Carlisle is a part of The Countrywide Great Tour route this summer. The English and Scots scrapped over the town for centuries but now its a more peaceful place to visit

The Countrywide Great Tour begins on 4 July 2015 and takes place over 64 days visiting various coastal locations across the UK.

Cyclists will begin to arrive in Carlisle on the afternoon of 9th July after a ride up the coast from St Bees.

You take a walk back through English history when you visit Carlisle, but that’s not to say it’s a city that’s backward looking. On the contrary, it has its eyes on the future with a cultural vibrancy and a cosmopolitan air that would be the envy of many.

It was even voted the ‘Happiest place to live in the UK’ in a recent survey but the Carlisle of today embraces and enjoys its past. Since the Iron Age there have been people inhabiting this important junction of north-south east-west routes. The Romans built a fort here on Hadrian’s Wall from Wallsend in the east to the Solway housing a large army.

Through the years it has seen Cromwellian troops and Jacobite rebels and still has plenty of historic buildings among the boutique shops, department stores and pavement cafes.

The imposing castle has dominated the city for 900 years and the art gallery and museum Tullie House reflects the changes this Border city has seen not only through its collection of Cumbrian art from the 18th Century to the present day, but in the costumes and textiles and the geology of the area.

Visit

Cathedral

Visit the medieval cathedral to see the azure blue and gold ceiling and Scandinavian runic inscriptions.

01228 548151 www.carlislecathedral.org.uk

Eat

David’s Restaurant

A Victorian townhouse in the city centre is one of the leading fine dining restaurants in Cumbria

01228 523578 www.davidsrestaurant.co.uk

Stay

The Hallmark Hotel has four stars and is located in front of the historic Court Square in Carlisle

01228 531951 www.carlislehallmarkhotel.com

Do you want to take part in the Great tour? To enter, head over to the Countrywide Great Tour website.