Cumbria (Cumberland)

Cumbria (known as Cumberland until the early seventies). Cumbria covers approximately 2½ thousand square miles of the most beautiful countryside in Northern England. Cumbria's boundaries are the Irish Sea, the Solway Firth and Morecambe Bay. The population of Cumbria is currently just below the ½ million mark. Known as an administrative county and neighbour to, Northumberland, North Yorkshire and Lancashire, Cumbria is made up from no less than six areas namely Allerdale, Barrow in Furness, Carlisle, Copeland, Eden & South Lakeland. Traditional born and bred locals like to refer to the Furness area as Lancashire. Cumbria has been used as the name for the area for centuries. Cumbria was first inhabited by Celts who spoke in a Cumbric language, there is a slight connection with the Welsh name for Wales as we know it, its Cymru meaning Wales.

The main attraction in Cumbria is the Lake District National Park, which includes the Cumbrian Mountains, 15 lakes and some of England's highest mountains such as Scafell which is 3,210 ft high. In many valleys you can almost imagine the ice age, when glaciers ground their way down to the sea, carving huge valleys on their journey to melt in the Irish Sea, creating an area well used nowadays for leisure, mountain biking, hiking, mountaineering or just a plain afternoon stroll along the edge of the many lakes.

Cumbria has a tourism side, known as the English Lake District, comprising of many small and medium size towns and villages. Kendal being the main town, although not within the National Park borders, it is looked at as the major town for the area. From Kendal you enter the Lake District National Park on your way to Windermere, arguably the gateway to The Lakes.

We have built a page for you to read as a traveller would travel through the Lake District. We hope you enjoy your trip, and if you are planning a holiday in Cumbria, we look forward to welcoming you. >> Go to the Lake District