//
There are several bird-watching, wetland and similar wildlife sites along the Solway Firth, but this one hides a dark history. In 2001 Foot & Mouth Disease broke out in British cattle, associated with the lifestock mart at Longtown north of Carlisle, and quickly became nationwide. It was harmless to humans but damaging to consumer confidence, farming and meat production. The government decided on a policy of mass slaughter of affected herds - so where do you put the unsaleable carcasses? The army was brought in to kill herds and dispose of the carcasses, with a vast "plague pit" on this site near Great Orton. The area couldn't then be used for agriculture but was remediated into a nature reserve.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
Art gallery and museum of Borders life, from Hadrian's Wall and the Reivers to the present.
The earliest fort here was the Roman Luguvalium from 72 AD, 50 years before construction of Hadrian's Wall. The Normans built a wood-and-earthwork fort in 1092 and rebuilt it as a stone castle from 1122. It withstood attacks by the Scots and in 1568 the imprisoned Mary Queen of Scots watched football on the green outside. The Jacobites seized it in 1745 before retreating before the advance of the Duke of Cumberland, and those that didn't scarper were put to death. The border then became peaceful so the castle was neglected. The army still have a small presence here and the castle houses Cumbria's Museum of Military Life, no extra charge.
Built from 1112 as an Augustinian priory, it became Anglican after the Dissolution of 1536. It's small, with an exterior in local red sandstone. Within, the finest feature is the great intricate east window. The choir has a wooden barrel vault roof and wooden seating with misericords. These are shelves on the undersides of hinged seats, so that during the lengthy standing periods of a service, monks could prop themselves upright. Candle scorch marks reveal that they sometimes fell asleep.
This has flat-racing Apr-Oct and National Hunt (jumps) races Nov-March.
"The Cumbrians" play soccer in National League, the fifth tier. Brunton Park (capacity 18,000) is oversized for their present status, and sometimes floods, but plans to move elsewhere have flopped.
Bouldering wall with 1000 m2 of climbing surface.