THINGS TO SEE AND DO

Hesket House is ideally situated for walkers near the end of the world famous Hadrian's Wall National Trail which terminates at Bowness on Solway, just a short distance from Port Carlisle.
Bowness-on-Solway and Port Carlisle are also on the route of The Cumbrian Cycleway .
Many of our visitors are Hadrian's Wall National Trail walkers and cyclists.
Our area is also an excellent base for bird watching, photography, painting, fishing, wind surfing, and para-surfing.
Other visitors just come to enjoy the peace and quiet of our out of town part of the world.

The Northern Fells of The magnificent Lake District National Park can be seen from the coast road.
The very scenic, short drive to Keswick takes you past magnificent Bassenthwaite Lake, famous for it's Ospreys.
Their nest can be viewed from the Osprey viewing area situated on the North side of the lake in Dodd Wood.

Port Carlisle Village is situated in the very rural area of the Solway Coast.
The village is small, with a pub, a flat green bowling club, and a small children's park.
There is a lawn tennis court with rackets and balls available, plus crocket equipment.
Originally, the village of Port Carlisle, was known as Fishers Cross.

Port Carlisle was developed as a port in 1819 to handle goods for Carlisle using the canal link built in 1823. Within a few years the canal ran into financial difficulties, and was closed, and drained 30 years later in 1853. The canal was later replaced by a railway line using the canal bed for the route to Carlisle. This eventually closed in 1932. The remains of the quayside and the canal can be seen behind Port Carlisle Bowling Club.   >>>>> An old railway platform can still be seen, a little overgrown, to the the right of the Bowling Club.
	<<<<<  The end of the Hadrian's Wall National Trail overlooks the Solway Estuary. This area has a very rich and varied mixture of wild life sustained by different habitats. The sea provides us with a very mild climate due to the influence of the Gulf Stream. The combination of very mild winters and one of the largest estuaries in the country make this a very attractive area for migratory birds, particularly swans, geese and waders, which gather in huge flocks at different times of year. Add to that a very varied resident bird population from buzzards to wrens, and the Solway is a Mecca for bird watchers, year round.
Welcome to the Solway Coast.    >>>>> An area of outstanding natural beauty. Our quiet country lanes offer easy routes for cyclists with no challenging hills, and lots of interest for walkers. Deer can be seen particularly in the evenings. Hares and foxes are quite common, and otters and badgers breed in the area, although very rarely seen.. We have raised bogs at Glasson, Drumburgh, and Bowness which are important habitats for plants such as sundews and also insects and other wildlife.
A rural bus service serves Port Carlisle and the surrounding villages. Time of High and low tides.  Times are for Silloth,  Add about 30 minutes for tide times at Port Carlisle.

 

Hope and Anchor, Port Carlisle. Our village pub in Port Carlisle. Open all day April to October, with food served every day midday - 3pm and 6pm - 9pm. Snacks available all day, and a take-away service. Good home cooked food, Real Ales and a large outside seating area next to the lawn tennis courts. There is a "Jam Night" every 2nd Saturday in the month. Bring along your musical instrument and join in, or just sing along.
	<<  The King's Arms, Bowness-on-Solway. About a mile away from Port Carlisle and a 2 minute walk from the end of the Hadrian's Wall National Trail in the quiet and pictutresque village of Bowness. Evening meals and bar snacks 6pm - 9pm. Sunday luch 12:00 - 2pm. A local Solway band plays folk music on Sunday nights. A "Must See" here is Joe, a small, very well behaved pig who lives in the back yard, along with a rabbit, guinea pig and a couple of turkeys (July 2009). Give Joe a pat and an apple and he'll be your buddy.
The Highland Laddie, Glasson.  >> A cosy traditional country pub about 2 miles from port Carlisle. Call in for some refreshment as you follow the Hadrian's Wall National Trail which passes through Glasson. Freshly prepared traditional home cooked fayre, and real ales. A CAMRA approved pub in a small quiet village. The HaaFest salmon and beer festival, Sept 5th & 6th 2009 is based here. See below for details.

Inner peace  Port Carlisle.
A great way to help the body recover and spend an enjoyable relaxing hour or two, is by treating yourself to reflexology or any of the other treatments available.

Hadrian's Wall.  Frontier of the Roman Empire.  The most important monument built by the Romans in Britain, and is the best known frontier in the entire Roman Empire.  Spanning the country from Wallsend in the East to Bowness-on Solway in the west, it took 6 years to build and was 5 metres (15 feet) high.

Carlisle city centre has a very lively compact shopping district , with plenty of cafes, bars street entertainment, and nightlife.
Historical buildings such as the Cathedral and Carlisle Castle add character to the surroundings.
Tullie House museum and art gallery, is an excellent place.  Well worth a visit.
The Sands Centre is an important cultural venue, attracting many famous entertainers, West End musicals, international orchestras, musicians, ballet, and opera companies.

Solfest. Music festival on the Solway Firth.
By having a great line-up of bands, and making tickets some of the cheapest available for any festival, the Solfest is guaranteed to be a fantastic experience for everyone!
Bring your camping gear, your fancy dress for Saturday night, and of course don't forget your wellies.
Come to Solfest for a rockin' good Bank Holiday weekend every August.

The Maryport Blues Festival  40 bands, performing on stage and in venues around the town, from all over the UK, the US, Australia and mainland Europe, making it the biggest blues party of the decade !
"Be there or be square".

Silloth is a small coastal town to the south of Port Carlisle.
The village is very spacious with wide streets and an excellent sea front promenade, with has fine views of Scotland across the Solway.
Silloth hosts numerous events throughout the summer, surprising for such a small community.
Silloth is home to the Solway Discovery Centre which shows the development of the Solway coast over the last 10,000 years.

Allonby. A little further south the small coastal village of Allonby sits on the sandy beach that stretches south from Silloth. Allonby Bay is very popular with wind surfers and para-surfers. The Cumbrian Coastal Way passes through the village, and walkers can enjoy many miles of green sea-banks. If you go to Allonby, you must treat yourself to a delicious, locally made, ice cream. Twentyman's, the Allonby village store, has a very popular ice cream parlour with forty different flavoured ice creams made on the premises. Usually a dozen or so are on sale each day. Para-surfing, Allonby Bay  >>>>>>

Lake District Coastal Aquarium,  Maryport. one of the best marine aquariums in Europe. 
Over 2000 fish, 200 different species, 45 dramatic displays.
Get your hands in a rock pool, stroke the rays and see the fish at feeding time.

Maryport Maritime Museum.  Delve into Maryport's maritime heritage.  Discover links with Fletcher Christian, of "Mutiny on The Bounty" fame.

Lake District National Park
Photostream.   Sample the views of The Northern Fells.
Click "Next" and "Previous" on the Photostream web site to view the stunning scenery of The Lakes.

The Lakes and Tarns of Cumbria, the Lake District
Great photos and a description of the major lakes and tarns.

Derwent water lies to the south of Keswick,with beautiful Bassenthwaite Lake, famous for it's Ospreys is to the North West.
Both these lakes offer sailing and fishing.

Honister Pass Slate Mine
Located at the head of the Honister Pass in the centre of the Lake District.
The mine produces the world famous Westmorland Green– a beautiful, functional material that has been extracted here for centuries.
Our slate is 400 Million years old !

Keswick The Theatre By The Lake
The home for Cumbria's leading professional theatre company.
Produces traditional summer seasons of drama, film screenings, music, festivals, and a range of other events.
Also hosts regular arts and crafts exhibitions and other day-time activities.

<<<<   Dodd Wood. Osprey Webcam  See what is happening in the Osprey Nest - live. The Osprey Nest can be viewed using free binoculars from the Osprey Viewing Area situated on the North side of Bassenthwaite Lake. Take the A591 along the north side of Basenthwaite Lake , and look for the Mire House car park in Dodd Wood. You will need to walk up quite a steep incline to the viewing area.

Three para-gliders on Blencathra  >>>>> Keswick and Derwentwater can be seen in the background. Paragliding Tandem Flights  A very exiting way to view the Lake District - With nothing between you and oblivion but the seat of your pants ! We can assure you that there is no better way to experience the stunningly beautiful scenery of the Lake District than by air. You can soar with the birds along the ridges and high above the mountain tops on a paragliding tandem flight. A paragliding flight costs £80 and lasts for around 20-30 minutes.

Buttermere (foreground) and Crumnock Water.	Derwent Water and Keswick.
Hesket House appears on these web sites iknow-lakedistrict.co.uk macsadventure.com  Hadrian's Wall National Trail Accommodation and Holiday Information. The Pets Directory  Your guide to pet friendly accommodation where your pets are always welcome.
Contact Debs or David. Tel.  01.6973.51876     Mobile 07900.335.361 E-mail  stay@heskethouse.com