<P> In 1724, Daniel Defoe published the first volume of A Tour Thro' the Whole Island of Great Britain . He commented on Westmorland that it was: </P> <P> the wildest, most barren and frightful of any that I have passed over in England, or even Wales itself; the west side, which borders on Cumberland, is indeed bounded by a chain of almost unpassable mountains which, in the language of the country, are called fells . </P> <P> Towards the end of the 18th century, the area was becoming more popular with travellers . This was partly a result of wars in Continental Europe, restricting the possibility of travel there . In 1778 Thomas West produced A Guide to the Lakes, which began the era of modern tourism . </P> <P> West listed "stations", viewpoints where tourists could enjoy the best views of the landscape, being encouraged to appreciated the formal qualities of the landscape and to apply aesthetic values . At some of these stations, buildings were erected to help this process . The remains of Claife Station (on the western shore Windermere below Claife Heights) can be visited today . </P>

What is the population of the lake district