England’s most northerly city is a border fortress town with a castle, a cathedral and Hadrian’s Wall on the doorstep.
For most of its long history, Carlisle has been a frontier city. The Romans built a fort here beside Hadrian’s Wall, and for centuries afterwards the city changed hands between England and Scotland in wars and raids. Its castle, cathedral and walls tell the story of those turbulent times.
Today Carlisle is a friendly, compact city and a brilliant base for exploring the far north of England. Hadrian’s Wall, the Lake District, the Scottish border and one of Britain’s most beautiful railway journeys are all on the doorstep. This guide covers six things to see and do, and how to get there.
1. Carlisle Castle
Carlisle Castle has guarded the border for more than nine hundred years. It was founded in 1092 by King William II, the son of William the Conqueror, and later rebuilt in stone. It has seen more sieges than almost any other castle in England, as English and Scottish armies fought over it.
The castle is built of red sandstone, and its massive keep, gatehouse and walls still look formidable. Mary, Queen of Scots was held prisoner here in 1568, after she fled across the border from Scotland. In 1745, Bonnie Prince Charlie’s Jacobite army captured the castle, and when the English retook it, Jacobite prisoners were held in grim conditions.
In the dungeons you can see the licking stones, where desperate prisoners are said to have licked the moisture from the walls to stay alive. Carvings made by bored soldiers and prisoners survive on some walls. The castle is looked after by English Heritage.
The castle also houses Cumbria’s Museum of Military Life, which tells the story of the county’s regiments. Allow a couple of hours for a visit. The views from the walls across the city and towards the hills are wonderful.
2. Carlisle Cathedral
Carlisle Cathedral is one of the smallest ancient cathedrals in England, but it is also one of the most beautiful. It was founded in 1122 as a priory church, and became a cathedral soon after. Much of it was damaged during the Civil War, when soldiers used stone from the building to repair the city’s defences.
The cathedral’s great treasure is its east window, one of the finest examples of medieval stone tracery in England, filled with glowing stained glass. Above the choir, the ceiling is painted deep blue and scattered with golden stars. The carved wooden choir stalls and painted panels telling the stories of saints are also remarkable.
Around the cathedral are the buildings of the old priory, including the fratry, where the monks once ate, and a peaceful garden. There is a café in the old undercroft. Entry to the cathedral is free, though donations are welcome.
The cathedral and castle are only a few minutes’ walk from each other, and you can visit both in a morning. Nearby, Tullie House Museum completes the picture of the city’s history. The streets in between have shops and cafés.
3. Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery
Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery is the best place to learn about Carlisle’s long and dramatic history. It is housed partly in a Jacobean house, with modern galleries added. It sits between the cathedral and the castle.
The Roman Frontier gallery tells the story of Hadrian’s Wall and the Roman town of Luguvalium, which stood where Carlisle is today, with objects found in the area. The Border Galleries tell the story of the Border Reivers, the families who raided and feuded across the border between the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries. Their story gave the English language words like blackmail.
The museum also has natural history galleries, a fine art collection and exhibitions that change through the year. There is a café and a garden. It is a good place for families, with plenty to keep children interested.
Tullie House is linked to the castle by an underpass beneath the main road. Allow a couple of hours. Check opening times before you go, as they vary through the year.
4. Hadrian’s Wall
Hadrian’s Wall is the most famous Roman monument in Britain. It was built from AD 122 on the orders of the Emperor Hadrian, and it ran for about seventy three miles across the north of England, from Wallsend on the River Tyne to Bowness-on-Solway on the Solway Firth. It marked the north west frontier of the Roman Empire.
Carlisle stands near the western end of the wall. Little of the wall survives in the city itself, but east of Carlisle it runs across wild, beautiful countryside, and some of the best preserved sections and forts are within an hour’s drive. The wall is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Birdoswald Roman Fort, about fifteen miles east, has one of the longest surviving stretches of wall and the remains of a fort. Further east, Housesteads Roman Fort sits dramatically on a ridge, with some of the most famous views along the wall. Vindolanda, near Hexham, is famous for the wooden writing tablets found there, among the oldest surviving handwritten documents in Britain.
The Hadrian’s Wall Path is a national trail that follows the line of the wall for eighty four miles. Many people walk a short section rather than the whole route. The forts are spread out and public transport is limited, so a driver by the hour is the easiest way to see several in a day.
5. The Lake District
The Lake District National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is one of the most beautiful places in Britain. It is famous for its lakes, mountains, villages and connections with poets and writers such as William Wordsworth and Beatrix Potter. Carlisle is a quieter base for exploring the northern Lakes than the busy towns further south.
Keswick, about thirty miles south west of Carlisle, sits beside Derwentwater, one of the loveliest lakes. It is a good base for walks, boat trips and climbing mountains such as Skiddaw and Catbells. The town has shops, pubs and the Theatre by the Lake.
Ullswater, about half an hour from Carlisle, is often called the most beautiful of the lakes. Steamers cruise along it, and the Aira Force waterfall is a short walk from the shore. Wordsworth was inspired to write his famous poem about daffodils after seeing them growing on its banks.
The roads in the Lake District can be busy and parking is hard to find in summer. A driver for the day saves the stress of navigating narrow lanes and finding parking spaces. It also lets everyone enjoy the views.
6. The Settle to Carlisle Railway
The Settle to Carlisle Railway is one of the most beautiful railway journeys in Britain. It runs for seventy three miles through the Yorkshire Dales and the Eden Valley, crossing high moors, viaducts and tunnels. It was built by the Midland Railway in the 1870s, one of the last great mainline railways built by hand.
The most famous sight on the line is the Ribblehead Viaduct, a huge stone viaduct with twenty four arches crossing a wild valley. The line also passes the highest mainline station in England, at Dent. The scenery is spectacular in every season.
In the 1980s the railway was threatened with closure, but a long campaign by local people saved it. Today it carries both regular passenger trains and occasional steam specials. Many people travel the line just for the view.
Trains leave from Carlisle station, and the journey to Settle takes around an hour and forty minutes. You can make a round trip in a day, stopping at small stations along the way for walks and pubs. It is best on a clear day, when the views stretch for miles.
Over the border
Gretna Green, just over the border in Scotland and about ten miles from Carlisle, became famous as a place where young couples from England could marry without their parents’ consent, under Scotland’s more relaxed marriage laws. The Famous Blacksmiths Shop, where weddings once took place over the anvil, is now a visitor attraction, and couples still come from around the world to marry there.
Beyond Gretna, the hills and forests of Dumfries and Galloway are within an easy drive, as are the historic towns of the Scottish Borders.
Getting there and getting around
Carlisle station is on the West Coast Main Line, with direct trains from London Euston in around three and a half hours and from Glasgow in just over an hour. Trains also run east along the Tyne Valley to Newcastle, and south on the Settle to Carlisle Railway.
The M6 motorway passes just east of the city, linking it to the rest of England and to Scotland. Newcastle Airport is about sixty miles east, Glasgow Airport around two hours north, and Manchester Airport around two hours south. A car booked ahead is the easiest way to travel to and from the airports and to explore Hadrian’s Wall and the Lakes.
Ride with ZeroLanes. From your door, the station or the airport to anywhere in Carlisle, at a price fixed before you confirm. Travelling between cities? Get a fixed price for the journey, or keep a car and driver for the day with hourly hire.