Ulverston

Ulverston is a lively, cobbled market town on the Furness peninsula, close to the shore of Morecambe Bay and in the lee of the southern Lakeland fells. It has kept a genuine market town feel, with its outdoor markets on Thursdays and Saturdays, a covered Market Hall, and streets of independent shops and pubs fanning out from the Market Place.

High above the town on Hoad Hill stands the Hoad Monument, a near replica of the Eddystone lighthouse built in memory of Sir John Barrow, the Ulverston born explorer and Admiralty official. The climb is short and steep, and the view across the bay to the Lakes is the best in Furness. Stan Laurel was born in Ulverston in 1890, and there is a statue of Laurel and Hardy in the town centre and a Laurel and Hardy Museum.

Swarthmoor Hall, just south of town, is where George Fox and Margaret Fell established the Quaker movement, and the house and gardens are open to visitors. The Ulverston Canal, often described as the shortest and straightest in England, makes a flat walk out towards the bay. Ulverston is also the start of the Cumbria Way, the long distance path that runs north through the heart of the Lakes to Carlisle.

It is a working town rather than a tourist centre, which makes it good value and genuine. The A590 can be slow in summer, but the railway is a quick alternative. Festivals through the year, including the lantern procession in autumn, bring the streets to life.