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Wherever you are in Cumbria and the Lake District you can feel the shadow of a deep cultural heritage. Here are the standing stones and circles of the ancients, the powerful traces of Rome and the mighty fortresses of the Normans. The history of the Vikings, the Angles and the Saxons is read in the names they left behind, including fell, dale, beck, ghyll, mere, tarn and howe.
Later arrivals came not to conquer but to bask in the beauty of the landscapes and let it inspire them to artistic greatness: William Wordsworth, John Ruskin, Beatrix Potter, JMW Turner, Kurt Schwitters and Andy Goldsworthy are just a few of the names who carved their creativity out of Cumbrian stone; today, a rich creative life builds on this exceptional heritage.
You can see it and feel it within a few short miles; the artworks in mountains and forests, the scores of galleries and artists’ studios, the packed programme performances and festivals – not just music and comedy but wool, print and ceramics. It's the intimate venues and outdoor stages in stunning settings that make a cultural break here something unique.
For a taste of the art and culture waiting for you in England’s best-known landscape explore the sections below and at www.lakesculture.co.uk.
A tranquil haven with an almost-forgotten industrial past. Walled garden with outstanding medicinal…
Stone circle is now incomplete and has a modern wall cutting through it, incorporating one stone.…
Remnants of five stone circles and two possible stone avenues, circles range from 14' to 60', one…
Meet Coniston's heroes, John Ruskin, artist, radical and seer and Donald Campbell, speed ace. View…
A stunning Elizabethan mansion with spectacular interiors and impressive collections of antiques. …
A fascinating historic house where the elegance and loveliness of the Victorian era combine with…
Cartmel Priory has been described as the medieval jewel among churches, making a lasting impression…
Experience the edge of empire at the award winning Roman Army Museum. There is nowhere else like it…
Grade I listed, it is one of the finest examples of a late medieval, vernacular Lake District…
The 8th century, Anglo Saxon Bewcastle Cross, stands free in the churchyard where it has been for…
A masterpiece of storytelling; 350 years of social history and a celebration of life, revolutions…
Raised in circa 3000BC, Castlerigg is perhaps the most atmospheric of all British stone circles…
Originally know as Sunkenkirk, consists of 50 stones at the foot of Black Combe. Access is via a…
Circle is 37' across, seven stones and the retaining kerb of a destroyed cairn. Nineteenth-century…
Roman museum displaying the internationally significant collection of Romano-British altars,…
The mainly 15thC remains of a castle begun by Bishop Strickland of Carlisle and developed by the…
A unique and special cafe experience on board the replica Orient Express train and restored station…
Cautley chapel was built in the early 1860s by the Upton family, when the London and North Western…
Hardknott Roman Fort is one of the most dramatically sited and remote Roman forts in Britain. It…
Founded in 1504 and Grade I listed this peaceful church is tucked away on the Fell, surrounded by a…
Farfield Mill is a Victorian woollen mill in the Yorkshire Dales. Home to artists’ studios, art…
Museum, art gallery and reference library covering the history life and arts of the Lakes.…
Blackwell – the Arts & Crafts house is a rare architectural gem in the heart of the Lake District…
Second largest circle in England - 360' diameter. Long Meg is an outlying stone and is decorated…
Wherever you are in Cumbria the history of the Vikings, the Angles and the Saxons is read in the names they left behind
Number of results: 117
, currently showing 41 to 60.
Grasmere
Make yourself comfortable in the former home of National Trust Founder, Canon Rawnsley. Only partially restored and decorated, this isn’t a typical National Trust experience.
Conishead Priory, Ulverston
Peaceful and inspiring Buddhist Temple, amazing Romantic Gothic mansion, relaxing café, gift shop and book store. Bring a picnic. Six minute woodland walk to beach.
SEDBERGH
Striking in its symmetry with its central round headed doorway between by matching round headed windows, Cautley Wesleyan chapel is a good example of its type and date.
Grange-over-Sands
A fascinating historic house where the elegance and loveliness of the Victorian era combine with the warmth and welcome of a much loved family home. The hall is set in 25 acres of romantic formal & woodland gardens and ancient parkland, with the…
Embleton
The 15 stones, of which the tallest is just under one metre, form an almost perfect circle some 40 metres in diameter. Only 15 stones of the original 30 remain.
PENRITH
The 'Old Church' of St Martin was built in the 1660's on the site of a probable earlier chapel dating from 1220. The church is fully open and much visited, with all entries in the visitor’s book remarking on the special atmosphere and sense of peace…
MILNTHORPE
St Peter’s, the oldest site of worship in the old county of Westmorland and the building we see today reflects its long and fascinating history.
CARLISLE
A local landowner, Sarah Losh (1785-1853), designed St Mary's in 1840, partly in memory of her sister and parents. Influenced by the architecture seen on her Grand Tour of Europe, she created an original design that was very much at odds with the…
Cumbria
The present circle of 10 standing stones, 80' diameter, was restored in 1949. The stone circle is on private land belonging to Seascale How Farm, but can be seen from a nearby footpath.
Brampton
Experience the edge of empire at the award winning Roman Army Museum. There is nowhere else like it on Hadrian's Wall.
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1066 reviewsKeswick
The church, dedicated to the Celtic Saint Bega, is situated in a picture perfect setting in fields on the east shore of Bassenthwaite Lake.
Whitehaven
Imagine leaving the heart of Whitehaven's historic port and being taken back in time to an exotic tropical island's rainforest in the Caribbean, that is just the start of your great adventure in The Rum Story.
Ulverston
Swarthmoor Hall is a 17th century, Grade II* listed country house. It is known as the cradle of Quakerism as the movement was founded here almost 400 years ago. Visitors can relax in our cosy cafe or browse for something special in our gift shop.…
Millom
Remnants of five stone circles and two possible stone avenues, circles range from 14' to 60', one of them having contained a cremation.
Penrith
The stream which flows over Aira Force is Aira Beck, which rises on the upper slopes of Stybarrow Dodd at a height of 720 metres and flows north-easterly before turning south, blocked by the high heather-covered slopes of Gowbarrow Fell.
Ambleside
Parkland and Gothic Revival castle sitting on the west shore of Windermere providing an impressive backdrop of turrets, towers, informal grounds and miles of lakeshore paths.
PENRITH
According to architectural historian Nicholas Pevsner, this is ‘the stateliest church of its time in the county’, rebuilt in 1720 on an ancient site
Millom
Originally know as Sunkenkirk, consists of 50 stones at the foot of Black Combe. Access is via a long farm track from a minor road branching off the A595. Well worth the walk!
SEASCALE
St Mary's has been an important religious site since the 8th century.
Eskdale
Several stone circles and many small cairns are visible on the moor. The circles are distinguished by the occurance within them of small cairns. Construction date is thought to be around 2000BC.
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