Where Are England’s Rainiest Places? (clue – Cumbria!)
Here’s a list of the wettest places in England (Preston nearby is apparently the wettest city). But you’ll find that nearly all the wettest places are in The Lake District (England’s largest National Park).
While in the south, the pavement can be dry in a few hours, here you can be soaked to the skin in a downpour, and it just rains and rains and rains!
If you see a sheep on its back due to a rain-soaked coat (or pregnancy), you need to ‘right the sheep’ and stay with it, until the rain has drained off. It’s pretty simple, just grab the wool and upright, then stay with it, until the rain has drained away.
So why is this area of northwest England rainier than everywhere else? It’s all to do with the nearby Atlantic Ocean, which carries large amounts of moisture from the wind. Mountains (all of England’s highest ones are here) force air to rise.
This causes ‘orographic lift. As air rises and cools, it can’t hold moisture, so water vapour then condensed into rain clouds – and lots of them!
So it’s time to don your natural rubber wellies and sustainable raincoat, and put up your windproof brolly.
Here’s a quick lowdown on England’s rainiest places!
Seathwaite, Cumbria (in the Borrowdale Valley) is the wettest inhabited spot in England, with over 3,500 millimetres of rainfall (four times the national average).
Sprinkling Tarn, Lake District. Perched high above Borrowdale, this has rain in thick sheets, and surroundings peaks (Great End and Seathwaite Fell), scoop up Atlantic storms.
Grasmere, Lake District. Wordsworth’s home is also one of the wettest areas, that’s why it’s so green! Just shy of 2,800 millimetres a year.
Keswick, Lake District. Sitting under Skiddaw’s dark slopes and beside Derwentwater, the town collects just over 2,600 millimetres of rainfall a year.
Whinlatter Pass, Cumbria. The high ridge, carved into the northern Lakes, acts as a net for rain from the west. This narrow pass receives nearly 2,500 millimetres each year.
Shap, Cumbria. High on the eastern edge of the Lake District, Shap feels the full force of passing weather fronts. Here, over 1,500 millimetres of rain a year falls on open ground.
Honister Pass, Lake District. This is carved by carved by ancient glaciers and constant streams. Rain collects here, drawn in by the surrounding peaks. The pass sees above 2,700 millimetres of rain.
Glenridding, Ullswater. The village of Glenridding, at the southern tip of Ullswater, soaks in the rain and keeps its lakeshore bright. Almost 2,200 millimetres of water fall every year.
Buttermere, Lake District. Tucked away between high ridges, Buttermere stays wet. It averages more than 2,000 millimetres of rainfall a year.
Capel Curig, Snowdonia. Just across the Welsh border, this has over 2,900 millimetres of rain, puffy clouds tumbling in from the Irish sea.
How to Stay Safe During Thunderstorms
- Keep a safe distance from trees and metal objects (umbrellas, golf clubs, motorbikes, wheelchairs, tent poles).
- Stay inside cars (fabric tops could catch fire, if struck).
- If exposed, squat close to the ground with hands on knees, and tuck head between them, touching as little of the ground with your body (don’t lie down).
- If your hand stands on end, drop to the above position immediately.
