Cumbria is a administrative county located in the northwest area of England. The boundaries are along the Irish Sea to the west, and along the Pennines to the east. Cumbria's northern boundary stretches from the Solway Firth to Morecambe Bay along the Scotland border.
Cumbria is neighboured by Northumberland, County Durham, North Yorkshire, Lancashire, and the Lieutenancy areas of Dumfries and Roxburgh, Ettrick and Lauderdale in Scotland.
It is made up of six districts: Allerdale, Barrow-in-Furness, Carlisle, Copeland, Eden and South Lakeland.
Cumbria was created in 1974, and covers the traditional counties of Cumberland and Westmorland, plus the Furness part of Lancashire, and a protrusion of Yorkshire. The name "Cumbria" has been used for the region for centuries.
Following the creation of Cumbria as an (administrative) county, some people, particularly those born or brought up in the area, prefer to refer to the Furness area by its traditional county name of "Lancashire". Others, including local government, promotional material for the area, the Lake District National Park Authority, and most visitors describe the area as being in "Cumbria".
The area was inhabited by Celts until quite late (see Rheged), and the name derives from their name for the area, in the Cumbric language. It is etymologically connected to the Welsh term Cymru, meaning "Wales".
Cumbria is home to the Lake District National Park, considered one of the most beautiful areas of Great Britain.
Towns and Villages
- Alston, Ambleside, Appleby-in-Westmorland, Arnside, Aspatria
- Barrow-in-Furness, Bowness-on-Windermere, Brampton (town), Brampton (village) , Brough , Burneside , Burton-in-Kendal
- Carlisle, Cartmel, Cockermouth
- Dalton-in-Furness
- Glenridding , Gosforth , Grange-over-Sands, Grasmere
- Kendal, Keswick, Kirkby Lonsdale, Kirkby Stephen
- Longsleddale (was the inspiration for the village of Greendale in Postman Pat)
- Maryport, Millom, Milnthorpe, Muncaster
- Oulton , Oxenholme
- Patterdale , Penrith
- Ravenglass, Rheged
- Sedbergh , Sellafield, Shap , Silloth , St Bees , Staveley, Swarthmoor
- Temple Sowerby , Thornhill
- Ulverston, Upton
- Walton , Wetheral , Whitehaven, Windermere, Workington
People and Places of Interest
Last updated: 10-23-2005 03:48:09
