Culture Guides
Destination Guides
Think of Cumbria and what springs to mind? A rural retreat complete with hearty hikes and snug pubs? If these are the images scudding across your mind’s eye, you’d not be wrong. Yet there are more things to do in Cumbria than its outdoor image might suggest. Tourism actually began here back in the 1700s, when clergyman Thomas West published a Guide to the Lakes. It banished forever the idea that Cumbria was wild and inhospitable. It’s thanks to West that when we think of the Lake District, we think of a chocolate-box landscape. Yet the ideal of the ‘picturesque’ is both a blessing and a curse: good for tourism, yet occasionally overshadowing the contemporary art that is made, performed and shown here year-round.
Cumbria is full of artists, from those taking part in the C-Art fest to those exhibiting at Blackwell and Abbot Hall; for them, the landscape’s ability to turn in a moment from benign beauty to lowering skies continues to inspire. It is this that has piqued our interest – and will, we hope, keep yours.
Lakes Ignite 2018, The Lake District National Park
A giant, fluorescent pink and orange striped inflatable, a shoal of Ice Age fish, and a VR encounter with the depths of the earth; six contemporary artists explore the less commonly-observed wonders of the Lake District.
Picnic Cinema, Cumbria
Picnics, dancing, shenanigans, capers, discos, tomfoolery and great, classic, cult and horror films in extraordinary locations. This year’s selection of films includes Pulp Fiction, The Wicker Man and Boogie Nights.
Rails at Theatre by the Lake
Shortlisted for the 2015 Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting, Rails is a play about loneliness, dreaming and trying to hope in a town that doesn’t seem to want you to.
Picnic Cinema: Sightseers (15) at Lowther Castle
Picnic Cinema provide film fans with the opportunity to see cult comedy Sightseers in its natural habitat.
Kendal Calling Festival 2018
So good that 2017’s edition sold out before the line-up was announced, snap up your tickets for 2018 fast.
Places to go / stay / shop / eat / drink
Cumbria Visitor Guides
Restaurants in Cumbria
Cumbria is far from short of good places to eat – here’s our guide to restaurants to put on your map of the area.
Art Galleries in Cumbria
Ranging from impressive, nationally-significant collections in Grade listed buildings, to historic houses that now have a particular focus on local, contemporary artists, here’s our guide to Cumbria’s collection of art galleries.
Museums in Cumbria
Cumbria is studded with fantastic museums – read our picks of the best here.
Cumbria District Guides
South Lakes, Cumbria
No trip to Cumbria is complete without a visit to its best-loved places, Coniston and…
Penrith, Cumbria
Located in the Lake District’s Eden Valley, the market town of Penrith is a jumping-off…
Kendal and Sedbergh, Cumbria
The South Lakes are where it’s at for most visitors, and usually has the tailbacks…
Eden Valley, Cumbria
Sustainability is a theme that resonates throughout the Eden Valley, which stretches from Sedbergh to…
Cockermouth and West Cumbria
Once known for its industry, West Cumbria has an independent, industrial streak that sets it…
Carlisle and Keswick, Cumbria
Carlisle is a city framed by its famous castle and still showing the battle scars…
Things to do right now
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