Flung out on the very edge of England, on the border of the Debatable Lands, the fortress city of Carlisle is certainly no stranger to conflict: throughout its 2000-year history it’s been the site of more sieges, skirmishes and sackings than almost anywhere else in the country.
Above the tranquil surface of Coniston Water, with its gliding steam yachts and quiet boats, looms the craggy, pockmarked peak known as the Old Man of Coniston (801m). The nearby village grew up around the copper-mining industry; these days, there are just a few sleepy streets, with two fine pubs and some tourist shops, making Coniston an excellent place for relaxing by the quiet lakeside.
Most visitors never make the trek out to the Cumbrian coast, and with such a wealth of spectacular sights to discover around the Central Lakes, it’s not really surprising. But they’re missing out on one of the county’s hidden gems – a sweeping panorama of gentle fields, coastal trails and sandy bays, dotted with some of Cumbria’s oldest and most historic towns. The Edwardian holiday resort of Grange-over-Sands and the medieval village of Cartmel are both within easy reach of Morecambe Bay, on the county’s southern coast, while on the western coast you’ll find the Roman settlement of Ravenglass – starting point for the classic L’aal Ratty steam railway – and the ancient port of Whitehaven, as well as the controversial nuclear reprocessing plant at Sellafield.
Nestled at the base of a broad valley dotted with oak woods and peaceful fields, and overlooked by the domed peaks of Helm Crag and Steel Fell, the little village of Grasmere is one of the prettiest in the Central Lakes. Wordsworth lived at nearby Dove Cottage for nine years and occasionally taught at the village school, which is now a famous gingerbread shop; he’s buried under the yew trees of St Oswald’s churchyard with his wife Mary and beloved sister Dorothy. Sadly, the Wordsworth connections have their drawbacks; the village is very much on the coach-tour trail, and is practically overrun with day-trippers in summer.
Lakeland villages don’t come much more picturesque than Hawkshead, with its delightful huddle of cobbled streets, whitewashed pubs, arched alleys and rickety cottages. It’s hardly changed since the days when Wordsworth arrived here to attend the village school, and was once a bustling centre for the local wool trade; until the 12th century, the village was owned by the monastery at Furness Abbey. Cars are banned in the village centre throughout the year; sadly, the same can’t be said for tourist traffic.
The sturdy, grey-slate town of Kendal is practically synonymous with its super-sweet mintcake, a peppermint-flavoured bar that sustained Edmund Hillary and Tensing Norgay on their ascent of Everest in 1953, and still finds its way into the backpacks of many seasoned walkers in the Lake District. During the Middle Ages, Kendal was renowned as a centre for the cloth and wool trades, and the town remains the main commercial centre in the southern Lakes, with some excellent museums and one of the best arts complexes in the county.
Standing at the head of the island-studded, tree-lined lake of Derwent Water, the grey slate town of Keswick is the busiest tourist centre in the Northern Lakes, and a humming hub for outdoor activities of all descriptions, ranging from fell walking to watersports. Several classic walking trails wind their way across the surrounding hilltops, including the long-distance Cumbria Way and the hilltop climbs to Catbells and Castle Crag, which makes Keswick a popular walking base; it’s also famous as the place where graphite was discovered in the early 16th century, and for inventing the humble lead pencil.
For sheer scenic splendour, few places in England can measure up to the outlandishly beautiful Lake District, where Wordsworth, Coleridge and their Romantic compatriots famously sought their poetic muse in the 19th century. The landscape of the Lakes is as breathtaking as any you’ll find in Switzerland or the French Alps – a sweeping panorama of humpbacked mountains, razorblade crags and scree-covered hillsides, strewn with mountainous tarns and some of the largest natural lakes anywhere in England.
Surrounded on all sides by towering peaks, saw-tooth ridges and scree-strewn slopes, the Langdale Valley is one of the most dramatic sights in the Lake District. The main road snakes past Elterwater into the valley of Great Langdale, the starting point for some of the region’s classic trails – including the trail into the Langdale Pikes past Harrison Stickle (736m) and Pike o’ Stickle (709m), and the spectacular ascent of Crinkle Crags (819m). An ancient packhorse trail leads through Little Langdale over Wrynose and Hardknott Passes to the coast, passing a ruined Roman fort en route.
Many visitors speed through the northern and eastern reaches of Cumbria in a headlong dash for the Central Lakes, and if you’re arriving by road or rail, chances are you’ll skip this region altogether. But that’s a shame, as this is an area that’s well worth exploring in its own right – a bleakly beautiful landscape of isolated farms, barren heaths and solid hilltop towns, cut through by the Roman-built barrier of Hadrian’s Wall.