introduction to grange over sands...

In the centre of the peninsula is the attractive village of Cartmel, with its picturesque inns, shops and 18th-century houses ranged around the old market place and priory church. The village has welcomed visitors from its early monastic days and continues the tradition today, especially during the summer racing season when the market square is the focus for lively socialising.

To the south is the former Viking homestead of Allithwaite, leading to the limestone whaleback of Humphrey Head. Flookburgh, to the west, was once an important fishing and market garden centre. Fishermen still go out on a daily basis to fish for shrimps, cockles, mussels and flukes (flatfish); the latter earning the village its name. Next door is Cark; now a quiet village, it once accommodated a large cotton mill and was a busy port in its 18th-century heyday. A short distance away is Holker Hall, the centuries-old home of the Cavendish family. A renowned garden festival is held here in late spring, when the colourful displays of plants and shrubs are at their best.

North of Cartmel is Field Broughton, a pastoral village that still has a well-preserved pinfold. The attractive cottages of High and Low Newton are strung out along the former A590 (now bypassed). Lindale, a large village to the north of Grange, is associated with ‘Iron Mad John', the renowned iron master of the 18th century, whilst further east is the isolated hamlet of Meathop established around one of the first sanatoriums in the country.