Cumbria
Cumbria is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's county town is Carlisle, in the north of the county. Other major settlements include Barrow-in-Furness, Kendal, Whitehaven and Workington.
The administrative county of Cumbria consists of six districts (Allerdale, Barrow-in-Furness, Carlisle, Copeland, Eden and South Lakeland) and, in 2019, had a population of 500,012. Cumbria is one of the most sparsely populated counties in England, with 73.4 people per km2 (190/sq mi). On 1 April 2023, the administrative county of Cumbria will be abolished and replaced with two new unitary authorities: Westmorland and Furness (Barrow-in-Furness, Eden, South Lakeland) and Cumberland (Allerdale, Carlisle, Copeland).
Cumbria is the third largest ceremonial county in England by area. It is bounded to the north-east by Northumberland, the east by County Durham, the south-east by North Yorkshire, the south by Lancashire, the west by the Irish Sea, and the north by the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders.
Cumbria is predominantly rural and contains the Lake District National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site considered one of England's finest areas of natural beauty, serving as inspiration for visual artists, writers and musicians. A large area of the south-east of the county is within the Yorkshire Dales National Park, while the east of the county fringes the North Pennines AONB. Much of Cumbria is mountainous and it contains every peak in England over 3000 ft above sea level, with the top of Scafell Pike at 3209 ft being the highest point in England. An upland, coastal and rural area, Cumbria's history is characterised by invasions, migration and settlement, as well as battles and skirmishes between the English and the Scots. Notable historic sites in Cumbria include Hadrian's Wall (also a World Heritage Site), Carlisle Castle, Furness Abbey, Hardknott Roman Fort, and Brough Castle.
The place names Cumbria and Cumberland both mean "land of the Cumbrians" and are names derived from the term that had been used by the inhabitants of the area to describe themselves. In the period c.400 to c.1100, it is likely that any group of people living in Britain who identified as ‘Britons’ called themselves by a name similar to ‘Cum-ri’ which means "fellow countrymen" (and has also survived in the Welsh name for Wales which is Cymru). The first datable record of the place name as Cumberland is from an entry in the Anglo Saxon Chronicle for the year AD 945. This record refers to a kingdom known to the Anglo Saxons as Cumberland (often also known as Strathclyde) which in the 10th Century may have stretched from Loch Lomond to Leeds. The first king to be unequivocally described as king of the Cumbrians is Owain ap Dyfnwal who ruled from c.915 to c.937.
The administrative county of Cumbria consists of six districts (Allerdale, Barrow-in-Furness, Carlisle, Copeland, Eden and South Lakeland) and, in 2019, had a population of 500,012. Cumbria is one of the most sparsely populated counties in England, with 73.4 people per km2 (190/sq mi). On 1 April 2023, the administrative county of Cumbria will be abolished and replaced with two new unitary authorities: Westmorland and Furness (Barrow-in-Furness, Eden, South Lakeland) and Cumberland (Allerdale, Carlisle, Copeland).
Cumbria is the third largest ceremonial county in England by area. It is bounded to the north-east by Northumberland, the east by County Durham, the south-east by North Yorkshire, the south by Lancashire, the west by the Irish Sea, and the north by the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders.
Cumbria is predominantly rural and contains the Lake District National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site considered one of England's finest areas of natural beauty, serving as inspiration for visual artists, writers and musicians. A large area of the south-east of the county is within the Yorkshire Dales National Park, while the east of the county fringes the North Pennines AONB. Much of Cumbria is mountainous and it contains every peak in England over 3000 ft above sea level, with the top of Scafell Pike at 3209 ft being the highest point in England. An upland, coastal and rural area, Cumbria's history is characterised by invasions, migration and settlement, as well as battles and skirmishes between the English and the Scots. Notable historic sites in Cumbria include Hadrian's Wall (also a World Heritage Site), Carlisle Castle, Furness Abbey, Hardknott Roman Fort, and Brough Castle.
The place names Cumbria and Cumberland both mean "land of the Cumbrians" and are names derived from the term that had been used by the inhabitants of the area to describe themselves. In the period c.400 to c.1100, it is likely that any group of people living in Britain who identified as ‘Britons’ called themselves by a name similar to ‘Cum-ri’ which means "fellow countrymen" (and has also survived in the Welsh name for Wales which is Cymru). The first datable record of the place name as Cumberland is from an entry in the Anglo Saxon Chronicle for the year AD 945. This record refers to a kingdom known to the Anglo Saxons as Cumberland (often also known as Strathclyde) which in the 10th Century may have stretched from Loch Lomond to Leeds. The first king to be unequivocally described as king of the Cumbrians is Owain ap Dyfnwal who ruled from c.915 to c.937.
Map - Cumbria
Map
Country - United_Kingdom
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| Flag of the United Kingdom | |
The United Kingdom has evolved from a series of annexations, unions and separations of constituent countries over several hundred years. The Treaty of Union between the Kingdom of England (which included Wales, annexed in 1542) and the Kingdom of Scotland in 1707 formed the Kingdom of Great Britain. Its union in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland created the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Most of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, which formally adopted that name in 1927. The nearby Isle of Man, Guernsey and Jersey are not part of the UK, being Crown Dependencies with the British Government responsible for defence and international representation. There are also 14 British Overseas Territories, the last remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, encompassed almost a quarter of the world's landmass and a third of the world's population, and was the largest empire in history. British influence can be observed in the language, culture and the legal and political systems of many of its former colonies.
Currency / Language
| ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
|---|---|---|---|
| GBP | Pound sterling | £ | 2 |
| ISO | Language |
|---|---|
| EN | English language |
| GD | Gaelic language |
| CY | Welsh language |
