Portal:Cumbria

The Cumbria Portal

Cumbria (/ˈkʌmbriə/ KUM-bree-ə) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north; the English ceremonial counties of Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, and Lancashire to the south; and the Irish Sea to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Carlisle.

Cumbria is predominantly rural, with an area of 6,769 km² (2,614 sq mi) and an estimated population of 510,680 in 2024. Carlisle is in the north of the county; the towns of Workington and Whitehaven lie on the west coast, Barrow-in-Furness on the south coast, and Penrith and Kendal in the east. For local government purposes the county comprises two unitary authority areas, Westmorland and Furness and Cumberland, the councils of which collaborate through the Cumbria Combined Authority. Cumbria was created in 1974 from the historic counties of Cumberland and Westmorland, the Furness area of Lancashire, and a small part of Yorkshire.

The interior of Cumbria contains several upland areas. Together they fringe the Vale of Eden, the wide valley of the River Eden, which runs south-east to north-west across the county and broadens into the Solway Plain near Carlisle. To the north-east are part of the Border Moors, and to the east part of the North Pennines; the latter have been designated a national landscape. South of the vale are the Orton Fells, Howgill Fells, and part of the Yorkshire Dales, which are all within the Yorkshire Dales national park. The south-west contains the Lake District, a large upland area which has been designated a national park and UNESCO World Heritage Site. It includes England's highest mountain, Scafell Pike; its longest and largest lake, Windermere; and its deepest lake, Wast Water. The county has a long coast to the west which is bordered by a plain for most of its length. The north-west coast is part of the Solway Firth, a national landscape, and the south coast includes the Cartmel and Furness peninsulas. East of the peninsulas, the county contains part of Arnside and Silverdale, another national landscape. (Full article...)

Selected article -

Clockwise from the upper left: Central Barrow with the skyline of Blackpool also visible, Barrow Island, Walney Bridge and Furness College, Furness Abbey, Ramsden Square, Dock Museum and DDH, Barrow Town Hall and St. Mary's Church

Barrow-in-Furness, commonly known as Barrow, is an industrial port town and civil parish in Westmorland and Furness, Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, Barrow is at the tip of the Furness peninsula, 24 miles (39 km) south-west of Kendal and 18 miles (29 km) west of Lancaster. It is bordered by Morecambe Bay to the east, the Duddon Estuary to the west, and the Irish Sea to the south. In 2021, Barrow's population was 55,489, making it the second-largest urban area in Cumbria after Carlisle and the largest in Westmorland and Furness.

In the Middle Ages, Barrow was a small hamlet, with its economy controlled by Furness Abbey. In the 19th century, iron prospector Henry Schneider, among other investors, opened the Furness Railway to transport iron ore and slate from local mines to the coast, which led to the construction of docks, now the Royal Port of Barrow. The discovery of hematite deposits allowed the steel industry to develop in the town, and for a period, its steelworks were the largest in the world. It was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867, and the town's steel production and coastal location enabled it to develop as a centre for shipbuilding. Barrow is one of England's few planned towns and has a high level of heritage assets compared nationally. (Full article...)

List of selected articles

General images

The following are images from various Cumbria-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1The northeastern Irish Sea, showing new settlements with Norse place names. (from History of Cumbria)
Image 2A topographic map of Cumbria (from Cumbria)
Image 3Muncaster Castle (from Cumbria)
Image 4Claife Station on the western shore of Windermere – built in the 1790s with tinted windows angled to take in all the aesthetically pleasing views (from History of Cumbria)
Image 5Milefortlet 21 at Crosscanonby on the Cumbrian coast, with later, 18th-century, saltpans across the road to the left (from History of Cumbria)
Image 6The historic counties shown within Cumbria
  Boundary of Cumbria
  Cumberland
  Westmorland
  Lancashire
  West Riding of Yorkshire
(from History of Cumbria)
Image 7Walls Castle, Ravenglass: the possible site of the Arthurian Lyons Garde or St Patrick's birthplace (from History of Cumbria)
Image 8Kents Bank, Cumbria (from History of Cumbria)
Image 9Hadrian's Wall (from Cumbria)
Image 10BAE Systems Submarine Solutions in Barrow-in-Furness has a workforce of around 14,500 people (from Cumbria)
Image 11The entrance to Whinlatter Forest Park (from Cumbria)
Image 12A Border reiver: statue in Carlisle (from History of Cumbria)
Image 13Castlerigg Stone Circle (from History of Cumbria)
Image 14Wetheral Priory Gatehouse – all that remains of Wetheral Priory, founded by Ranulf le Meschin in 1106 (from History of Cumbria)
Image 15The Irton Cross, Irton, Cumbria, early 9th century, Anglian (pre-Viking) sculpture (from History of Cumbria)
Image 16Brantwood, overlooking Coniston Water, viewed from the steam yacht 'Gondola' – note the angled, corner windows designed to take in the views (from History of Cumbria)
Image 17Yanwath hall – a semi-fortified house near Penrith (from History of Cumbria)
Image 18The Eden Valley between Appleby and Penrith, an area referred to affectionately as the heartland of Rheged in the praise poems of Taliesin (from History of Cumbria)
Image 19Napes Needle on Great Gable, a favourite of the early climbers (from History of Cumbria)
Image 20'Giants Grave', St. Andrew's churchyard, Penrith, an unusual arrangement of two Viking-age cross-shafts with four hogbacks (in the foreground). In addition, there is a smaller, Viking-age, wheel-headed cross just visible in the background (from History of Cumbria)
Image 21Workington Hall, the Curwens' family seat (from History of Cumbria)
Image 22Possible position of Rheged (from History of Cumbria)
Image 23 Beatrix Potter (from Cumbria)
Image 24The Anglo-Scottish marches (from History of Cumbria)
Image 25Carlisle Cathedral : founded in 1133 (from History of Cumbria)
Image 26Dove Cottage (Town End, Grasmere) – home of William and Dorothy Wordsworth, 1799–1808; home of Thomas De Quincey, 1809–1820 (from History of Cumbria)
Image 27Tomb of Thomas Dacre, 2nd Baron Dacre at Lanercost Priory (from History of Cumbria)
Image 28The Gosforth Cross, 10th-century Viking-age sculpture. (A replica of 1887, with clearer depictions of the decoration, may be found in the churchyard at Aspatria, along with a replica of another cross, the original of which is at Dearham) (from History of Cumbria)
Image 29Cumbria within England (from History of Cumbria)
Image 30The site of the 2007 Grayrigg train derailment (from History of Cumbria)
Image 31The M6 motorway and West Coast Main Line near Grayrigg Forest (from Cumbria)
Image 32A Tesco store underwater in Carlisle during the January 2005 floods (from History of Cumbria)
Image 33Approximate extent of Domesday coverage : the district of Hougun, if indeed it was a district, may have covered the three peninsulas at the left of the pink area (from History of Cumbria)
Image 34Location of Inglewood Forest, stretching from Carlisle to Penrith; it was the most northerly of the Royal forests (from History of Cumbria)
Image 35The Staffordshire Moorlands Pan – an enamelled cooking and serving vessel, engraved with the names of four Hadrian's Wall forts sited in Cumbria (2nd century AD). See also the article on the Rudge Cup and Amiens skillet. (from History of Cumbria)
Image 36Penrith Castle : Richard, Duke of Gloucester, (later Richard III of England), was based here when Sheriff of Cumberland in the 1470s (from History of Cumbria)
Image 37Brunton Park, the home of Carlisle United (from Cumbria)
Image 38Swinside stone circle (from History of Cumbria)
Image 39High Cup Nick, in the North Pennines (from Cumbria)
Image 40Calder Abbey (from History of Cumbria)
Image 41Muncaster Castle (from Cumbria)
Image 42Cairn circle, Oddendale (from History of Cumbria)
Image 43Kentmere Hall, an example of a Cumbrian Pele tower (from History of Cumbria)
Image 44Iron Age roundhouse reconstruction (from History of Cumbria)
Image 45Wray Castle – built by a Liverpool doctor who had married a rich wife. Constructed in 1840 at the head of Windermere. Associated with two key players of the National Trust : Canon Rawnsley and Beatrix Potter (from History of Cumbria)
Image 46The Ormside bowl, probably late 8th century and made in Northumbria; possibly looted from York by a Viking warrior and buried with him at Great Ormside (from History of Cumbria)
Image 47Furness Abbey (from Cumbria)
Image 48 Stan Laurel (from Cumbria)
Image 49Craven Park, home of Barrow Raiders (from Cumbria)
Image 50Loki stone, Kirkby Stephen parish church, part of a 10th-century Viking-age cross-shaft. But does it show Loki or Satan? (from History of Cumbria)

Recognised content

Featured articles

Brougham Castle • HMS Cardiff (D108) • Norman Birkett, 1st Baron Birkett

Featured pictures

File:Derwent Water, Keswick - June 2009.jpg • File:Helvellyn Striding Edge 360 Panorama, Lake District - June 09.jpg • File:Keswick, Cumbria Panorama 1 - June 2009.jpg • File:Keswick Panorama - Oct 2009.jpg • File:Catbells Northern Ascent, Lake District - June 2009.jpg • File:Glenridding, Cumbria, England - June 2009.jpg

Good articles

Andrew Johnston (singer) • Askam and Ireleth • Brough Castle • Grayrigg derailment • Herdwick • Lady in the Lake trial • Nethermost Pike • The Story of a Fierce Bad Rabbit • The Story of Miss Moppet • The Tale of Benjamin Bunny • The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck • The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher • The Tale of Mr. Tod • The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle • The Tale of Mrs. Tittlemouse • The Tale of The Flopsy Bunnies • The Tale of Timmy Tiptoes

Selected geographic feature -

Ullswater looking towards Silver Point.

Ullswater is a glacial lake in Cumbria, England. It is part of the Lake District and is the second largest lake in the region by both area and volume, after Windermere. The lake is about 7 miles (11 km) long, 0.75 miles (1 km) wide, and has a maximum depth of 63 metres (207 ft). Its outflow is the River Eamont, which meets the River Eden at Brougham Castle before flowing into the Solway Firth. The lake historically formed part of the border between Cumberland and Westmorland. (Full article...)