Water is everywhere in the Lake District. You will find every size of lake, from England's largest at Windermere to tiny patches of water perched improbably on the edge of massive drops. Waterfalls that would be a major tourist attraction elsewhere go nameless and almost unnoticed.

Here we will be building up our guide to the lakes and tarns that give the area so much of its appeal.

Any division of the lakes into categories is of course entirely arbitrary. I have based my division on a combination of size and familiarity. Some of the relatively minor lakes are just as beautiful as many of the major ones (Rydal Water and Grasmere are especially fine).