Penrith, Cumbria, England

Early on in our travels, we went to a place called Penrith. At the time we were using the West Coast Mainline a lot, so like Carlisle, Preston and Edinburgh, it was on this line so it was easy to get to. Since then we have revisited it on the way through to Carlisle.

Penrith:

Status: Eden District, Cumbria, Town, England

Date: 09/08/2012 & 14/07/2013

Travel: Virgin Trains (Preston – Penrith North Lakes), Virgin Trains (Carlisle – Penrith North Lakes)

Eating & Sleeping: N/A

Attractions: Penrith Market & Clock Tower, Penrith Castle, Penrith Museum, Penrith Town Hall, Penrith Henges, Millennium Stone etc

This is Penrith castle. It is a ruin but very spacious inside, and the remains of the dried up motte that encircled it are also visible. It is fully open to the public free of charge and makes for an interesting wander around itself and the grounds. You can see it from the train so even if you are just passing through, be sure to keep an eye out for it.

The next part was the market square, with the clock tower in the centre. It is taller than it looks, and a very impressive piece of architecture. There are numerous old buildings around the square, and a small wooden pavilion up the road makes for a good place to sit and watch the world go by. All of these places are within a few minutes walk from the station.The town hall is also half the library, and is situated a little further out of the main town but still within walking distance. There are many shopping streets leading from the town hall to the clock tower, with a few interesting shops that you might not have seen in too many other places.

Penrith is worth a visit, it is pretty and you can relax in the castle grounds on a nice day as there is plenty of space. It is one of the gateways to the Lake District along with another town further down called Kendal. From Penrith there are buses that can take you further into the Lake District to towns such as Keswick.

I hope you come across it on your travels.