HousesCumbria

Historic Castle, Gardens and world owl centre, yearly events programme and daily displays something for everyone…

Originally built in the Middle Ages by the Strickland family, who still live here, this imposing house has an exceptional series of oak‐panelled rooms culminating in the Inlaid Chamber. Portraits, fine furniture and ceramics accumulated over centuries by the family are shown alongside their recent photographs. …

Brougham Castle was built by Robert de Vieuxpont in 1214 on the site of a Roman fort. The great tower largely survives, though later buildings were destroyed by fire in 1521. The keep and service buildings were surrounded by a timber palisade, replaced by Robert Clifford…

Carlisle Castle amply repays those wishing to explore its 900‐year history. Once commanding the western end of the Anglo‐Scottish border, the castle has witnessed, over the centuries, countless conflicts and sieges, as both the English and Scots laid claim to it. The original castle was an earth‐and‐wood construction,…

Muncaster has something for everyone Beautiful, historic, and reputedly haunted Castle home to the Pennington family for 800 years. 70 acres of gardens famous for its collection of rhododendrons and azaleas set against the stunning backdrop of the Lakeland fells. The World Owl Centre is home to…

Near Ullswater, on the Northern fringes of the Lake District, Dalemain is a real treasure. The fantastic house contains behind its Georgian facade, a wealth of Tudor and Mediaeval rooms and buildings. There has been a settlement at Dalemain since Saxon times, when a fortified pele…

Many of the enchanting illustrations for Beatrix Potter's little tales were inspired by Hill Top. It remains as she left it and in each room can be found something that appears in one of her books. The cottage garden contains the same pleasing mix of flowers,…

Hutton in the Forest is a beautiful historic house on the north eastern edge of the Lake District. It is the home of Lord and Lady Inglewood and their children and has belonged to the family since 1605. The house was originally a medieval stronghold and…

The Topiary Gardens at Levens are world‐famous in their own right, and are a must for any visitor to the English Lake District. When Col. Grahme, who had held the office of Privy Purse to King James II, came back to Levens in 1688 upon the…

Mirehouse has strong links with poets Tennyson, Wordsworth and Southey; it is a living family home, which has been sold only once, in 1688. It has the largest woodland adventure playgrounds in the area and in 1999 it won the award as 'Best Heritage Property for Families…

Rydal Mount dates from the 16th Century when the house was a small yeoman style cottage. This older part of the house became the Wordsworths Dining Room on the ground floor and Dorothy and Dora Wordsworth's bedrooms on the first floor. The house has good entertaining…

The impressive tower and other remains of this Premonstratensian abbey stand in an isolated valley. Describing the site as a ruin is unfair, a substantial amount of the west tower remains and the foundations of the living quarters and church remain. The stores for example look…

Largely 17th‐century, the solid stone and slate house is an exceptional survival. It belonged to a wealthy 'statesman' farming family and contains carved woodwork, books, papers, furniture and fascinating domestic implements from the past, largely accumulated by the Browne family who lived here from 1626 to 1943.…

Wordsworth House provides an opportunity to experience something of the Wordsworths' life in 1770s Cockermouth. Following painstaking research the house has recently been transformed using historic and reproduction items to give a picture of the home in which young William and his sister Dorothy grew up. …

The exhibition of original sketches and watercolours painted by Beatrix Potter for her children's stories changes annually. Also on display are artefacts and information relating to her life and work beyond the 'Tales'. The 17th-century building, the model for Tabitha Twitchit's shop, was once the office…

For those who want an introduction to Hadrian's Wall in Cumbria, or an overview of its history and appearance at one single site, Birdoswald is the place to visit./pp/ppNot only can a Roman fort, turret and milecastle all be seen here: but also, to the east, the longest…

Located in the far North of England, Carlisle is just a few miles from the Scottish border. This city has had a very turbulent history. The Romans built a wall through it, Vikings invaded it and the Scots and English fought over it for many years.…