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Last modified:
March 02, 2004
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Penrith - Kendal - Shap - Appleby
Penrith is the Northern Gateway to the
English Lake District and the Nations
largest National Park, of which the first notions were nurtured by William
Wordsworth in 1810. Famous for his poems plus a travel guide he wrote the area
in which he lived.
It was over a 150
years before a National Park was established long after his words had attracted
artist's such as Turner, Constable and Gainsborough who put the beauty of this
perspective on canvas followed by the sketches of Alfred Wainwright who the
entire North Country area.
We leave Penrith
located on the M6 Motorway via Eamont Bridge where we can visit Brougham
Castle at the south of Penrith at was built by the Roman General Agricola
in the 1st Century AD and another was built in the 12th Century which was
derelict when
the Countess of Pembroke a Lady Anne Clifford of Appleby a Royalist restored and
fortified it during the Civil War in the 17th Century.
Quiet rural accommodation is available at
Newby End Farm in
Newby, just off the M6 Motorway south of Penrith, where B&B, Self Catering
and small Touring Camp Site can be found. An ideal location to explore the
Pennines, Eden Valley or the North Eastern Lakes.
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A
further short run south into the Eden Valley is the Mayburgh Earthworks where
King Authur’s Round Table is open to view, a prehistoric mound some 15 feet (5m)
high covers an area of more than an acre. At this juncture we road to
Appleby and take a quieter router through Cliburn and Bolton.
Appleby is a stop on the 19th Century (Carlisle to Settle)
Railroad, still in operation by modern commuter trains and occasionally restored
Steam Locomotives, being popular with steam rail enthusiasts. The scenic route
to Carlisle is renowned for its views especially across the Ribblehead Viaduct
which has also to be viewed from below to comprehend the Victorian Engineering.
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Appleby has an Annual Horse Fair which has been in
existence since 1685 is held in early June, originally a festival of nomad
traveling people there is now a strong mix of local horse traders involved
in the celebrations and country activities. |

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The castle at the head of the village was fortified during the Civil War as a
Royalist refuge by Lady Anne Clifford who when besieged in 1648 resisted the
Roundheads till they ran out of food. Jack Robinson a Secretary to the Treasury
lived in the White House on the main Street, he was impatient and refused
to tolerated delays, hence the saying 'Before you can say Jack Robinson'
We leave Appleby turning south to Orton rising onto Orton Scar with panoramic
views of Beacon Hill and Shap Fell and the Pennies and Cross Fell to the East.
Orton is a quiet hill farming village, an excellant location for Hill Walkers
who traverse Orton scar onto Beacon Hill where locals maintained a fire beacon
to warn the surrounding country side of Scottish Raiders.
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Driving on back towards Kendal we pass through Tebay
on the M6 Motorway, accommodation is nearby towards Kirby Stephen at the
Kings Head Hotel
in Ravenstonedale. A quiet rural place bordering on the
Yorkshire Dales and often referred to as the Forgotten Cumbria. |
Our journey is continues taking the
minor road from Tebay, crossing the M6 Motorway via Grayrigg to Kendal,
the Southern Gateway to the English Lake District National
Park. Kendal is just off the M6 Motorway on the A6 Highway its
predecessor, Kendal is built with Grey Stone rather than the Green Slate found
elsewhere in the Lake District.
There was a prehistoric Fort on
Castle Howe and the Roman's built a camp by the river Kent south of the present
town, the later Norman Castle which is now in ruins was the birthplace of Henry
VIII's sixth wife Catherine Parr.
The A6 route north rises to 1,397 feet
onto Shap Fell with many car parks with viewing point along the way then drops
into the village of Shap a one street hill farming town which is often cut off
and the road closed in the winter. There was an Abbey here in the 12th Century,
which is now in ruins with only the tower still standing.
Continuing north towards Penrith the
Northern Gateway to the English Lake District National
Park we pass the Lowther Wildlife Park, a Wooded Parkland Sanctuary
centered around the old Castle. This is an interesting place for a family day
out with Penrith also on the M6 Motorway which has wound it's
way from the south on Britain and and continues to Glasgow in Scotland.
Photos and Maps are to follow
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