Ravenglass

Ravenglass is a single street village on the estuary where the Esk, Mite and Irt rivers meet the sea, and it is the only coastal village in the Lake District National Park. Its houses face the water across a shingle foreshore, and at low tide the estuary drains to sand and channels.

It was a Roman naval base, and the remains of its bath house, known as Walls Castle, are among the tallest surviving Roman buildings in northern Britain. In the Middle Ages it was granted a market charter, and its long main street still has the shape of a market village. The village's long main street runs parallel to the shore, and slipways between the houses lead down to the water.

Today it is best known as the coastal terminus of the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway, which runs up into Eskdale, and the station has a small museum about the line. A mile south east, Muncaster Castle, home of the Pennington family for centuries, has gardens famous for rhododendrons and a hawk and owl centre. Combine the castle, the bath house and a return trip on the railway for a full day, and check the railway timetable in advance as services vary by season.

Ravenglass is small and quiet, with a couple of pubs and a cafe, and very little parking in the village itself. It is easy to reach by train, and a good combination with Eskdale and Muncaster in one day.