There is little to be heard apart from the ducks on the water, and the breeze rustling through the trees. It would be hard to find a more tranquil spot in Britain.

People don't come here to see dead animals

Graham Belcher, hotel manager

This is Coniston Water, one of the jewels of the Lake District. Its natural beauty has for years attracted visitors from all over the world.

But not this year. The foot-and-mouth epidemic has not just been a disaster for Cumbria's farmers, it has also left many in the tourist trade facing ruin.

When the scale of the crisis on the farms became clear, visitors planning spring and summer holidays started to cancel their bookings.

'Grim' prospects

When I checked into the Crown Hotel, in the centre of Coniston, every room was empty, and there were only a handful of people in the bar.

Hotel manager Graham Belcher said: "The prospects for this summer are very grim.

"Easter just didn't happen for us. People with advance bookings are cancelling, and it is the same at other hotels.

"Tony Blair says the countryside is open, but it isn't, because people can't go where they want to go.

Graham Belcher's business has been hit hard

"People don't come here to see dead animals."

A number of key attractions in the Coniston area have already been cancelled or postponed because of the risk of spreading foot-and-mouth disease.

Businesses dependent on the tourist trade - hotels, pubs, restaurants - have either been laying off staff or cutting their hours.

Philip Johnston runs a holiday cottage business. So far this year, bookings have been 25-30% of normal.

"It's a scenario I thought could only happen if Sellafield blew up," said Mr Johnston, referring to the nuclear plant along the coast.

"There was no unemployment in this village until three weeks ago," he said.

Off limits

Over the Easter holiday he had to cut his cleaning staff from 15 to one.

Mr Johnston criticises the government for concentrating on farmers and doing little for the tourist industry.

He also worries about whether the government can persuade people to return to the countryside.

"It's like saying to people, come to Spain, but you can't go on the beach," he said.

With many of the fells off limits to walkers, visitors to Coniston congregate around the lake, where they can at least take a trip on a boat.

The Barham family have no regrets about their visit

Peter Barham, from Tring in Hertfordshire, is staying in a holiday cottage with his wife Julie and two small children, Luke, 4, and Eleanor, 2. He has no regrets about going ahead with the trip.

He said: "We thought about cancelling, but we would have lost money.

"There is still a lot to do here, and we have had a super time. It's just that there have been a few walks we couldn't go on."

His wife agrees, although admits she was apprehensive as they drove into Cumbria.

She said: "I saw animals in the fields, and thought there might also be pyres.

"I wondered if we would have to divert the attention of the children, but we've seen nothing like that around here."

School trips

As the family boarded a launch for a trip across the lake, a party of children from Grange Park Junior School in Blackpool were clambering onto a sailing boat.

They are staying at a nearby adventure centre, and because of the farming crisis their activities have been curtailed.

"We can't really go off the site now, so it has made a tremendous difference," said their outdoor education teacher Jill Lockett.

Schoolchildren still seem to be having fun

"Many of the centres run by local education authorities have been closed because of foot-and-mouth."

Shadow of disease

Many local people are wondering what kind of Lake District will remain after the foot-and-mouth epidemic is over.

Eric Taylforth has a farm in the nearby Langdale valley.

His 2,500 sheep have not so far come into contact with the disease, but it has struck at a farm only five miles away.

He believes the next few weeks will be crucial for Cumbria, but worries that even if the epidemic ends soon, it will be too late for many who have followed a traditional farming way of life from one generation to the next.

"I think about 2,000 farms in the Lake District have now gone...they have no animals left," he said as he held a newborn lamb.

"It's a wipe out. It's the biggest disaster we have ever had, and Maff has totally lost control. They don't seem to know what they are doing.

"If the Lake District loses many more sheep, I don't think it will ever recover."

At 1400GMT on Thursday BBC News Online will be in Coniston for a live webcast on the foot-and-mouth crisis.