Welcoming, spacious and airy. Good stock of reading material. Lovely children's library. Shame it's…read moreon the first floor, but there is a lift, and there are toilets (always a plus if you've got kids in tow!)

Seclusion is needed by the soul more than you think folks. Peace and quiet for a few hours to…read morecollate your thoughts is priceless. Hence forth I present to you a place where Wordsworth 'wondered lonely as a cloud' The best things in life are indeed free(ok,ok, not entirely free: you do have to pay and display in the car park) On a leisurely drive with some friends through the lakes one fine Sunday afternoon we discovered(completely by fluke incidentally) this little gem of a place. Aira Force is a water fall which drops an impressive 65 feet and is surrounded by woodland. The drill here is simple, and simplicity at times can be bliss. You park your car you grab something from the cafe or stock up your picnic rucksack of goodies and off you go. A hike up through the woods will take you back to your childhood state of mind. Either you'll be climbing the steep paths through the woodland wrestling with the firs, pines, spruces and cedars like Indiana Jones(moi), or gingerly moving along with a camcorder wide eyed as if you were filming a prequel to Blair Witch project. (fainthearted friend) None the less the fruits of your labour will eventually emerge in the shape of Aira Force waterfall. Now I am and always will be a massive fan of waterfalls. There is something extremely therapeutic about the sound of the water, it floats me, freshens me up. This particular waterfall is one of the most famous in the Lake district. When we visited there was hardly anyone there. The water was so fresh and clean, I could easily have just bathe under it and would have done had it not been for a slight chill in the air and two rather strange German tourists. By strange, I mean scary horror film strange, tailing us all the way upto the falls! Perhaps it was just the fear mongering camcorder blair witch friend... Once you've taken plenty of post card worthy pictures and enjoyed the scenery, on the way back there are plenty of amazing and potentially romantic picnic spots. Plenty of daffodils around also if it's the right time of year. I loved them and I loved my visit and so will you. Who knows they might even inspire you into poetic action as it did Mr. Wordsworth. For oft, when on my couch I lie In vacant or in pensive mood, They flash upon that inward eye Which is the bliss of solitude; And then my heart with pleasure fills, And dances with the daffodils.

A beautiful National Trust site with walking paths through the woods and alongside a fast flowing…read moreriver. Main parking at the bottom of the hill close to the lake. There's toilets, a cafe and a small shop plus lots of picnic space. Beyond the two viewpoint bridges are beautiful rock pools perfect for paddling.

B.I.G is a free Magazine that is distributed throughout the Brampton area, its informative and…read moreeducational.It has many interesting articles , and news from the surrounding areas. With Gardening features and local history , Brampton Parish Council News, and planning applications and something for the children, it certainly is an interesting read.With something for everyone. Its also an excellent place to advertise your business or events.I look forward to it arriving to see whats been going on, and what businesses that i may not know about have adverts in it.Unlike newspapers which are usually recycled the next day, i keep this magazine as a reference for local numbers etc. Also as a small business owner, i have used it myself to promote my company with very pleasing results. I would highly recommend B.I.G

THis was a long way to come for this I thought.It was the Childhood home of William. It was…read moreinteresting, but not enough to go back.The best part was when we were in the kitchen, a cook was really baking and there was an almond hedge hog on the counter that we were able to take the recipe on.The gardens in the back were actually nice to.When we were inside the home, we sat on one of the couches and read a piece of his work trying to get a feel for the man and his work. Gotta love the U.K.

The staff at the entrance to this 18th century townhouse see their first priority as recruiting…read moremembers to the National Trust. You are not allowed into the building until you have been given the hard sell, plied with promotional material and coerced into accepting a satisfaction survey. I'm not a massive fan of the National Trust, to be honest. The entrance fee at Wordsworth House for an adult non-member is £5.90 and a guidebook will set you back £3.00. Another word of warning William Wordsworth left Cockermouth when he was 13, following the death of his father (his mother had died five years earlier). Spend an afternoon in your own home with a copy of his Collected Poems and you'll get more idea of how the child was father of the man. This is an idealised example of life at the top of the tree in the 18th century, complete with local people trussed up in fancy dress to look like domestic staff. The house was a 'tied' home. It came with John Wordsworth's job as agent for Sir James Lowther's Cumberland estates. When John Wordsworth died, Sir James refused to pay the children including William and Dorothy the £4,625 owed in expenses (that's £250,000 in today's money). You don't get rich by giving it away, you know.

We visited this shop in the summer as we decided to try out camping. We were novices so really…read morewelcomed the great advice we received from various members of staff during our frequent visits while we were sussing out if comping was going to be suitable for us. Having shopped about both online and at other camping outlets we believed that we were going to get the best deal here and we were not disappointed. The shop is on two floors and displays lots of different sized tents actually set up so you can view them properly not just from a brochure. They do stock literally everything you will ever need including the kitchen sink! and we were even able to get a discount from the final bill which is always very satisfying. A great camping shop for all your camping requirements. Ten out of ten.

Came for a roman exhibition and battle display, it was very good, they had working catapults etc…read moreand put on a fighting display..

A low, late morning sun through bleak winter trees covered in moss and frost.....a quintessential…read moreEnglish countryside view....and unbelievably beautiful. We happened upon Hadrian's Wall by accident on a freezing Saturday morning, having seen the brown tourists signs to a desination that has been on my "bucket list" since I was about 13 and learned about it in school on the other side of the world. How magical to just happen upon it one morning, quite by mistake! The Roman Fort in Birdoswald was practically empty - but we were still greeted with smiles and banter and the good news that Scottish Heritage cards mean free entry to the Fort. Excellent - that entrance fee will go on coffee & cake after a wee explore! The exhibition itself is well laid-out and with enough mixed media to keep even bored people interested, although I always wonder about the artists who make the replica food for these installations - I don't think Hiroshi Nagashima will be handing out any stars! That being said, the information is excellent and the museum is a good yet relatively brief introduction to the Wall and the history of this particular area of it; I do recommend buying the small booklet on the history of the Wall - especially when entry is free. Walking around the grounds, there are further boards and the frosty morning really was the most amazing time to see it - the Wall itself is an incredible feat; the tramworks people in Edinburgh could learn a lot, considering the Wall spans the width of the entire country and was completed in 7 years - and is still in pretty good condition hundreds of years later! The wee cafe is clean, functional and not uncomfortable. More importantly, the coffee is good and the malteser slice we decided to share was good enough to make us wonder if sharing wasn't the way to go! We will definitely come back and do some walking along the wall when we have appropriate shoes - for now, it was just a thrill to touch it, to see it, to have a magical morning become even more so with the reminder of amazing things it's possible to simply stumble upon.

We spent a very pleasant hour at the Lanercost Priory while overnighting at the Abbey Bridge just…read moredown the road. An English Heritage site, Lanercost Priory is open most days from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. For those without English Heritage membership, the cost to enter the monastery is £3.30 (children are £2.00). Max, the caretaker at Lanercost Priory, provided us with a very detailed and colorful description of the priory as it stood during the Anglo-Scottish wars. He was very skilled at bringing history to life, and we thoroughly enjoyed hearing his commentary. He made sure to mention specific points of interest we should watch for while walking through the monastery. As for Lanercost Priory itself, the building is remarkably preserved and lovely to walk through. We were truly impressed with just how well the site has been maintained and preserved over the years. If you're in the area, Lanercost Priory is certainly something you should see. And the tea room on the property serves a very nice cup of tea or hot chocolate (as well as dinner), allowing you to spend a few hours at the site.

This would once have been a beautiful building. Unfortunately, after Henry VIII disbanded monastic…read morecommunities in England, Wales and Scotland in the 1500s, all that remains is the gatehouse. This functioned as a vicarage to the local church and is now in the care of English Heritage and probably dates back to the 1100s. Definetly worth the walk, or the drive.