Discover Cumbria

Carlisle Castle, Carlisle, Cumbria
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Carlisle_Castle_03.jpg
Author: Neil Boothman


Cumbria is a non-metropolitan county in the western part of North West England. It covers 6,768 sq km (2,613 sq mi) and has a population of just about 500,000 people (2012 estimate), making it one of the most sparsely populated counties in the country. In contrast, the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness, in the south, has a population density that is over twelve times that of Cumbria.

In terms of area, Cumbria is the third largest ceremonial county in England. This largely rural county is the location of the Lake District and the Lake District National Park. It is bordered by the Scottish council area of Dumfries and Galloway to the north, County Durham and Northumberland to the east, North Yorkshire to the southeast, Lancashire to the south and the Irish Sea to the west.

Eden Valley, Cumbria
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Crossfell.jpg
Author: Carl Bendelow


The low population density of Cumbria can be attributed to its terrain which for the most part is mountainous. Throughout England, only in Cumbria do you find peaks exceeding 900 m (3,000 ft) in height, with the 978-m (3,209 ft) Scafell Pike being the tallest mountain in Cumbria and in England.

Human habitation of Cumbria goes back to prehistory. During Roman Britain (c. 410 AD), the area was inhabited by an Old Welsh-speaking tribe called Romano-Britons. The name Cumbria is believed to have been derived from the name the people gave to themselves, Cymru, which means compatriots in Old Welsh.

Towns in Cumbria

Sights in Cumbria

Sizergh Castle, Helsington, Cumbria
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sizergh_Castle_-_geograph.org.uk_-_2043005.jpg
Author: George Hopkins

Map of Ceremonial Counties of England

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Dear visitor, thank you so much for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye and my hobby is to find out about places, write about them and share the information with you on this website. I have been writing this site since 5 January 2003. Originally (from 2003 until 2009, the site was called AsiaExplorers. I changed the name to Penang Travel Tips in 2009, even though I describe more than just Penang but everywhere I go (I often need to tell people that "Penang Travel Tips" is not just information about Penang, but information written in Penang), especially places in Malaysia and Singapore, and in all the years since 2003, I have described over 20,000 places.

While I try my best to provide you information as accurate as I can get it to be, I do apologize for any errors and for outdated information which I am unaware. Nevertheless, I hope that what I have described here will be useful to you.