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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