“LAKESIDE AND HAVERTHWAITE RAILWAY RUNS DAILY STEAM ENGINES TO THE SOUTHERN TIP

Of Lake Windermere

BETWEEN APRIL AND OCTOBER”

interactive exhibits bring the stories to life. It’s full steam ahead for fun on the county’s heritage railways. The Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway, affectionately known as La’al Ratty, provides summertime chugs along the sevenmile line from Boot to Ravenglass.

Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway runs daily steam engines to the southern tip of Lake Windermere between April and October, while England’s second-highest narrowgauge railway, the South Tynedale Railway, departs daily from Alston.

Many major towns in Cumbria feature museums dedicated to local history, including Penrith, Kendal, Keswick, Whitehaven and Maryport. However, in between the archaeological artefacts and social heritage rest an assortment of rather unusual museums, each with its own fascinating focus.

There’s more to the humble pencil than you might imagine, and Derwent Pencil Museum in Keswick is ready to show you what you’re missing! The UK’s only museum dedicated to Laurel and Hardy is located in Ulverston, Stan Laurel’s birthplace. The Rum Story, tucked away in the cellar of a 1785 trading shop, takes you on a frank trip through Whitehaven’s role in the rum trade, from slavery to smugglers.

Historic Working Farm

Petrol heads should accelerate over to Lakeland Motor Museum with its 30,000 exhibits. Or, for entertainment of a more bucolic kind, take a trip to Old Hall Farm in the village of Bouth. This historic working farm champions 19th-century techniques and has vintage tractors and shire horses working in the fields. There’s butter-making, cow-milking and, if all that leaves you feeling peckish, an ice cream parlour too.

No two days out in Cumbria and the Lake District are the same. Survey magnificent scenery among the region’s lakes and nature reserves, step back in time at ancient sites, or soak up Cumbria’s striking culture in the region’s many museums. Whether you like to live life in the fast lane or find a quiet corner to call your own, you’re spoilt for choice.

THE BEST OF CUMBRIA & THE LAKE DISTRICT

OUR TOP THINGS TO SEE AND DO WHEN VISITING THIS PICTURESQUE REGION

 VISIT AIRA FORCE WATERFALL

Probably the most famous waterfall in the Lake District, the main force falls 70 feet from below a stone footbridge and from there you can also head to the summit of Gowbarrow fell for absolutely stunning views of Ullswater. There is also a landscaped Victorian park and a welcome tea room.

 DON’T MISS THE PASSES

They’re a challenge, but the steep mountain roads simply have to be experienced. Kirkstone Pass is the Lake District’s highest pass open to cars. It connects Ambleside to Patterdale and is known by locals as The Struggle. Hardknott Pass heads west and is the steepest road in England, with a maximum gradient of 1 in 3.

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Explore Lake Windermere

Lake Windermere is the biggest natural expanse of water in England, at nearly 11 miles long, up to one mile wide and up to 220 feet deep. It is surrounded by magnificent mountain scenery and you can travel the entire length with Windermere Lake Cruises from Bowness, Ambleside or Lakeside.

 GO DEEP INTO A FOREST

Cumbrians are lucky to have so many fantastic forests and woodlands remaining. Here are two to explore: Grizedale, between the lakes of Coniston and Windermere, offers stunning walking and cycling trails. Whinlatter is England’s only true mountain forest, with great views, challenging trails and adventure play areas for the kids.

 DISCOVER A HIDDEN GEM

Eden is a beautiful corner of Cumbria taking in the lakes and mountains around Ullswater, part of the Lake District National Park and the moorlands of the North Pennines around Alston, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. And for this reason the Eden Valley is visited time and again by those who have discovered it. The River Eden, one of the finest salmon and trout rivers in the North of England, rises in Mallerstang, and flows through the old market towns of Kirkby Stephen and Appleby.

 SAMPLE CUMBRIAN DELICACIES

Don’t just view the county, taste it. Cumberland Sausage is a famous national dish but local butchers all have their own versions. Grasmere Gingerbread is a delicious cross between cake and a biscuit. Cumberland Rum Nicky is a dessert of shortcrust pastry, dates, brown sugar and rum. Not forgetting the renowned Kendal Mint Cake, a delicious glucose-based confectionary flavoured with peppermint. And the list goes on...

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Bag A Wainwright Or Two

The Wainwrights are the 214 hills and mountains described in author-climber A.J Wainwright’s Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells. It’s a mission by some to complete all of them; you could start with just one, perhaps the distinctive Cat Bells overlooking Keswick and Derwentwater. The view from the top is definitely worth the climb.

 INSPIRE YOURSELF

Cumbria has inspired many writers over the years, who in turn have brought visitors to the county. William Wordsworth remains England’s most famous poet. Beatrix Potter’s children’s stories are still popular today. Then there’s Ransome, Coleridge, Wainwright, Southey and don’t forget Postman Pat author John Cunliffe!

 TAKE ON AN ADVENTURE

The Lake District is known as The Adventure Capital of the UK and there’s so much fun to be had on its mountains and waterways, in its forests and in the air. Wild swimming, kayaking, mountain biking, paragliding, climbing, golf, running, cycling, horse riding, quad biking, zorbing, paintballing and much more.

 CHECK OUT THE WILDLIFE

Cumbria has the dubious honour of being the site of the last English wolf and recently, the last golden eagle. But plenty remains. Cumbria Wildlife Trust manages 44 nature reserves across the county. You could see ospreys, seals, red squirrels, otters, rare plants… you are simply surrounded by wildlife.