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England > Cumbria & Lake District > Eden Valley, North Pennines, Carlisle, Hadrians Wall & Borderlands

Head east from the Lake District along the A66 (part of which was once a Roman road) and you enter the Eden Valley (also known, more picturesquely, as the Vale of Eden) that stretches from the North Pennines mountain range to the sandstone villages and rolling fields of the river valley. The Eden River runs through it, hence the name. Loved by anglers and surrounded by high fells, the wooded river valley is dotted with picturesque villages. Through the middle of it runs the 73-mile Settle to Carlisle stretch of railway, known as "the Long Drag" and carved out of the rock by sweating gangs of Irish labourers between 1869 and 1875. The Irish lived in shantytowns alongside the track, demolishing them as they moved. The Long Drag is Britain's highest railway and the most expensive track ever installed in the country. Many of the stations have closed, but they can't take away the breathtaking views.

Click on the headings to find out more: The Normans detested the Danes and the Saxons equally. Norman commander William Rufus, second son of William the Conqueror, was a brutal and corrupt tyrant known for his ruddy complexion and his savagery. After Rufus died the Scots took Carlisle, then the Normans again. William Wallace, (who was probably less handsome than Mel Gibson, who played him in the movie Braveheart), attacked Carlisle in 1297 and was repelled. Then another Scottish hero, Robert the Bruce, had a go. Bonnie Prince Charlie's troops held the town for a while, before surrendering to the Duke of Cumberland, who rounded them up and slaughtered a lot of them.

After that, law and order collapsed and the whole area was given over to the Reivers, wild-eyed gangs of cut-throats, robbers and brigands who lived by sheep stealing and burning down the homes of their enemies, (usually with the enemies still inside). The Reivers are said to have introduced two words to the English language: "bereaved" and "blackmail." Reivers seldom washed and their table manners were abominable. No positive qualities about them have been recorded - but perhaps they knew a few good jokes. Carlisle is the only city to have been added to England since the Norman conquest - and thank your lucky stars you are visiting it in the 21st century rather than a few hundred years ago!
Carlisle Castle, built by William Rufus, stands on the site of a former Celtic hill fort and has been used for military purposes for 900 years. Elizabeth I kept Mary Queen of Scots as a compulsory guest in the Inner Bailey here. Mary was allowed to exercise by strolling along the outside of the south curtain wall - still known as The Lady's Walk.

A Scottish prisoner in Carlisle Castle dungeons is said to have been the first to sing: "You'll take the high road and I'll take the low road, and I'll be in Scotland afore ye." The story behind the song is poignant. The soldier who composed and sang it was awaiting execution for rebellion (for joining Bonnie Prince Charlie's army) while his companion in the dungeon, another Scotsman, had been sentenced to imprisonment. "The low road", according to an old Scottish belief, is the route back to Scotland taken by the souls of Scots who die abroad. "The high road" means the earthly road from Carlisle to Scotland. Once you learn that, the song is never the same again. The chorus, "but me and my true love will never meet again, on the bonnie, bonnie banks o' Loch Lomond", becomes positively tragic.
The Guildhall in Carlisle's Market Square houses some impressive silverware, including two silver bells, reputedly the earliest horseracing prizes in England. One of the bells, the "muckle bell" was rung every time Carlisle was attacked. It's a wonder the bell didn't wear out.
Carlisle Cathedral, dating from 1133, has a fabulous ceiling in gold and blue. Its great bells pealed to welcome Bonnie Prince Charlie to the city in 1745. After Charlie's defeat, the bells were removed and not rehung until the 19th century.
Hadrian's Wall passes near these parts, but the only part really worth seeing locally is Birdoswald Fort, 15 miles east of Carlisle, past Brampton on the A69. A large section of masonry wall remains, along with mounds and trenches. A Visitors' Centre at the site explains how Roman legionaries defended the wall when a pack of Picts picked a place to attack.
Tullie House Museum recreates life in the 16th century Borderlands, when the notorious Reivers held sway
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