 | Lake District National Park Off the Beaten Path | Tips 1 - 10 of 44 |  |
No, not some Cumbrian hostelry or age-old custom, but a huge Bronze-age stone circle.
Long Meg and her Daughters are little known and are one of Cumbria's best kept secrets. Long Meg is over 12 feet tall and stands some distance from the rest of the stones, her daughters. Engraved on Long Meg are a cup and ring and spiral, clearly visible.
Originally there were over seventy stones in the circle but today fifty nine are left with twenty-seven of these still standing. The stones are reputed to be uncountable, ie; the number counted is never the same!
The best known tale tells of the circle as being a coven of witches in the 13thc. who fell under a Scottish wizard's spell which turned them all to stone. I like that idea!
The circle is well off the beaten track, on a very minor road, signposted from the A686 and about 6.5 km. north east of Penrith, 0.5 km from Little Salkeld.
We arrived here in the motorhome in the pouring rain and were fortunate to be able to park in one of the two very small parking areas. The grass was extremely wet so we had no intention of going off road. There is room to turn round (as the road is a dead end) if you continue towards the farm.
While we were there, a lone woman, in the torrential rain, went round all the stones, touching each one in turn. I'm not sure of the significance of this. It is an impressive sight though and I would love to see it from the air to get a true idea of it's size. Leave a Comment
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 No chance....!!!! by nickandchris
I'm not giving you directions for this except to say it was near the beginning of the walk!! Find it for yourself. Leave a Comment Other Contact: Aira Force walk
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 Setting off through the forest by nickandchris
The children had to make their own homes out of what they could find in the forest. It was certainly interesting to see what they ended up with!!! They also" shopped" at a pretend shop full of items to help them in their battle for survival in the forest, both useful and unuseful items. It was incredible what some of the children decided was useful!!! An electric kettle, a picture and a water-bottle was what one group ended up with!!! I didn't fancy my chances of survival with that lot!!!!
Eventually they got the gist that luxury and electrical items would be totally useless......... Leave a Comment Other Contact: Grizedale Forest
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At Grizedale Forest Visitor Centre a new HighWire Forest Adventure has opened. It is an extreme tree-top tarzan course of rope bridges, trapezes and zip slides at heights of up to almost 60feet off the forest floor. Definately suited to those looking for a challenge.
Pre-booking is essential and under 18's must be accompanied by a participating adult. Min. age 10yrs.
Open 12th - 20th Feb. incl..
18th March - 30th Oct. incl..
Nov. weekends only
Dec. and Jan. closed.
18years + £18
10 -17years £13 Leave a Comment
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 The Beacon by Arm-Chair-Hero
You can get some food and go sit in the harbour area to eat.....the seagulls wont bother you unless you feed them ; ) Leave a Comment
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 Baaa by Arm-Chair-Hero
Entrance is free and inside there are various small shops with a sheep theme to them, a cafe and various information displays.
When you go there your time will be quite short in the areas I described above and also you may be a little dissapointed. The main attraction is a sheep display. You have to pay for this and it costs just under five pounds each. The display is a sheep show that is quite entertaining for children and adults.
You enter a small theatre like building with a stage at the front. On the stage there is a platform with spaces for around twenty sheep to walk on. A woman stands at the front giving a breif description of the various breeds of sheep that are about to be displayed, out they come and off they go to there correct place on the stage. The places are named and the sheep go unaided to there correct place. Afterwards there are various demonstrations and at the end you get to have a hands on go at feeding the lambs. This is more interesting than I have made it sound....worth a visit, children or no children. Leave a Comment
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 Maryport harbour by Arm-Chair-Hero
We didnt see anywhere to eat or visit.....if anyone can correct me I will be happy and will make another visit next time.
Best thing there was the view from the harbour. Leave a Comment
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 Muncaster Castle by Arm-Chair-Hero
The grounds are free to walk around and are quite large. To enter the castle there is a fee to pay at the main entrance to the area. The best thing is to buy a group ticket that will give you access to the castle, the world owl center and also a maze ( if you have children )
When entering the castle there are information leaflets that are handed to you as you walk in, aslo you can use what I would describe as large mobile phones that will give you information as you walk around. All the areas inside the castle are numbered.....key in the number on the large mobile phone and you get the appropriate information. The castle is worth a look around and has some nice items on display.........it did seem a little small to me but I guess I have been spoiled living so close to Chatsworth Hall ( huge place ) Leave a Comment
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 Twittwoo by Arm-Chair-Hero
Just about everybody enjoys looking at owls and this is worth paying for at the main entrance to Muncaster.
Also in the center is an owl shop where you can buy the usual tourist stuff.......not so impressed with that, but hey I am a bloke ; ) Leave a Comment
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 A maze ing by Arm-Chair-Hero
The maze is quite small and man made as opposed to the usual natural ones. There is a theme to based around a field mouse trying to get back home. The children will love it and for the parents it wont take all day, maybe 30 mins maximum.
As you make you way through the maze you have a scratch card that you you use to answer five questions ( my job ) if you answer them correctly you recieve a prize at the end. Dont get your hopes up the prize is not fantastic, but does the trick to make the children happy.
Well worth a visit if you have kids.
You pay for this at main entrance with rest of attractions for Muncaster. Leave a Comment
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