Penrith

Penrith is a red sandstone market town at the meeting of the Eden Valley and the Lake District, and it is one of the most useful places in Cumbria to know. It has a main line station, the M6 on its doorstep and Ullswater twenty minutes away, but it has kept its own character as a farming town with a crowded Tuesday market, old coaching inns and a web of small streets and squares.

The ruins of Penrith Castle stand in a park opposite the station and are free to visit. In St Andrew's churchyard is the Giant's Grave, a group of tall pre Norman stone crosses and hogback stones. The Musgrave Monument, the Victorian clock tower, marks the Market Square, and the Penrith and Eden Museum tells the story of the town in a former school.

Just south of town at Eamont Bridge are King Arthur's Round Table and Mayburgh Henge, two prehistoric earthworks, and Brougham Castle stands by the River Eamont a little further on. Lowther Castle, with its roofless facade and restored gardens, is a short drive. West of town off the A66, Rheged is a large visitor centre with shops and a cinema under a grass roof.

Penrith is less beautiful than the Lakes towns and the A66 and A6 bring heavy traffic, but it is cheaper to stay in, easy to reach and a good base for both the Lakes and the Eden Valley. Saturday is a busy shopping day, and the large auction mart by the motorway also hosts a Saturday market.