Holiday Cottages 4 U
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, an area some 30 miles across, containing England's highest mountains (four over 3000 ft), and some of England's biggest lakes.
The Lake District is the largest of the United Kingdom's National Parks, and contains 16 lakes (and many smaller tarns), more than 150 high mountains (including England's highest mountain, Scafell Pike), 6 National Nature Reserves, 100 sites of Special Scientific Interest, over 50 dales and hundreds of towns, villages and hamlets within its 885 square miles of breathtaking countryside.
Cumbria can be reached by road and rail. The M6 motorway travels north through the centre of Cumbria - junction 36 near Kendal, junction 40 at Penrith and junctions 42-44 at Carlisle. Carlisle is a major railway junction on the West Coast Main Line from London Euston to Glasgow, which also has stations at Penrith and Oxenholme (for Kendal and Windermere). Carlisle is also served by lines from Dumfries, Newcastle, and Leeds.
The legacy of the past is here in prehistoric and Roman remains. Stone circles and burial cairns dot the land. Old Roman roads and forts still command attention. Historic places of worship and ruined castles speak of Norman times. Country houses and gardens delight the visitor.
10 July 2007