Penrith Castle

The Lancaster and Morecambe area is widely regarded as the 'Gateway to the Lakes'. One of Britain's most beautiful regions, the South Lakes can easily be reached from the Lancaster area, by train, bus or car.

While not in the South lakes and therefore a little harder to reach, Penrith deserves a spot here. Once the capital of Cumbria, Penrith can be reached by road (M6, A6 and A66) and rail. The rail trip, which takes about an hour, is breathtaking, in fine weather or foul!

It's now a busy market town - you can tell from the traffic (if you thought Lancaster was bad you will soon change your mind after visiting some Lakes towns). The place has a good reputation for its specialist shops - I can recommend a visit to J&J Graham's fantastic food shop in Market Place - and you will find some interesting memorabilia shops if you look around.

John Freeman 30 April 2002

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Penrith
• Eden Arts
2 Sandgate, Penrith, Cumbria CA11 7TP
Tel: 01768 899444 Fax: 01768 892947
E-mail:

The Local Arts Development Agency (LADA) for Eden District, funded by Eden District Council, Northern Arts and Cumbria County Council and exists to promote, support, develop and advise on arts and cultural activity in the area.

• Rheged
Rheged Redhills Penrith Cumbria CA11 0DQ
Information line: 01768 868000
Open: 10.0am - 5.30pm daily Admission: Free

Named after Cumbria's Celtic kingdom, Rheged is Europe's largest grass-covered building offering the Helly Hansen National Mountaineering Exhibition, artists' exhibitions and pottery demos, cinema, shops, tourist information centre and more.