Why is Bassenthwaite called the Lake District's only lake?

It is the only one of the National Park's sixteen major waters with 'Lake' in its official name. The others are still lakes geographically; their historical names use forms such as water or mere.

Did the Ordnance Survey invent the name Bassenthwaite Lake?

No. A 1783 map used 'Broadwater or Bassenthwaite Lake', before the Ordnance Survey's nineteenth-century county mapping. OS maps helped standardise an existing name rather than creating it.

What is the difference between a mere, water and tarn?

They are historical name elements, not strict geological categories. Old English 'mere' means a lake or pool, 'water' is descriptive, and Old Norse 'tarn' means a small lake or pool, though local usage varies.

When is a Lake District Lake Not A Lake

Bassenthwaite Lake: The Only One Named a Lake in the Lake District

Bassenthwaite is the only one of the National Park's sixteen major waters with 'Lake' in its official name. The form predates Victorian Ordnance Survey maps: a 1783 map already used 'Bassenthwaite Lake'.

8 August 20266 min read