What you'll learn

• Where ice covered the UK during the last ice age.
• How glaciers weather, erode, transport and deposit material.
• How to recognise and explain major glacial landforms.
• How glaciated upland areas are used today, especially for tourism, and how conflicts are managed.

Big picture: why glaciation matters in the UK

If your school has chosen Glacial landscapes in the UK as one of your Physical landscapes options, you need to understand both the physical processes and the human uses of glaciated uplands.

During the last ice age — often called the Devensian in Britain — ice reached its maximum extent around 20,000 years ago. Ice covered all of Scotland, much of Wales, northern England, upland areas such as the Lake District and Pennines, and Ireland. Southern England was mostly not covered by ice, but it was still very cold, with periglacial conditions: cold, icy ground near but not under an ice sheet.

How glaciers change landscapes

Freeze-thaw weathering

This is common in upland glacial areas because temperatures often move above and below freezing. Over time, cracks widen and pieces of rock break off. This provides loose material for glaciers to pick up and transport.

Erosion: abrasion and plucking

Abrasion happens when rocks frozen into the base and sides of a glacier scrape against the valley floor and walls. Think of it like coarse sandpaper grinding over rock.

Plucking happens when meltwater enters cracks in rock, freezes onto the rock, and the moving glacier pulls pieces away. This is especially effective on steep back walls and valley sides.

Movement and transportation

Glaciers move mainly because of gravity. Ice may deform internally, slide over wet bedrock, or move in a curved way called rotational slip.

Glaciers transport material of many sizes, from fine clay to huge boulders. Some debris is carried on top of the ice, some inside it, and some at the base.

Bulldozing happens when the moving glacier pushes loose material in front of it, especially near the glacier snout, which is the lower end of the glacier.

Deposition: till and outwash

Glaciers deposit sediment when they lose energy, melt, or can no longer carry their load. Ice directly deposits till, which is unsorted material containing a mix of clay, sand, gravel and boulders. Meltwater streams deposit outwash, usually sorted sand and gravel, because flowing water separates particles by size.

Landforms created by glacial erosion

Glacial erosion creates some of the most distinctive upland landforms in the UK. The diagram below brings together the main erosion landforms you need for AQA.

Corries

Corries begin as snow-filled hollows. Snow compacts into ice, then rotational slip moves the ice in a curved motion. Freeze-thaw weathering breaks up rock around the hollow. Plucking steepens the back wall, and abrasion deepens the basin. When the glacier melts, water may collect behind the rock lip to form a tarn.

Arêtes and pyramidal peaks

An arête is a narrow, knife-edge ridge formed when two corries erode back-to-back, or when two glaciated valleys erode on either side of a ridge.

A pyramidal peak is a sharp mountain peak formed when three or more corries erode backwards into the same mountain. The remaining rock is steep and pointed.

Glacial troughs, truncated spurs and ribbon lakes

Before glaciation, rivers often create V-shaped valleys with interlocking spurs. A glacier is much wider and more powerful than a river. It cuts through those spurs, leaving steep valley sides called truncated spurs.

A ribbon lake is a long, narrow lake found on the floor of a glacial trough. It may form where a glacier overdeepened softer rock, or where moraine blocks drainage after the ice melts.

Hanging valleys

A hanging valley is a smaller tributary valley left high above the main glacial trough. The main glacier erodes more deeply than the smaller side glacier, so after melting, the tributary valley appears to “hang” above the main valley. Waterfalls often form where streams drop from the hanging valley into the main trough.

Landforms created by transportation and deposition

Glaciers carry and deposit material in ways that create very different landforms from erosion. The key is to ask: was the material dropped directly by ice, shaped under moving ice, or laid down by meltwater?

Moraine

The main types are:

• Lateral moraine: debris deposited along the sides of a glacier.
• Medial moraine: debris running down the middle of a glacier where two glaciers join.
• Terminal moraine: a ridge of debris marking the furthest advance of a glacier.
• Ground moraine: a layer of till deposited beneath the ice.
• Recessional moraine: ridges left as a glacier pauses during retreat.

Erratics

An erratic is a boulder transported by ice and deposited on bedrock that is different from the rock type of the boulder. Erratics are useful evidence of past ice movement because they show material has been carried from somewhere else.

Drumlins

A drumlin is a smooth, elongated hill made of till. Drumlins often occur in groups called swarms. They usually have a steeper blunt end facing up-ice and a gentler tapered end pointing down-ice, so they can indicate the direction of former ice movement.

Example upland area affected by glaciation: the Lake District

The specification asks for an example, not a full case study, of a UK upland area affected by glaciation. A strong choice is the Lake District, Cumbria, in north-west England.

Economic activities in glaciated upland areas

Glaciated uplands are not just physical landscapes; people use them in different ways.

Tourism

Tourists are attracted by dramatic scenery, mountains, lakes, walking routes, climbing, watersports and historic villages. In the Lake District, places such as Keswick, Ambleside, Bowness-on-Windermere, Helvellyn and Scafell Pike attract large numbers of visitors.

Farming

Upland areas often have thin soils, steep slopes and a cool, wet climate, so farming is usually extensive rather than intensive. Sheep farming is common because sheep can graze rough upland pasture.

Forestry

Steep slopes and poorer soils may be used for commercial forestry, especially conifer plantations. Forestry provides timber and jobs, but it can change habitats and reduce the natural appearance of the landscape.

Quarrying

Glaciated uplands often contain valuable rock, such as slate, granite or limestone. Quarrying provides materials and employment, but it can create scars in the landscape, noise, dust and lorry traffic.

Conflicts and management

A land use conflict happens when different groups want to use the same place in different ways. In glaciated uplands, conflicts often happen between development and conservation, which means protecting and carefully managing the environment.

Common conflicts include:

• Tourists want access, parking and facilities, but conservationists want to protect footpaths, habitats and quiet areas.
• Farmers may be affected by walkers leaving gates open, dogs worrying sheep, or cars blocking narrow lanes.
• Quarry companies provide jobs and building materials, but local people may object to noise, dust, traffic and visual damage.
• Forestry can support the economy, but plantations may reduce biodiversity or affect views.

Tourism example: Lake District National Park

The Lake District is a strong UK example of a glaciated upland area used for tourism. It receives many millions of visits each year — often quoted at around 18–20 million, depending on the year and data source.

Attractions for tourists

Tourists visit for:

• Mountains such as Scafell Pike and Helvellyn.
• Lakes such as Windermere, Ullswater and Derwentwater.
• Glacial scenery including corries, arêtes, trough valleys and ribbon lakes.
• Walking, climbing, cycling, boating and photography.
• Honeypot settlements such as Keswick, Ambleside and Bowness-on-Windermere.

Impacts of tourism

Tourism brings economic benefits: jobs in hotels, cafés, shops, outdoor activity companies and transport; income for local businesses; and support for services that local residents also use.

There are also social impacts. Tourism can create traffic congestion, crowded villages, pressure on parking, and rising house prices, especially where second homes and holiday lets reduce housing availability for local people.

Environmental impacts include footpath erosion, litter, disturbance to wildlife, water pollution from boats or busy settlements, and visual pressure from car parks or visitor facilities.

Management strategies

The Lake District uses a range of strategies to reduce tourism impacts:

• Footpath repair, such as stone pitching and drainage through projects like Fix the Fells.
• Traffic management, including car parks, buses, boats and encouragement of cycling and walking.
• Planning controls by the National Park Authority to manage new development.
• Visitor education, including signs, ranger advice and countryside codes.
• Zoning, where more intensive tourism is encouraged in some areas while quieter or fragile areas are protected.