About Cumbria
Cumbria was formed from the old counties of Cumberland, Westmorland, and part of North Lancashire, and is now England's second largest county in size. Inside is the Lake District National Park, 30 miles across, containing England's highest mountains , and some of Englands biggest lakes. The Lake District National Park covers fells, dales, lakes and villages,it also includes part of the beaches on the West Coast. Beautiful and historic scenery surrounds you......... North Cumbria
Julius Caesar landed twice in Britain in 55 BC The Romans used Cumbria for routes into Scotland, and also to protect the southern settlements, resulting in the construction of Hadrian's Wall, a 73 mile long defensive structure with forts, ditches, encampments and watch towers.
As early as the 12th Century there is evidence of mining and quarrying in Cumbria, and it probably dates back to Roman times.
Nenthead is less than five miles from Alston - the highest village in England.
There are some 50 stone circles in Cumbria, including some of the earliest stone circles in Britain.Long Meg near Penrith is one of the finest .Local legend claims that Long Meg was a witch who with her daughters, was turned to stone for breaking the Sabbath, as they danced wildly on the moor. The circle is supposedly magic, so that it is impossible to count the same number of stones twice, but if you do then the magic is broken. Centre of Cumbria
At five miles long, and with a maximum depth of 184 feet, Coniston Water is the third largest of the lakes. It provided an important fish source for the monks of Furness Abbey in the 13th Century.
Sir Malcolm Campbell chose Coniston for his attempt at the water speed record in 1939.On his death, his son Donald took up where his father left off. His aim was to better 300 miles per hour, which he did on 4th January 1967, but the craft, 'Bluebird', shot up into the air and disappeared into the lake.
On 8 March 2001, Bluebird was raised from the bed of Coniston Water, on 28 May the remains of what was later proved to be Campbell's body were brought from the lake. West Cumbria
The artist L.S. Lowry often stayed in Cleator Moor.
One day , Lowry noticed crowds of people outside Cowles fish and chip shop, opposite the Westminster Bank. He borrowed pastels and set to work at once. The pastel drawing was sold recently for more than twice the value of the property itself. He painted several pictures of buildings, including , the former Westminster Bank, and the Wath Brow Church.
East Cumbria
Mallerstang, together with the other Pennine Dales and the Upper Eden Valley, are among England's few remaining wild and peaceful places. David Bellamy described this general area as "England's last Wilderness".It lies between Mallerstang Edge/High Seat on the Eastern side and Wild Boar Fell on its western side, and roughly covers the area from Kirkby Stephen, south to Garsdale.
King Arthurs Round Table is a prehistoric circular earthwork bounded by a ditch and an outer bank, at Eamont bridge, just South of Penrith.
In the seventeenth century two standing stones were recorded near the northern entrance.The site has nothing whatever to do with the legendary king it is named after (predating him by at least 2500 years),but still nice to see..........
No matter which end of Cumbria you visit,you will find something to make you want to come back again and again.......
