When the taxi driver picked us up at our hotel in Edinburg to take us to Waverly station, he asked us where we were bound for. “Carlisle”, we answered happily.
“Oh”, he said, “you must have friends or family there.”
Our cabby’s attitude is a typical response to anyone announcing an impending visit to Carlisle, a small, quiet city just over the Scottish border which is probably most famous as the place you can get a bus for a tour of Hadrian’s Wall. However, there is more than first meets the eye to this charming oasis from being a tourist in Great Britain. The castle, the cathedral, the pedestrian zone–with its shops and sights–and the two large round towers that guard the entrance to downtown, are surprisingly beautiful and welcoming. There is also a wonderful bed and breakfast, known only by its address, Number Thirty-One Howard Place, where the meals produced by the host, Philip Parker, are some of the best in England.
Still, the best thing about Carlisle is leaving it on the train and heading west toward the Irish Sea. The object of this adventure is to ride down the coast from Carlisle to Barrow-in-Furness, view a rather posh part of Cumbria on the train from Barrow to Lancaster, catch one of the mainline trains barreling toward Glasgow or Edinburg, and alight at Oxenhome: Lake District. From there you can take the spur line to Windemere, on the lake of the same name. After enjoying Wordsworth’s old stomping ground, return to Oxenhome and catch a late evening express back to Carlisle, to go tired and happy into dinner.
Along the way you will greet the sea at Flimby, see the modern windmills at Corkickle, St. Bees, and Nethertown, and pass through the charming villages of Seascale, Drigg, and Bootle, all clinging to the rugged coast. After an inland excursion through Green Road and Foxfield, you return to the coast at Barrow, a medium-sized port city on the Irish Sea.
Changing trains at Barrow, and setting out in the direction of Lancaster, you pass through some of the most picturesque landscape in the Brittish Isles. Between Cark and Bare Lane you will view rich old houses and fancy riverside resorts, as well as comfortable, bustling villages like Amside, Silverdale, and Canforth, and you will think that there can’t be anything more charming. Just wait.
The trip between Lancaster and Oxenhome is a peaceful adventure, and changing there for the smaller train to Windemere will plunge you deeper into the lush lake country meadows, green fields dotted with the puffy white clouds of the legions of sheep who are the only armies since the Romans to occupy this territory. At Windemere the the scene changes. You enter a paradise for fishermen, yachtsmen, hikers, and water lovers in general. You can take a tour on Lake Windemere, and visit the picturesque Belle Isle–the largest island in the Windemere–and Ladyholme where you can see the remains of a thirteenth century chapel at rest in the middle of the lake. If walking enchants you, you can obtain an exquisite view of Morcambe Bay at the south end of the lake by taking the trail through Elleray Wood to Orrest Head. On your way back to the station, you enjoy the fact that you have been in the company of Wordsworth, Coleridge, Southy, Thomas Gray and Beatrix Potter as they contemplated the beauty of this area.
The trip between Lancaster and Oxenhome is a peaceful adventure, and changing there for the smaller train to Windemere will plunge you deeper into the lush lake country meadows, green fields dotted with the puffy white clouds of the legions of sheep who are the only armies since the Romans to occupy this territory. At Windemere the the scene changes. You enter a paradise for fishermen, yachtsmen, hikers, and water lovers in general. You can take a tour on Lake Windemere, and visit the picturesque Belle Isle–the largest island in the Windemere–and Ladyholme where you can see the remains of a thirteenth century chapel at rest in the middle of the lake. If walking enchants you, you can obtain an exquisite view of Morcambe Bay at the south end of the lake by taking the trail through Elleray Wood to Orrest Head. On your way back to the station, you enjoy the fact that you have been in the company of Wordsworth, Coleridge, Southy, Thomas Gray and Beatrix Potter as they contemplated the beauty of this area.
The journey back to Oxenhome and Carlisle is like a dream remembering this corner of England–bucolic, beautiful, and bound to beckon you back to Cumbria and all its charms. Taking the train makes all this delight affordable, possible, and totally satisfying. The dreams are free. 
Real Travel Adventures 