Days Out in and around Brampton

You may be surprised to learn that the market town of Brampton, while surrounded by seemingly endless stretches of lush green fields, is remarkably east to find – thanks to its convenient road links – and even an airport.

Serving as a great starting point from which to explore everything that north Cumbria has to offer, both lovers of peace and quiet and history buffs will feel very at home here.

Although near Carlisle, the peace and tranquillity is in abundance here with the relaxed pace of life in the town centre matched by the surrounding countryside and the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

BRAMPTON

Brampton is only a couple of miles away from the Hadrian’s Wall World Heritage Site – but more on that in a moment. The town itself features the Moot Hall in the centre, standing proud for more than 200 years and now, serving at the town’s Tourist Information Centre, welcomes thousands of inquisitive visitors through its doors every year who want to get to know Cumbria’s lesser-known gems.

The town is home to two churches of note: St Martin’s Church boasts stunning stained glass windows, while a second, The Old Parish Church, was constructed using stone taken from Hadrian’s Wall. Although hardly any of the original building is still standing to this day, the Chancel is worthy of a visit.

LANERCOST  PRIORY

East of Brampton is Lanercost Priory, which is thought to be nearly 1,000 years old. Founded by King Henry II and near Hadrian's Wall, the priory played a key role in the Anglo-Scottish conflicts and was dissolved by King Henry VIII around 400 years later.  Still in use today. The priory attracts visitors from far and wide, and is still used as the local parish church.

LONGTOWN

For further days of enjoying this beautiful part of Cumbria on foot, Longtown serves as a good starting point for strolls along the River Esk and through the surrounding countryside. There’s no shortage of options here, as woodland, fields and moorland is all connected by several public footpaths and bridleways, with quiet roads also serving as ideal cycling routes. Longtown is also the home of the red sandstone church of St Andrew.

SURROUNDING AREAS

For those who just can’t get enough steps in, way-marked walking routes accompanied by useful information boards are plentiful in Brampton’s surrounding areas, with Gelt Woods and a nearby RSPB reserve sure to satisfy the bird-watcher in all of us.

Miltonrigg Wood, Rowbank Wood and The Mote/Ridge Wood all well worthy of exploration, as are the villages of Walton, Low Row, Laversdale, Irthington and Hallbankgate.

Venturing into the north Pennines, you’ll find Tindale and Midgeholme, while the little town of Gilsland takes you to the very edge of Cumbria, sharing a border with Northumberland.

Talkin Tarn Country Park is a real highlight, and is only two miles outside Brampton itself. Complete with a 65 acre lake, nestled among 120 acres of sprawling woods and farmland, a whole day can easily be enjoyed here.

HADRIAN’S WALL

And finally – how can we talk about Brampton without going into more details about the fun that can be had along the site of Cumbria’s best-known wall?

Hadrian’s Wall is a 75-mile long former line of defence stretching all the way from The Solway Firth in the west, to Wallsend-on-Tyne in the east.

This fortification marked the northern frontier of the Roman Empire and is easy to explore thanks to good bus links, the Hadrian’s Wall national trail for walkers, and Hadrian’s Cycleway for those who fancy seeing even more of the world famous, historic structure.

Along the wall you can see fascinating remains of forts and turrets – with two Cumbrian highlights being the Banks Turret near Brampton and just a few miles away.

Imposing and well-preserved, the Banks East Turret is managed by English Heritage, while the Birdoswald Roman Fort sits above the River Irthing.

During Hadrian’s reign, this stretch of the wall was thought to have been the home of 1,000 Roman soldiers, with more history waiting to be discovered at the Birdoswald Visitor Centre which dices in to more than 2,000 years of history.

You can even stay here, thanks to a 39 bed residential centre – and take advantage of expert knowledge thanks to the team at Great Guided Tours. Made-up of local guides, they take enormous pleasure in revealing more of the wall’s history to fellow history, adventure and intrigue enthusiasts.

As they say, “There's history every step of the way...”