When is a lake not a lake?

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The South Norwood Tourist Board (SNTB) based in the London Borough of Croydon has requested that Cumbria Tourism cease from using the label ‘Lake District’ to describe the vast area of outstanding beauty speckled with many bodies of water, so that they can use it instead!

The reason for this request is that according to SNTB, only one of Cumbria’s lakes is actually a lake while the rest can be described as tarns, meres or waters. By comparison, South Norwood boasts two lakes.

The claim has yet to become legal and I suspect it is a publicity stunt to promote the delights of South Norwood. I doubt the claim will be upheld since according to Cumbrian angler and environmentalist Eric Hope, “…the words tarns, lakes and meres are all just local names with their roots in a mix of Cumbric, Old English, Old Norse and modern English… The Lake District is steeped in tradition. There's a huge difference between Cumbria and Croydon and it's not just in the spelling.”

I wonder if Alfred Wainwright (1907-1991), the renowned author and illustrator of the seven-volume ‘Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells’, ever considered writing ‘A Pictorial Guide to South Norwood’?

 


05 Apr 2013
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"This is a fantastic opportunity for our students!  I'm sure Spellzone will be invaluable in helping them to improve their spellings and therefore improve the quality of their writing in all subject areas!"

Teacher, High School, UK