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...)

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Furness College is a college of further education in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria. It provides a wide range of A levels, vocational education and skills training to over 16s, notably working with BAE Systems to train apprentices for their shipyard in Barrow. The college also offers courses for adults, and runs HNDs and other higher education programmes including foundation degrees, degrees and master's degrees, for which it achieved Teaching Excellence Framework silver status in June 2017. It is the only college in Barrow. On 1 August 2016, Furness College merged with Barrow Sixth Form College.

In August 2016, Furness College gained chartered college status when it became a member of the Chartered Institution for Further Education. This membership is awarded to the higher performing further education colleges and training providers in the UK. The college is also a member of the National Skills Academy for Nuclear. (Full article...)

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General images

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

Image 1So-called "Saint's tomb" (left), and "Warrior's tomb" (right), two hogbacks in St. Mary's church, Gosforth. Typically high and narrow Cumbrian style, in the shape of a building with a roof, eaves and walls. The Saint's tomb has a crucifixion on the end, the Warrior's tomb has a procession of armed men (from History of Cumbria)
Image 2Furness Abbey (from Cumbria)
Image 3 Beatrix Potter (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 5Kentmere Hall, an example of a Cumbrian Pele tower (from History of Cumbria)
Image 6The M6 motorway and West Coast Main Line near Grayrigg Forest (from Cumbria)
Image 7The site of the 2007 Grayrigg train derailment (from History of Cumbria)
Image 8Napes Needle on Great Gable, a favourite of the early climbers (from History of Cumbria)
Image 9'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 10The Castlerigg stone circle dates from the late Neolithic age and was constructed by some of the earliest inhabitants of Cumbria (from Cumbria)
Image 11Location of Inglewood Forest, stretching from Carlisle to Penrith; it was the most northerly of the Royal forests (from History of Cumbria)
Image 12Swarthy Hill, near Crosscanonby on the Solway coast – possible site of Iron Age hillfort, later the site of mile-fortlet 21 in Roman times (from History of Cumbria)
Image 13Little Meg – a Bronze Age ring cairn with spiral rock art (from History of Cumbria)
Image 14The Stanegate line is marked in red, to the south of the later Hadrian's Wall. (n.b. Brocavum is Brougham, not Kirkby Thore as given in the map) (from History of Cumbria)
Image 15Dove Cottage (Town End, Grasmere) – home of William and Dorothy Wordsworth, 1799–1808; home of Thomas De Quincey, 1809–1820 (from History of Cumbria)
Image 16Birdoswald – showing partial blockage of main (east) gateway (from History of Cumbria)
Image 17Yanwath hall – a semi-fortified house near Penrith (from History of Cumbria)
Image 18Calder Abbey (from History of Cumbria)
Image 19Castlerigg Stone Circle (from History of Cumbria)
Image 20Wetheral Priory Gatehouse – all that remains of Wetheral Priory, founded by Ranulf le Meschin in 1106 (from History of Cumbria)
Image 21Hardknott Roman Fort (from History of Cumbria)
Image 22Penrith 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 23Possible position of Rheged (from History of Cumbria)
Image 24Workington Hall, the Curwens' family seat (from History of Cumbria)
Image 25Hadrian's Wall (from History of Cumbria)
Image 26The northeastern Irish Sea, showing new settlements with Norse place names. (from History of Cumbria)
Image 27Tomb of Thomas Dacre, 2nd Baron Dacre at Lanercost Priory (from History of Cumbria)
Image 28A topographic map of Cumbria (from Cumbria)
Image 29Swinside stone circle (from History of Cumbria)
Image 30Great Langdale, site of the Langdale Axe Factory (from History of Cumbria)
Image 31Neolithic stone axe with handle from Ehenside Tarn (now in the British Museum) (from History of Cumbria)
Image 32The Irton Cross, Irton, Cumbria, early 9th century, Anglian (pre-Viking) sculpture (from History of Cumbria)
Image 33Kents Bank, Cumbria (from History of Cumbria)
Image 34Milefortlet 21 at Crosscanonby on the Cumbrian coast, with later, 18th-century, saltpans across the road to the left (from History of Cumbria)
Image 35 William Wordsworth (from Cumbria)
Image 36Local government districts 1974–2023
1. City of Carlisle
2. Allerdale
3. Eden
4. Copeland
5. South Lakeland
6. Barrow-in-Furness (from History of Cumbria)
Image 37The Crosby Garrett Helmet – (private collection) (from History of Cumbria)
Image 38St Laurence's Church, Morland : with "the only tower of Anglo-Saxon character in the NW counties", according to Pevsner. Tower possibly built by order of Siward, Earl of Northumbria, sometime between 1042 and 1055; nave possibly later (1120) (from History of Cumbria)
Image 39The Anglo-Scottish marches (from History of Cumbria)
Image 40The University of Cumbria's Fusehill Campus in Carlisle (from Cumbria)
Image 41The Rere or Rey Cross on Stainmore (from History of Cumbria)
Image 42The Flag of Cumbria, adopted in 2025 (from Cumbria)
Image 43Approximate 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 44Scots' Dike (from History of Cumbria)
Image 45The banks of Brocavum Roman fort in the foreground; Brougham Castle is in the background (from History of Cumbria)
Image 46A Border reiver: statue in Carlisle (from History of Cumbria)
Image 47Galava Roman fort, Ambleside (from History of Cumbria)
Image 48The Fish Hotel, Buttermere – where Mary Robinson worked (from History of Cumbria)
Image 49Walls Castle, Ravenglass: the possible site of the Arthurian Lyons Garde or St Patrick's birthplace (from History of Cumbria)
Image 50Muncaster Castle (from Cumbria)

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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

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Derwentwater

Derwentwater, or Derwent Water, is a lake in the Lake District in North West England, immediately south of Keswick.

Derwentwater is in the unitary authority of Cumberland and is the third largest lake by area in the region, after Windermere and Ullswater. It has a length of 4.6 kilometres (2.9 mi), a maximum width of 1.91 kilometres (1.19 mi), and an area of 5.4 square kilometres (2.1 sq mi). Its primary inflow and outflow is the River Derwent, which also flows through Bassenthwaite Lake before reaching the Irish Sea at Workington. (Full article...)

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Credit: Diliff

A 360 degree view from the middle of Striding Edge near the summit of Helvellyn in the Lake District. Helvellyn is the tallest summit just to the right of centre. Red Tarn is the small lake on the right, Catstye Cam is the fell directly behind Red Tarn, and Ullswater and the village of Glenridding are visible on the horizon along the far left corner.

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