Natural
Attractions
Natural
attractions, well not all are natural some are
man-made and some which are natural have been
shaped by man. However, these sites are all
beautiful and have a story to tell. People are
involved in the history of these sites, from
Wainwright's love of Blen Cathra to Richard
Duke of Gloucester and the pre-historic folk
that erected the stone circles of Long and Little
Meg. However these sites today have minimum
input from people and are wonderful places to
visit if you want to get away from the hustle
and bustle of busy tourist honey pots.
Blen
Cathra
Cross
Fell
Laceys
Caves
Little
Meg
Long
Meg
Penrith
Castle
River
Eden
Ullswater
Blen
Cathra
Standing alone but majestic
to the West of Penrith is the mountain of Blen
Cathra at 868m. Some times called Saddleback
because of the very distinctive shape of the
3 highest points. There are a variety of routes
to the top, not forgetting the renowned ridge
scramble of Sharp Edge. The views from the top
are amazing, Scotland, the Lakes, River Eden
& the Pennines, unless of course the view
is obscured by a low cloud cover, which is often
the case.
Directions:
Leaving Penrith town centre at Market Cross
take the A6 (King Street) at the main roundabout
(meeting of A6 and A66) take the A6 towards
Keswick, parking can be found for the walk up
to Blen Cathra in Threlkeld sign posted from
the A6, this is where some of the footpaths
onto the fells start.
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Cross
Fell
To
the East is another domineering high point,
Cross Fell the highest summit of the Pennines
at 893m. It is located at the northern end of
the Pennine moors. The Pennine Way goes over
Cross Fell from Dufton via Great Dun Fell to
Garrigill and Alston. Snow has been known to
lie on the escarpment from November to April.
Three of England's major rivers rise near to
the summit - the Tyne, the Tees and the Wear.
Directions:
Leaving Penrith town centre at Market Cross
take the A6 (King Street) at the main roundabout
(meeting of A6 and A66) take the A668 for Alston.
At Melmerby turn right after the village green
to Ousby, before Ousby take the left turn towards
Townhead, this the where some of the footpaths
onto the fell start.
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Lacey's
Caves
Situated
high on the banks of the River Eden is a wonderful
man made structure, the man responsible for
Lacey's Cave is Colonel Lacy of Salkeld Hall.
The caves consist of 5 large chambers burrowed
into the Red Sandstone bank of the river. Some
are interconnected and they are larger and deeper
than you might imagine. No-one really knows
why the caves where carved out, perhaps to have
a dinning area with a magnificent view over
the river or may be some thing as mundane as
extra storage space! Regardless of why they
were built the caves are well worth a visit.
Directions:
Leaving Penrith town centre at Market Cross
take the A6 (King Street) at the main roundabout
(meeting of A6 and A66) take the A668 for Alston.
At Langwathby take the road to Little Salkeld,
once through the village of Little Salked Long
Megs is sign posted. There is a circular walking
route which takes in Long Meg the River Eden
and Lacey's Caves.
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Little
Meg
Is the name given to a smaller
stone circle situated in an over grown field
corner. This circle is made of just 11 stones;
the circle today is hard to make out as some
of the stones have been moved from their original
position.
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Long
Meg
A 20 minute walk
from Lacey's Caves will bring you to Long Meg
and her Daughters. Long Meg and her daughters
form a massive stone circle, the largest in
Cumbria and the second largest in England with
a diameter of 350 ft! Long Meg is the tallest
stone of the 68 stones in the circle at 18ft
high. Some of the stones have mysterious carvings
engraved on them. Long Meg is carved from the
local Red Sandstone but all the others of granite.
Just over a third of a mile
(0.5 km) to the North-East of Long Meg and her
Daughters, the largest stone circle in Cumbria,
is one of the smallest, appropriately named
Little Meg. Obscured in summer by long grass,
it is near the edge of a pasture field near
the road from Little Salkeld to Glassonby. Unfortunately
it is now a confusion of stones, with the stones
not in their original positions.
There are eleven stones in
an irregular ring measuring 5.86m by 4.72m,
with the tallest stone being some 1.3m high.
On one stone are some geometrical carvings -
consisting of a spiral and five concentric circles.
The three circles of Long Meg, Little Meg and
nearby Glassonby are the only ones in Cumbria
with such carvings.
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Penrith
Castle
Originally existed as a Pele
Tower. Pele Towers were designed to with stand
short sieges and are numerous in the Border
regions, from when raids by the Scots were frequent.
In 1399 and over the next 70 years the Pele
Tower was expanded and improved by William Strickland,
and became the royal fortress of Richard Duke
of Gloucester.
Today there is a
wooden footbridge leading to the red sandstone
castle remains, which are open to the public
and can be explored. Castle Park is situated
next to the ancient ruins and has tennis courts,
a bowling green and a children's play area.
There is a monument to those that died in the
Boar War called The Angel of Death at the entrance
of Castle Park, the park is the largest area
of green space in Penrith.
Directions:
Leaving penrith town centre at Market Cross,
follow the one way system up Cornmarket and
on to Castlegate, turn left at the roundabout
at the top of Castlegate on to A592 (Ullswater
Road), Penrith Castle is immediately on the
left.
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River
Eden
From
the source to the sea the River Eden and its
12 tributaries flow only within the Cumbrian
borders, a truly Cumbrian river system. The
Eden starts life in the limestone region of
Mallerstang flowing between the Pennines in
the East and the Cumbrian Mountains in the West,
65 miles northward to Carlisle and into the
Solway Firth.
The
river flowing northwards forms the lush green
Eden Valley, as the gradient levels off allowing
the river to widen and slow its pace. The bridge
at Langwathby is in the Guinness Book of records
as the longest temporary bridge in the country
after the original red sandstone bridge was
washed away in the flood water of 1968.
The
Settle to Carlisle Railway follows the river
for much of the route and idea way to spend
a rainy afternoon if walking by the river is
not option. There are numerous walks, and bridges
and sights to be seen along the river and it
really is well worth getting to know the valley.
The river has a SSSI classification and now
enjoys a level of protection.
The
East Cumbria Countryside Project commissioned
ten site specific carved stone sculptures, which
also function as seats. These sculptures
are called Eden Benchmarks. At the mid
point of the river under a mile from the Langwathby
Bridge is the sculpture called "South Rising"
made from Lazonby Sandstone, a nice place for
a rest.
Directions:
Leaving Penrith town centre at Market Cross
take the A6 (King Street) at the main roundabout
(meeting of A6 and A66) take the A668 for Alston.
At Langwathby park before the bridge and take
the footpath over the road along the river to
the sculpture.
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Ullswater
Ullswater
is the second largest lake at 7.5 miles long.
On average 3/4 mile wide and with a maximum
depth of 205 feet at Howtown. There are 3 settlements
along the lake Pooley Bridge, Glenridding at
each end and in the middle Howtown, M.Y. Raven
and M.Y. Lady of the Lake are two 19th century
steamers, now converted to oil, cruising on
Ullswater, the most beautiful of the English
Lakes. M.V. Lady Dorothy is their smaller sister,
who joined them in 2001. They have recently
been joined by a new vessel, Totnes Castle who
is presently undergoing an extensive refurbishment
programme, relaunched and renamed "Lady
Wakefield" in 2007.
Directions:
Leaving Penrith town centre at Market Cross
take the A6 (King Street) at the main roundabout
(meeting of A6 and A66) take the A6 towards
Keswick. At the Rheged roundabout follow signs
for Pooley Bridge the A592.
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