Fun things to do in Cumbria

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During the summer,large car boot sales/market are held on the old airfield in Flookburgh, a few miles from Grange-over-Sands. I think they begin at easter and are held Bank Holidays up to July, then weekly until October.

Like most of these giant car boots, there are those stalls that are there every week, which we tend to avoid. They generally overprice items. The real bargains are found on the stalls where folks have just had a once a year clear out and generally just want rid of stuff.

Some days we can come away with absolutely nothing, other times we strike lucky.What we refuse to do is pay over 50p for a paperback and even that is our top whack. For that price, it has to be a book we've been searching for!

This venue gets busy during the school holidays with the caravan site providing a lot of custom. Always plenty of children about.

At this sale, there are plenty of snack vans and places for a coffee. Oh, and there's always an ice cream van! Usually there are small quad bikes to ride on and a large inflateable Titanic bouncy castle.

A couple of portaloos are on hand for anyone who gets desperate.

The good thing is pitches are all on a hard surface so no mud involved for either sellers or buyers!

If the weather is calm, you'll be able to watch the planes taking off and the parachutes land. It's quite exciting.

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This was a new attraction for this year, a field of maize turned into a tourist maze. It's actually only part of the huge field., thank goodness otherwise we could have been in there for ever!!!
You are given a very short brief on things not to do and given a flag to stick up above the maize, in emergencies.

There are various posts with quiz boards along the way. The idea is the children do one quiz and adults the other. We didn't find all the clues and weren't inclined to look any longer, having been going round in circles for an hour or more and in the drizzle.

You can buy a map to help you find your way out, for £1, which is refundable if you don't open it. There are three manned bridges where you can buy expensive drinks and the map if you haven't already obtained it, and also get a view of the maze from to try and get your bearings. This didn't help us a great deal but after much family argueing we did eventually get out with our map unopened. Yes, it's a good place for rows, everyone thinks they know the way but no-one does!!!

There are some game type mazes and giant games to try, once you've "done" the maize, pedal tractors and go-carts and other entertainment for small children. Also in a field are some alpaccas which reminded me of giant poodles!!!

The maize is created by Adrian Fisher who seems to be an old hand at this sort of thing :www.maizemazes.com

We thought the admission charge was steep (check web site)and goods they were selling were a definite rip off.

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Cumbria has miles of coastline, mainly sandy. Most of it is huge swathes of sand and pebbles with rock pools at low tide. Views extend to the Isle of Man, the Solway Firth and Scotland and on a go9od day, to Ireland.
Due to the nature of the county, we also have coastal estuaries with mud flats and sinking sand. These are a haven for birds and popular with ornothologists .The tides sweep into the estuaries, sometimes with an actual bore and they can be dangerous places if you are not keeping an eye open for the tide. This often results in people being stranded and the coastal rescue services put into action.
The Coast to Coast Walk begins in northern Cumbria, at the pretty beach of St. Bees.There are lovely views from St. Bee's Head.
In summer the beaches attract families, out for picnics and general seaside fun. Even windsurfing is popular on wild days, we've seen the enthusiasts in the middle of winter togging themselves up as the rain lashes down and the wind howls around. Not for me, thankyou.
Fishing is big on certain stretches of coast. I must admit we've never caught anything worthwhile from the beach but people do. Morecambe Bay is renowned for it's flukes, a flat fish caught in nets out on the sands and sold locally.
Boating is becoming more popular now Windermere has a speed limit. People need somewhere to use their boats and the coast seems like a reasonable alternative.

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A great place for families where you can see some of the world's rarest creatures.There's an indoor tropical hall and butterfly house with hands on activities, including handling such things as snakes and chameleons, as well as watching the leaf-cutter ants at work (our favourite!) . Birds and butterflies and even bats, are free to fly around.

Outside you can walk around an enclosed area, home to a variety of animals including the endeering meerkat.

There's a picnic area and also a cafe and gift shop.

Open every day except 25th and 26th December.
Ample parking.

Adults: £6
Children: £4

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One of Cumbria's premier attractions and also one of Europe's top conservation parks.
You don't feel like the animals are caged, here. They have enormous pens with a huge outdoor area.
You can wander amongst kangaroos, emus and lemurs but don't attempt to picnic with them as they'll have your food.
Rhinos, giraffes and baboons mingle happily together. You can hand feed the lemurs at feeding time and also watch the amazing feats of the Amur and Sumatran tigers as they leap up 6 metre poles to "catch" their food.

Conservation talks and feeding times are a daily feature throughout the main tourist season as the plights of various animals are explained.
It's a wonderful family day out and I certainly learnt a lot from the talks.

There's a playground, train rides, cafe, picnic areas and gift shop.

It is quite pricey, admission wise but I feel it's worth it. It's an unforgettable experience.

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Although just off the busy A6, the mill is situated in a very peaceful, pretty landscape. beside the river Bela close to the Lancashire border.
It is a working water-driven corn mill housed in a restored 18th c. building.The machinery is driven by a 14feet diameter high breast shot waterwheel (or so it says!) The driving water is taken from water above a waterfall , nearby. Here, in a deep cleft in the bank, is also a fish ladder for the spawning salmon swimming upstream.
There is an exhibition inside showing 900 years of milling.

In another building there is the Museum of Papermaking (the present day paper factory is just across the river) depicting the history of papermaking. It was founded in 1988 to commemorate 500 years of papermaking in England. If you are lucky you can watch demonstrations of handmaking paper.
We found the cornmill the more interesting, the paper museum being more photos and drawings. The man who showed us round the mill was a real enthusiast and had helped in the campaign to restore and re-open it.
You can walk across a footbridge here and look for fish, yes, there were some. The waterfall was quite impressive (I'm a sucker for them) and wild flowers were growing everywhere.
There is car parking and the odd picnic table. From here you can also follow the footpath over the hill and down to Dallam Park where you should see deer grazing.

I seem to remember admission to the mill was fairly cheap.

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Enroute to Northumberland we decided to take a look at Lanercost Priory. Not far from Hadrian's Wall, it's situated in north Cumbria, near Brampton.

It was founded in 1166 by Henry II and completed in 1220. Being as close to Hadrian's Wall as it was, the priory suffered from frequent raids. By 1538 it had ceased being a monastery and was dissolved by Henry VIII after the dissolution. Some of the priory was turned into a private residential farm. The rest slowly crumbled away until 1740 when it was decided to restore the nave and use it as the parish church. It is still used today and is open to the public, free of charge

The ruins of the priory, behind the church, are not free and are owned by English Heritage. A fee must be paid to view these, although we discovered that the scant remains were easily viewed, at no cost, by walking round the grave yard where you can see the remains quite easily. Apparently, there is an audio tour available from the gift shop if you are really into these sort of things.

We found the church beautifully peaceful and the wooden ceiling was most impressive.

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Having lived in Grange all my teenage years, I couldn't wait to escape from it's boringness. Now, some 35 years later, I see it as a pleasant, old fashioned town with some excellent, traditional shops.

Don't come to Grange looking for the high life, there is none. It only has one pub, although the hotels all have public bars. There are, however, enough cafes and restaurants to go round, all offering something a little different. No need to go hungry here!!

Situated in Morecambe Bay,Grange has a long pedestrian promenade where owing to it's mild climate, palm trees thrive.It's where most visitors. take a leisurely stroll You may not get to see the sea, this is an estuary with mud flats and sinking sand and nowadays, the tide only reaches the promenade on exceptionally high tides. It is possible to walk across the sands, but only with a proper guide as the sands and fast incoming tide are treacherous. Organised walks take place in the summer which are very popular.

I suppose Grange's most popular "things to do" is feeding the variety of wild fowl in the Ornamental Gardens. (I told you not to expect too much excitement!!) Very popular in school holidays. Watch out for the greedy seagulls!!

At the present time, Grange's indoor swimming pool is closed; lack of funding. It's a pity as there really isn't much else to do.

Just a pleasant place to wander, especially if you like "nice quality" shops.

This is a popular place with the older folks.