The rocks of Lakeland were laid down over millions of years of volcanic activity and sub-marine sedimentation, eroded by wind, rain, and glaciers of the ice age, which scoured the river valleys, widened them, and formed the lakes. The towering fells hide a violent past: the struggle over a disputed border between England and Scotland; the ruins of a Roman fort at Hardknott testify to an even earlier conflict with the Celtic Brigantes. From border settlements to market towns, mining, and the coming of the railways, this book takes the reader on a journey in words and pictures across the entire Lake District along becks and rivers, down force and ghyll, across precipitous passes, over fells, and through dales, using more than 200 old postcards from the authors' extensive collections. It is a record of soaring mountain ranges with evocative names like Skiddaw, Saddleback, Scafell, and Helvellyn. Tranquil tarns and lakes Windermere, Coniston, Derwent, Ullswater, with their sailboats and steamers, all immortalized by past generations of photographers and artists for the benefit of innumerable tourists and travelers.