Have you been Tarnbagging in the Lake District?

We’ve had Staycation, Flashpacking and Glampacking, but now there’s a new neologism specific to the Lake District – Tarnbagging.

At least there is if you’re reading Richard Nelsson’s latest post in the Guardian post in which he describes this new pastime which naturally needed a new buzzword name.

What is Tarnbagging? In essence this is similar to train spotting, but rather than sitting around on a cold platform all day with a flask of tea and Parker jacket, you go out into the Lake District countryside and find yourself a tarn, or two and mark these off your “official” list. The flask of tea and jacket are optional in this case, although generally recommended, but the views are generally much more enjoyable!

What is a tarn? Although not exclusively used in Cumbria, the term “tarn” generally means any small body of water within the hills which is a bit too small to call a lake. For it to be called a tarn, the body of water has to be formed within mountains and is almost exclusively created as a result of a glacier.

How many tarns in the Lake District? There’s no absolute agreement on this, but generally it’s agreed that there are at least 60 named tarns in the Lake District although in reality there could be well over 100. Not all the tarns even have a name yet, so you could extend the game to discovering new ones and enter them into Wikipedia tarn page. Should be plenty here to keep even the most enthusiastic walker happy.

Could this really take off? Considering it appeared in the Guardian and we know that Guardian readers are generally more outdoors type people, then I’d say look out for it in the next tourism promotions for the Lake District and Northumbria.

More Lake District Links:
Richard Nelsson’s tarnbagging idea
Lots of things to see in the Lake District
Hotels in the Lake District
Lake District self-catering cottages
Lake District campsites