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One of six borough councils in Cumbria. Covers the Workington-Maryport-Cockermouth-Keswick area.
The Alston area of Cumbria includes the Nenthead area.
There are separate categories for the outlying villages and their surrounding areas - Hawkshead, and Great Langdale.
Ambleside, at the heart of the southern Lake District, is beautiful but busy. Its scenic setting, one mile north of Lake Windermere, guarantees its popularity. Grey stone houses, B&B's, hotels, galleries, and shops catering to the tourists abound.
The Appleby area of Cumbria includes the Temple Sowerby area.
Appleby developed as the market town of Westmorland after the Norman Conquest, having a strategic position in the Eden valley. It is an attractive market town with a great deal of interest and charm. The remarkable Lady Anne Clifford devoted much of her time to restoring the neglected estates, castles and churches in the area, including Appleby Castle. She is buried in St Lawrence's Church. Appleby is famous for its Horse Fair, set up by charter in 1685 as a fair for horse trading. The population of Appleby is approximately 2600.
Arnside is a modest sized, unspoilt, holiday resort on the estuary where the River Kent enters Morecambe Bay. It is a haven for birds, and the surrounding countryside contains a wealth of flora and fauna. Here is the National Trust owned Arnside Knott, which with neighbouring Silverdale in Lancashire, has done much to secure the designation of 'Area of Oustanding Natural Beauty'.
Aspatria [the place of St Patrick's ash tree'] is a small town in North West Cumbria, between Wigton and Maryport. There has been a settlement here for over 3000 years, and lies on the route of a busy Roman road.

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Barrow-in-Furness is a large industrial town which grew from a tiny 19th Century hamlet to the biggest iron and steel centre in the world, and a major ship-building force, in just 40 years. The railway was introduced to carry iron-ore, slate and lime-stone to the new deep water port. Its prosperity grew with the development of the steel and ship-building industries. With a population of approximately 60,000, the main employer is still the shipyard, now owned by BAE Systems Marine.
One of six borough councils in Cumbria. Covers the Barrow-in-Furness area.
Bassenthwaite is a small village, not far from Bassenthwaite Lake, in the shadow of the Skiddaw massif. It has two churches, including the remote St Bega, on the Cumbrian Way, beside the lake. Here is the Tudor mansion Mirehouse, renowned as a literary centre, and much visited by Southey, Tennyson and Wordsworth. The Bassenthwaite area includes the Thornthwaite and Braithwaite areas. The area has become important recently as the nesting place for a family of ospreys, with viewing facilities in the nearby forests.
The Borrowdale area includes the Watendlath area of Cumbria.
Borrowdale is the valley stretching from Keswick, alongside Derwentwater lake to the Honister Pass. It contains the small villages of Rosthwaite, Stonethwaite, Seatoller, and Grange. It is generally regarded as the most scenic area in the Lake District. The Honister slate mine produces the beautiful green slate that is used in so many of the local buildings.
Braithwaite is a small village a few miles west of Keswick, at the southern end of Bassenthwaite Lake. This category also includes the neighbouring village of Thornthwaite.
The Brampton area of Cumbria includes the Lanercost, Birdoswald, Gisland and Bewcastle areas.
The market town of Brampton, in northeast Cumbria, was founded in the 7th century. A wide and partly cobbled main street was ideal for the market, first held in 1252, its charter granted by Henry III. Its moot hall is now the tourist information centre. St Martin's Church is famous as the 'Pre-Raphealite' church, with windows designed by Sir Edward Burne-Jones, and made in the William Morris studio. Nearby is the ancient Lanercost Priory, and the few remains of Hadrian's wall in Cumbria. The population of Brampton is approximately 4,400.
Brough is a twin village. The southern part, Church Brough, lies on a former Roman road and was the setting for the Norman Brough Castle (once the site of a Roman camp). The northern area, Market Brough, is sited on a medieval road. The difference in the two villages relates to the functions they once served - Church Brough's houses stand around a market square decorated with a maypole, while Market Brough boasts a wide and long main street. The village's claim to fame lies in its 18th-19th century importance as a coaching town for the England-Scotland run. More than ten inns catered to the stagecoach trade.
The history of Broughton-in-Furness dates back to the 11th Century, with the oldest building thought to be St Mary's Church. The focus of the town is the Georgian market square with its obelisk, erected to mark the jubilee of King George III in 1810. Broughton was once an important market town, particularly for the woollen and cattle trades. It was also important as part of the iron making industry, with the nearby Duddon iron works being the best preserved example of the industry. The tourist area of Coniston is only a few miles from Broughton.
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    This category lists sites for Hotels, Motels, Inns and other similar establishments in Lorton offering paid casual accommodation in serviced rooms.
    The Caldbeck area of Cumbria also includes the Hesket Newmarket and Sebergham areas.
    The traditional fell village of Caldbeck is situated under the Northern Fells of the Lake District, almost equidistant from Penrith, Carlisle, Keswick, Wigton and Cockermouth. In 1112, the first part of St Kentigern's Church, which is still the heart of the village, was built. The churchyard is the resting place of John Peel the famous huntsman.
    Please only submit sites that are specific to Carlisle. When submitting a site, please select a suitable subcategory.

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    Carlisle (the Border City) is the main shopping, commercial and industrial centre in the northern half of Cumbria, and a fair amount of southern Scotland. The Romans established a settlement In Carlisle primarily to serve the forts on Hadrian's Wall. In the 12th century, King Henry I allowed the founding of a religious establishment, later making the town a diocese, and thus making the Priory into a Cathedral. The population is approximately 72000.
    One of six borough councils in Cumbria. Covers the Carlisle, Brampton, Bewcastle area.
    Site for businesses selling sporting or recreational goods should be submitted to Business_and_Economy/Shopping.

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    A small medieval village in South Cumbria, just two miles from Grange-over-Sands. Famous for its Priory, one of the north of England's finest ecclesiastical buildings, and its village shop - creators of the famous 'sticky toffee pudding'.
    The Cleator Moor area includes the Frizington area. Rowrah and Lamplugh are in the Ennerdale category.
    Cleator Moor developed rapidly in the 19th Century, as the industrial revolution demanded more and more coal, limestone and high grade iron ore. Cleator Moor and all the villages around it - Frizington, Rowrah, Keekle, Bigrigg - were a maze of railways and mines which produced the materials for iron works in Cleator Moor and Workington. Early in the 20th Century supplies began to decline, and now there is little industry here. The population is about 7500.
    The Cockermouth area of Cumbria includes the Broughton, Pardshaw, Redmain, and Brigham areas.

    The Lorton Valley and Bassenthwaite Lake areas are separate categories.

    Lying just outside the boundary of the Lake District National Park, Cockermouth is an attractive market town not overwhelmed by the tourist atmosphere of Keswick and Ambleside. Cockermouth grew up at the junction of the two most important rivers in the area - the River Cocker, flowing out of the lakes Buttermere, Crummock and Loweswater meets the River Derwent on its journey to the sea at Workington. Cockermouth is famous as the birthplace of the poet William Wordsworth, and Fletcher Christian, who led the mutiny on 'The Bounty'. The population is approximately 8000.
    Until the copper mines, dating from Jacobean times, were revitalised about 1859, Coniston was a scattered rural community. It features 'The Old Man of Coniston', rising dramatically behind the houses when seen from the village centre. Coniston is a good centre for walkers and climbers, and those wanting to investigate the Tilberthwaite Slate quarries. The Victorian period was one of great prosperity for the community, when many wealthy patrons, including John Ruskin settled in the area. He lived for the last 30 years of his life at Brantwood, just across the lake. Donald Campbell broke the water speed record on Coniston Water in 1955, and was killed attempting to regain it again in 1967. He is now buried in Coniston.
    One of six borough councils in Cumbria. Covers the Whitehaven, St-Bees, Wasdale, Seascale and Millom area.
    The ancient town of Dalton-in-Furness lies in a narrow valley on that part of Furness which extends deep into Morecambe Bay. Once this was the leading town of Furness, and was an important centre for administration and justice. The ruins of Furness Abbey are nearby, as is the Lake District's only zoological park. It has a population of approximately 11600.
    Dent is the only village in Dentdale, and is famous for its delightful cobbled streets. A fountain of pink granite in the village centre, where the three cobbled streets meet, commemorates Dent's links with Adam Sedgwick, one of the greatest field geologists of his time. Dent, in the valley of Dentdale, one of the 'Yorkshire Dales' was once in North Yorkshire, but because of boundary changes in now in Cumbria. Its railway station, on the famous Carlisle to Settle railway, is the highest mainline station in England.
    One of six borough councils in Cumbria. Covers the Penrith - Appleby - Kirkby Stephen area.
    Egremont is a small market town, which has held a market charter since 1267. It has a wide main street, overlooked by the remains of a Norman Castle. It now contains Europe's only working iron ore mine. The population is about 8000.
    The Ennerdale area includes the Rowrah and Lamplugh areas of Cumbria.
    Ennerdale is a small village about 2 miles from Cleator Moor and Egremont, and a mile from Ennerdale Lake.
    The Eskdale area of Cumbria includes the Wasdale, Santon Bridge and Boot areas. Gosforth and Holmrook are in the Seascale category
    Eskdale is the valley, stretching from Gosforth, near Seascale on the West coast of Cumbria, through to the foot of Hard Knott pass, and contains the small villages of Santon Bridge, Eskdale Green and Boot. It is very popular with tourists, being close to Scafell - England's highest mountain. The small preserved steam Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway travels along the length of the valley.
    Glenridding is a small, largely tourist village at the southern end of Ullswater lake. It grew in importance with the development of the Greenside Lead Mine, though this is long closed, with few buildings remaining other than those now used as a Youth Hostel and mountain huts
    The Grange-over-Sands area of Cumbria includes the Cartmel, Holker Hall and Flookburgh areas.
    Grange-over-Sands is a quiet seaside retreat on the Southern tip of the Cartmel peninsula, between the mountains and the sea, and only 7 miles from Windermere. Grange is a pretty resort with an Edwardian flavour and a mild climate. It is on the shores of Morecambe Bay.
    The Grasmere area of Cumbria includes the Rydal area.
    Grasmere is probably the Cumbria's most popular village, thanks to William Wordsworth. Today Grasmere is totally given over to the tourist industry, with plenty of gift shops, and places to eat and stay. Most of the buildings date from the 19th or early 20th Century, though the farms around Grasmere are much older. The Church dates from the 13th Century.
    The Great Langdale area of Cumbria includes the Chapel Stile, Elterwater, Little Langdale and Skelwith Bridge areas.
    Great Langdale is the valley stretching from Ambleside through Chapel Stile to the famous Dungeon Ghyll Hotel, at the foot of the 'Langdale Pikes' - which provide serious challenges for hikers and climbers.
    A pleasant village near Penrith, with many 17th century cottages. The nearby Greystoke Castle [not open to the public], stands in a vast wooded park of some 6000 acres. Greystoke church, dating from 1255 is one of the largest in Cumbria. To the east of the village are three follies built by the 11th Duke of Norfolk - Fort Putnam, Bunkers Hill and Spire House.
    General interest online guides and online directories for Cumbria. Sites that are specific to a particular topic are listed within the appropriate topic subcategory.
    The Hawkshead area of Cumbria includes the Outgate, Wray Castle, Far Sawrey, Near Sawrey and Grizedale Forest areas.
    Hawkshead is an ancient township that has flourished since Norse times, belonging to Furness Abbey until the 12th Century. Hawkshead is still the same tiny village of higgledy-piggledy houses, archways, and squares beloved by William Wordsworth and Beatrix Potter. Tourism is now the main industry of Hawkshead, with many pleasant inns, guest houses, teashops and gift shops.
    Includes health and medical resources specific to the region.
    The Kendal area of Cumbria includes the Staveley, Burnside, Crosthwaite, Levens and Sizergh areas.
    Kendal was the largest town in the County of Westmorland (though not the capital which was Appleby), before it became part of Cumbria. It was a one of the country's main manufacturing towns from the 14th Century until the 19th Century, with many mills on the River Kent. The layout of the town is characterised by the narrow yards and lanes branching from the main street. Kendal is an attractive, historical town, still the centre of a lot of local industry. It is less than a mile from the National Park boundary but is overlooked by the majority of people heading for Windermere and Grasmere. The population of Kendal is approximately 26,000
    The Keswick area of Cumbria includes the Threlkeld and Thornthwaite areas.

    The Borrowdale and Bassenthwaite areas have their own category.

    Situated between the huge bulk of Skiddaw and the gentle beauty of Derwentwater, Keswick has become the major centre for tourism in the north lakes. This pretty market town offer a wide range of attractions for visitors, from shops and restaurants to museums with a difference, and boating trips around lake Derwentwater. Keswick has many literary connections, including Beatrix Potter, John Ruskin, Hugh Walpole, Robert Southey, William Wordsworth and Alfred Lord Tennyson. The population of Keswick is about 5000.
    The Kirkby Lonsdale area of Cumbria includes the Casterton and Lune Valley areas.
    Kirkby Lonsdale is a historic market town between the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales. It is a very ancient settlement - Romans Saxons, Normans and Danes all carved an impression, and the town was included in the Domesday Book of 1086. A host of 17th and 18th Century buildings now accommodate inns, restaurants and shops.
    The Kirkby Stephen region of Cumbria includes the Ravenstonedale, Stainmore and Brough areas.
    The market town of Kirkby Stephen lies at the head of the Eden Valley, the source of which is at Mallerstang Valley, to the south east. Kirkby Stephen was granted a market charter in 1361, and still holds a lively market.
    The Lake District is the largest of the National Parks, and contains 16 lakes, more than 150 high mountains, 6 National Nature Reserves, 100 sites of Special Scientific Interest, over 50 delectable dales, and hundreds of towns, villages and hamlets within its 885 square miles of breathtaking countryside.
    Longtown is a small town north of Carlisle, which grew up on the stagecoach route to Edinburgh, at a crossing point on the River Esk. The town has long claimed a connection with King Arthur - the parish is called Arthuret - and the parish register states that a battle took place in the 6th century in which the king was involved. It is claimed Arthuret church is the resting place of the king. It is now the site of the largest sheep market in Europe.
    Lorton comprises two villages - High and Low Lorton, which combine to create an attractive community of houses between 150 and 300 years old. The valley lies alongside the River Cocker, which flows from Cockermouth to the lakes Crummock Water, Buttermere and Loweswater. George Fox, founder of the Quakers, preached here under an ancient yew tree, which is also famous for having a poem written about it by Wordsworth.
    The village of Lowther, a few miles south of Penrith, has been the home of the Lowther family since 1283. The family are still the largest landowners in the Lake District. Lowther Castle, built between 1806 and 1811 to a design by Robert Smirke, was the former home of the family until 1930, when the grandeur was too much, and the castle was abandoned in favour of a smaller home in the nearby village of Askham.
    Maryport was the site of a Roman port, built to complement the harbour at Ravenglass to the south. Many Roman remains are now in the Senhouse Roman Museum, once a Royal Naval Reserve Station. The modern town of Maryport was the creation of the Senhouse family in the 18th century, who developed the small fishing village into a coal port. It was a planned town with terraces of cottages built on a grid system, with employment centring on coal mining and ship building. Today is has a thriving tourist industry, based on the harbour area. The population is about 11500.
    The Millom area of Cumbria includes the Haverigg area.
    Millom has a varied history with a rich industrial heritage, founded on iron-ore mining and steel making in the 19th Century. Little evidence remains of that activity, although it was amongst the largest industrial sites of its type in the world. The iron ore mining took place in nearby Hodbarrow, which today is a major RSPB nature reserve bordering an artificial lagoon. The population of Millom is about 7500.
    Newby Bridge is a small village adjoining the River Kent at the southern end of Lake Windermere. It got its name from the five-arched stone bridge built across the river in 1651. It caters mainly for the passing tourist trade, and has a railway station on the preserved Lakeside to Haverthwaite Railway.
    Orton is a pretty village, south of Appleby. It is a popular staging post on the Coast to Coast walk, before the long haul to Kirkby Stephen. Bridges cross and re-cross the two village becks enclosing a small central green that shares space with 17th and 18th century cottages. Orton Hall, a grade II listed Jacobean mansion, built of stone in 1662, is a self-catering establishment.
    The Penrith area of Cumbria includes the Kirkoswald, Lazonby, Langwathby, Melmerby and Shap areas.

    Other outlying areas have their own categories - Glenridding, Pooley Bridge, Greystoke, Lowther and Orton.

    Penrith is a large town acting as a regional centre for the eastern Lake District, lying just outside the National Park. Its position on the strategic route to and from Scotland has resulted, since Roman times, in its development as a military centre. Penrith was once the capital of Cumbria. The attractive town is the hub of the Eden Valley. It is an important shopping centre, with a good mix of traditional shops and sophisticated arcades. Leading off Penrith's main streets are many old yard entrances with interesting inscriptions on the lintels. The population of Penrith is about 14200.

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    Pooley Bridge is a village spanning the River Eamont, at the northern end of Ullswater. It is spread out along two main streets lined with charming old stone houses and cottages. Today it is a busy place catering mainly for the tourist trade.
    The Ravenglass area also includes the Muncaster, and Waberthwaite areas.
    Ravenglass is the only coastal town within the Lake District National Park, and lies on the estuary of three rivers - the Esk, the Mite and the Irt. Ravenglass became an important naval base for the Romans in the 2nd century, though little remains of this now. Once iron ore, granite and copper ore were brought to the estuary by narrow gauge railway from mines near Boot, about 8 miles away. This line has been preserved as the 'Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway', now a major tourist attraction. A mile or so away is Muncaster Castle, with its splendid gardens and owl centre. Nearby, Drigg Dunes, an important nature reserve, are home to Europe's largest colony of Black Headed Gulls.
    Please only suggest sites relating to the village of Ravenstonedale in Cumbria to this category.
    Village in Cumbria.
    The Seascale area of Cumbria includes the Sellafield, Calder Bridge, Gosforth, Drigg, and Holmrook areas. Eskdale and Wasdale are in the Eskdale category. Muncaster is in the Ravenglass category.
    Seascale is a small attractive seaside resort, significantly enhanced in Victorian times by the introduction of the Furness Railway in the 1850's. Rich in history, the village can trace its origins back to an early Norse settlement and to Roman Britain. Nearby is the Sellafield Nuclear Site, with the world's first commercial nuclear power station, Calder Hall, and the controversial reprocessing plant.
    The Sedbergh area of Cumbria includes the Garsdale area.
    The attractive old market town of Sedbergh, with its old world atmosphere, is not only set in the magnificent western dales of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, but is also close to the rugged eastern fells of the Lake District. The town is dwarfed by the might Howgills, some of Alfred Wainwright's favourite fells. An historic town, Sedbergh has been a thriving community for hundreds of years, with a market dating from the 13th Century.
    Shap village, nine miles south of Penrith, consists mainly of 18th century houses and coaching inns. It is on the A6 trunk road, and was an important stopping off point for travellers between England to Scotland, before the building of the M6. Used to contain the England's highest mainline railway station, on the London to Glasgow main line, before the station closed.
    Silloth is a town nestling on the shores of the Solway Firth, facing the hills of Southern Galloway and backed by the Lake District Fells. Silloth is noted for its invigorating but mild climate, its leisurely peaceful atmosphere and perhaps, most of all, its glorious sea views and sunsets. It has a population of about 3000.
    If the person has their own category - please submit to that one.
    One of six borough councils in Cumbria. Covers the Kendal, Windermere, Sedbergh, Grange-over-Sands area.
    Tebay is a straggling village of terraced houses, that grew as a result of the nearby railway junction. Sheep farming was once a major occupation, but today most employment is associated with the nearby M6 motorway, and its related services.
    Please only enter sites relating to the Settle-Carlisle Railway. Sites relating to tourist attractions, accommodation etc. along the line of the route should be directed to the relevant categories of Cumbria and North Yorkshire.
    Please submit all accommodation entries that do not cover several properties in different areas under the appropriate area entry, i.e. under the ''accommodation'' subcategory of the ''travel and tourism'' category.
    The Ulverston area of Cumbria includes the Bardsea and Lindal-in-Furness areas.
    Ulverston is a fine market town in the centre of the Furness peninsula, with old buildings and a labyrinth of cobbled streets, and is the start of the 70 mile Cumbrian Way. It is the birthplace of Stan Laurel, and home to the world's only Laurel and Hardy Museum. It has the world's shortest, widest and deepest canal, and is just a mile from the sea at Morecambe Bay. The population of Ulverston is about 12,000.
    Please submit only sites which are in some way related to Walney Island. Sites for other areas or other local islands should be submitted to the correct subcategory under Regional/Europe/United_Kingdom/England/Cumbria/Barrow-in-Furness.
    Walney Island is a small, 11 mile long island just off the end of the Furness Penninsula by Barrow-in-Furness.
    Wasdale on Cumbria's West coast is home to some of the most dramatic and diverse scenery in the whole of Cumbria. Famous as the home of England's highest mountain Scafell Pike, its deepest lake Wastwater and the smallest church in St.Olafs.
    This category includes weather-related sites for the region.

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    This Georgian town, situated on the west coast of Cumbria, was one of the first post-renaissance planned towns in the country. Built on shipping and mining, both industries have now declined, but Whitehaven is never-the-less an attractive town and is one of the 40 Gem Towns in England. Much effort has gone into the regeneration of the harbour area, which is now host to many visits from tall ships. The population of Whitehaven is approximately 25500.
    The Wigton area of Cumbria includes the Bothel and Ireby, areas.

    There is a separate category for the Caldbeck area.

    Wigton, a town that existed before AD1100, lies on the Solway Plain between the Caldbeck Fells and the Solway Coast. Many of the buildings around the market place are of Georgian style, and the upper stories have altered little. Wigton is the birthplace of the author Melvyn Bragg.
    The Windermere area of Cumbria includes the Bowness-on-Windermere and Troutbeck areas.
    The Windermere area started as two villages - Windermere, by the railway station, and Bowness, by the lake. Bowness-on-Windermere is a sprawling tourist town on the shore of Windermere, about halfway along the 12 mile length of the lake between Waterhead at the North end, and Lakeside at the South end. It developed after the opening of the railway line from Oxenholme and Kendal to Windermere in 1847. Bowness was the nearest accessible point on the lake. The Victorian influence can be seen everywhere - in the late 19th century, wealthy businessmen from Lancashire built large residences overlooking the lake, many of which have now been converted to hotels. Ther population is now approximately 8500.

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    Workington is an ancient market and industrial town at the mouth of the River Derwent. Some parts of the town north of the River Derwent date back to Roman times. It was in the 18th century, with the exploitation of the local iron ore and coal pits, that Workington expanded to become a major industrial town and port. Iron and steel manufacture have always been part of Workington's heritage, and it was here that the famous Henry Bessemer first introduced his revolutionary steel making process. In recent years, with the decline of the steel industry and coal mining, the town has diversified into other forms of industry. The population of Workington is approximately 26,600.
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