of cars and trains meaning more people could travel, as well as more people becoming wealthy and since then has grown to the lake districts highest earner. In fact according to the LDNPA tourism fact sheet in the national park ‘50% of the workforce’ is employed within the tourism sector this when compared to the national statistic being ‘6%’ shows how dependant the Lake District is on tourism. Tourism is when people travel for leisure, sightseeing and recreational purposes. The invent of tourism was when workers started to get rights and walked out for longer holidays and better holidays, this along with he expansion of road networks, the price reduction of the car, the expansion of the train network and the invention of faster, cheaper and more commercial air travel. The main reasons for visitors to visit the Lake District is for ‘scenery and landscape’ and ‘peace and quiet’ according to Waugh 1998. The main purpose of visitors to the area is a ‘long walk’ says Waugh 1998. The tourism fact sheet also says that national park ‘policies must also safeguard the natural beauty and wildlife of the area on which the health of the tourism industry ultimately depends.’ After a survey of the national park in 1994 the following conclusions were drawn according to the LDNPA.

  • ‘The Quality of the landscape and scenery is the reason why most people come to the Lake District and is the factor most important to their visit.’
  • ‘The high level of repeat visits to the park (80% of all visitors), both day visitors and holidaymakers, has major implications for information delivery and interpretation’
  • ‘To prevent environmental degradation, there must be recognition that there are limits to the numbers of people and cars that area can hold.’
  • ‘One opportunity to increase visitors spending would be to encourage more visitors to stay within the national park, rather than coming for day visits from home’
  • ‘The highest component of visitor expenditure is shopping. Further extensive retail outlets are unlikely in the national park, however working with the local producers to promote crafts and foods unique to the area should ensure a higher proportion of visitor spending benefiting the local community.’

The Main aims of the LDNPA (Lake District National Park Authority), is to ensure that the area is protected for generations ahead  and look after the residents and tourists of the area.

Tourists can cause many problems for areas including:

  • Leaving rubbish in the towns and in protected areas making the areas less attractive for tourists and for residents. And endangering wildlife in the area
  • Tourists usually arrive in car causing noise and atmospheric pollution that can permanently damage the area and the large disfiguring roads running through what used to be a serene valley. Moreover tourists often drive to attractions and around the area once they have arrived instead of using the public transport system.
  • This also causes traffic congestion on the small country roads. In fact 90% of visitors travel to the Lake District by car.
  • Tourists usually only go to certain resorts at certain times so during winter months in Keswick there it may be deserted and all shops may close meaning locals have to travel further a field for shops causing more damage to the environment.
  • Jobs made through tourism may only be seasonal as well.
  • To link on to the point above during the high season the town can be so crowded that you have to queue for a long time to buy groceries this can be extremely irritating for locals.
  • Tourism can increase house prices due to rich people from the cities buying second homes and renovating them, increasing the prices. This means that locals struggle to afford houses this can cause problems for the local economy.

Tourists also do have positive effects on an area

  • They bring money in to the area helping the local economy and local business; it also provides a good method of diversification for farming.
  • New facilities and amenities will be built such as gyms and swimming pools aimed for the tourists but can also be used by locals. Other examples are airports and train stations.
  • Many Jobs will be made through tourism.
  • Tourist like to travel to areas with good entertainment, this is a benefit for locals as well
  • They help renovate and develop the area with new tourist buildings or renovate derelict buildings replacing them with new complexes.

The effects section is paraphrased from:

        GCSE Geography

        

Footpath Erosion

Another theory of footpath erosion in the Lake District this is caused by ‘4 million visitors a year’ walking on ‘6km’ of footpath. That according to Themes and issues causes the cycle of footpath erosion in which vegetation is walked on by walkers the soil becomes compacted and the vegetation dies leaving bare dry soil, The soil is then washed away by heavy rainfall which results in the development of gullies or deeply cut channels, the actual path becomes complicated to walk on and so the process begins again on a new piece of vegetation just to the side of the original footpath, and the cycle continues.

        

The factors that cause footpath erosion according to Themes and issues are:

  • ‘Recreational pressure the intensity of footpath use will vary according to the attractiveness of the area and the seasonal, weekly and daily functions’
  • ‘Slope Angle The greater the angle the more erosion will occur (particularly angles greater than 18 degrees)’
  • ‘Surface Water heavy rain or channelling of water can have strong erosive power’
  • ‘Vegetation type some vegetation types are able to withstand trampling better than others.’
  • ‘Soil type certain soils are more prone to erosion (e.g. peat) and soil characteristics can affect the rate of erosion (e.g. particle size, stoniness).’
  • ‘Exposure to wind soils which are loosened can be blown or washed away more easily.’  Wind is often more powerful at higher altitudes.
  • ‘Frost heave when water freezes within soil the soil particles expand pushing upwards when the soil haws it is loosened and is easily eroded.’

The LDNPA separates these into physical and human factors. The physical being ‘angle of slope’, ‘soil depth’, ‘soil type’, ‘drainage’, ‘compaction’, ‘climate’, ‘vegetation type’, ‘length of growing season’ and ‘altitude and aspect of slope’ I then groups the human features ‘visitor pressure’, ‘type of activity being carried out’, ‘proximity to car parking and other facilities’, ‘popularity of route/walk’ and ‘winter use’

The diagram on the left shows how footpath erosion can be managed effectively.

Diagrams from the LDNPA Education Footpath Erosion Fact sheets

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Management

The Following are ways of managing footpath erosion; all of witch are used by the LDNPA to control the effects of footpath erosion. The Photographs used below were taken by myself on cat bells, so we no that the LDNPA uses all these things at cat bells.

1) Pitching ...

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