Cumbria is a country in the North West of England with just under 500,000 inhabitants and a land mass of over 2613 sq miles making it the third largest in England. Cumbria borders on Scotland and has a coast facing Ireland. Cumbria contains the most Northerly place in England and the highest Scafell Pike at over 3,000 feet above sea level.

Cumbria is mostly rural country with a population density of only 73 inhabitants per sq km. Hadrian’s Wall, built to keep the warlike Scots out, is partly positioned inside the borders of Cumbria. Cumbria is also famous for the Lake District which was celebrated both by the Lake Poets and the Austen sisters.

Carlisle is the last stop on car journeys North to Scotland and has always had a strained relationship with the Scots being a border town and previously an important military outpost. Carlisle has over 70,000 inhabitants many of whom work in the textile industries. Prominent employers include Cavaghan & Gray, Eddie Stobart Haulage, Kangol and John Laing.

Castles in the region include; Carlisle Castle, Brougham Castle, Penrith Castle, Kendal Castle and Dalton Castle.

Illustrious Cumbrians include: world speed record holder and car racer Donald Campbell, poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, social critic John Ruskin, poet William Wordsworth, wife of Henry VIII Katherine Parr and mountaineer Chris Bonnington.