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Lane Head
Apartment:
Cumbria - the
Lake District Self Catering Accommodation
The village of Bolton Low Houses is situated close to the
small town of Wigton in West Cumbria.
We are equidistant (12 miles) from Carlisle, ‘the great border city’
to the north and Cockermouth, birthplace of the poet William Wordsworth,
towards the south. Cockermouth abounds
in restaurants to suit all tastes and is a great place to stop for a
meal. The border to the Lake District National Park is just seven
miles away and an easy drive. The
closest entry points are the Caldbeck Fells (still one of our favourite
areas in the entire Lake District), the Skiddaw range of hills or, slightly
further along the A66, the bustling town of Keswick with its backdrop of
hills and forests.
Carlisle itself is home to the smallest cathedral in
Britain. The city is dominated, however,
by the dark and brooding castle which in past centuries has borne witness
to lengthy sieges and to many a bloody execution of Scottish invaders and
their local sympathisers. You can
wander the grim castle dungeons where these unfortunates were held in
squalid conditions before being taken to the gallows on Harraby Hill. The castle was temporary home to Mary
Queen of Scots when she began her journey south. Nothing remains now of the tower which
housed her apartments but a remarkably beautiful oak table survives which
is said to have been used by the Catholic queen. The castle museum enables the visitor to
browse amongst exhibits connected with the long and distinguished history
of the King’s Own Border Regiment
and also to view the evidence of Carlisle’s Roman past when it was known as
Luguvallum, even then an important stronghold against the marauding tribes
of the north. If museums are your
special interest, Tullie House in Carlisle comes highly recommended. The building itself belonged to a wealthy
merchant and his family. The museum
provides a comprehensive insight into Carlisle’s varied past as well
as the violent and bloodthirsty story of the Border Reivers who once
inhabited the desolate lands hereabout.
Hadrian’s
Wall is now lost to view beneath the streets of Carlisle but the city is a
good place from which to start your journey if you want to follow its
original course. To the west lie the
flatlands of the Solway Plain with its wealth of birdlife and marsh
vegetation whilst to the east the established Roman sites with stretches of
Hadrian’s original Wall still
standing await the intrepid explorer.
Unless you are visiting the area in the height of the summer, we do
suggest that you wrap up warm for expeditions to Hadrian’s Wall. The bleakness of the surroundings must
have come as quite a shock to legionaries from warmer climes!
If it is the Lake District itself that you have come to see,
then you will find that Lane Head Apartment is a comfortable base from
which to plan your excursions. You
will find maps covering the entire National Park together with plenty of
suggestions as to places to visit.
If you are keen on walking, cycling or just love the countryside,
the Lake District has something to offer everyone. Windermere is bustling with activity but
other lakes such as Wast Water are almost brooding in their silence and
tranquility. Whether you have come
to find Beatrix Potter’s
Peter Rabbit or to see Wordsworth’s ‘golden daffodils’ in the springtime, the
Lake District won’t disappoint you.
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