by Isabelle Esteves

Created on: July 28, 2011   Last Updated: July 29, 2011

One of the most beautiful counties in England is located in the northwest. Cumbria is the home of the lakes which have attracted tourists to the area for hundreds of years.  

Between the years 1799 and 1808 William Wordsworth, the British poet lived in Dove Cottage. Some of his greatest works were produced while he lived here with his family. The building itself dates from sometime early in the seventeenth century, though the exact age is unknown. It was for many years an inn known as The Dove and Olive. Most people visit here for its short association with William and Dorothy Wordsworth.  Many other important British writers visited here during the time that the Wordsworths rented this house, including Sir Walter Scott and Samuel Coleridge. Dove Cottage is a Grade 1 listed building and more than 70,000 people visit here every year.

Rydal Mount  is the home where William Wordsworth lived from 1813 until his death in 1850 and it is still owned by his descendants today. The history of the house predates the Wordsworths by hundreds of years and is historic in its own right. Today, the house and garden are open for visits and there is a tearoom as well.  The poet designed the gardens with their views of Rydal Water.  The home has many portraits and souvenirs from his time there.

If you have not had your fill of Wordsworth by this time, Wordsworth House where the poet was born in 1779 is also open for visits. It is located in the market town of Cockermouth. 

It seems there is hardly a castle in England where Mary Queen of Scots was not imprisoned. Carlisle Castle is one where she definitely was. The history of this castle which is operated by British Heritage is over 900 years old. This is a fun place to visit since it provides a variety of tours depending on your interests. Different areas of the castle have been preserved as different periods of history so a visit here will cover more than just one historic period.

Carlisle Cathedral dates from less than 100 years after the conquest and has some fine examples of Medieval stained glass.  The fact that it was so far north may have helped it to survive both the Reformation and the Commonwealth. It also has the distinction of being the smallest cathedral in England.

Cumbria, like most English counties,  has abbey ruins from the dissolution of the monasteries. Furness Abbey  dates from the time of King Stephen and was a Cistercian community. There is a museum to visit

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