10 photos to make you want to drop everything and move to the Lake District

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The Lake District has become the first UK national park to become a Unesco World Heritage site, taking its place alongside globally recognised landmarks such as the Taj Mahal, the Grand Canyon and Machu Picchu.

Home to Lake Windermere and Scafell Pike, England's highest peak, the Lake District is the 31st site in the UK and its overseas territory to be recognised by the UN's cultural committee, the BBC reports.

The Unesco committee singled out the 885sq/mi region of Cumbria for its significance to artists during the Romantic movement, as well as its unique landscape. According to the site's listing on Unesco's registry, the "combined work of nature and human activity has produced a harmonious landscape in which the mountains are mirrored in the lakes".

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It's no wonder the Unesco delegates were bowled over. The region's tranquil lakes, rugged mountains, wild forest and peaceful valleys mean the Lake District offers a seemingly endless array of stunning vistas in every season. Check out our gallery of stunning images that may make you want to throw it all in and move there immediately.