local produce...

Increasingly food is becoming a major draw for visitors to the Lake District and Cumbria and it's not difficult to see why. Our region is synonymous with top quality food and drink and our local produce and local food initiatives play a crucial role in ensuring that this sector continues to prosper.

For hundreds of years, our living, breathing landscape has provided the perfect environment for growing and rearing a mouth-watering range of delicious local specialities - crumbly Cumbrian cheeses, free range rare-breed pigs and wild boar, traditional Cumberland sausages and dry-cured hams, tasty Herdwick mutton and lamb, fresh fish, Morecambe Bay Shrimps, award winning freshly baked breads and cakes, relishes and preserves, original Sticky Toffee Puddings and Grasmere Gingerbread, real local ales, damson gin and of course not forgetting the climbers' favourite staple, Kendal Mint Cake. Visitors can sample and buy some of our specialities at regular farmers markets and food festivals throughout the county, and savour the best of our produce in imaginatively designed dishes from our award-winning and Michelin-starred restaurants, inns and cafes. For more information on local producers and food and drink in Cumbria visit the food and drink section.

Local producers also incorporate more than simply food and drink with some fantastic art and craft producers located all over the county. From handmade jewellery, cards, gifts, ceramics, soaps and bath products, textiles, sculptures and breathtaking prints and paintings, the Lake District is a perfect treasure trove of hidden gems - many of which use locally sourced materials and natural ingredients. For more information visit the shopping section.