Local news, honest reviews and useful guides for making more of Cumbria.
Penrith, often called the “Gateway to the North Lakes,” is more than just a bustling market town on the edge of the Lake District. Behind its lively streets and red sandstone buildings lies a history stretching back over a thousand years, marked by battles…
Carlisle is Cumbria’s only city, a place where Roman legions, medieval masons and Border Reivers all left their mark. Walk its red-sandstone streets and you will pass a Norman castle, a cathedral with one of the largest east windows in England, Victorian…
Drive along the A66 near Keswick and you might notice something curious on the fellside above Bassenthwaite Lake: a gleaming white rock, standing stark against the grey scree of Barf. This unusual landmark is known as the Bishop of Barf, and behind its bright…
Fringed by the Irish Sea and Morecambe Bay, Barrow-in-Furness rose from a small coastal hamlet to a Victorian boomtown and one of Britain’s most important shipbuilding centres. Its story blends monastic power, iron and steel, planned docks and railways, and a…
Where the Rivers Cocker and Derwent meet on the north-western edge of the Lake District, Cockermouth has grown from a Roman frontier landscape into one of Cumbria’s most handsome Georgian market towns. Its story is shaped by water, trade, craft, and a…
Discover Ambleside’s history, from the Roman fort at Waterhead and medieval markets to slate and watermill industry, Bridge House, Victorian tourism, and outdoor culture.
Discover the history of Keswick in the Lake District, from Neolithic Castlerigg Stone Circle and medieval market life to graphite mining, pencil-making, Romantic poets, and Victorian tourism.
Silloth-on-Solway sits peacefully on the Solway Firth in northwest Cumbria, a coastal town designed in the Victorian era with charm and foresight reminiscent of a seaside resort.
Workington, a coastal town by the mouth of the River Derwent, has a story that stretches from Roman roots to industrial powerhouse and beyond.
Tell us about a brilliant Cumbria place we may have missed. Every suggestion is checked before publication.
