Cumberland

Cumberland is a unitary authority in North West England covering the districts of Carlisle, Allerdale and Copeland. The area runs from the Solway Firth coast across the Solway Plain into the fringes of the Lake District. The River Eden flows through Carlisle and the River Derwent reaches the sea at Workington. Roman remains sit around Carlisle, with the Stanwix fort and the line of Hadrian’s Wall that meets the Solway at Bowness-on-Solway. Mudflats and saltmarsh on the Solway support masses of waders at low tide, while upland pastures and peat mosses rise toward the fells.

Carlisle is the administrative centre and contains a Norman castle and a cathedral; coastal towns such as Whitehaven and Workington reflect the area's maritime and industrial history, and Whitehaven retains its 18th-century harbour grid. Parts of the Lake District National Park fall inside the authority, including Skiddaw and its surrounding valleys used for hill farming and walking. Transport includes the West Coast Main Line at Carlisle and coastal roads linking ports and villages, while the economy mixes public services, ports and visitor activity.