Carlisle

Carlisle is an English cathedral and historical fortress city in the modern county of Cumbria, at the northern end of the Lake District and 10 miles (16 km) from the Scottish border. It's an ideal base for exploring the English Lake District, the world famous Hadrian's Wall and the Northumberland National Park.

By car
The city is 10 miles from the English-Scottish border. The M6 runs just to the East of the outskirts of Carlisle, giving this city excellent road links with the rest of the country. Carlisle is two hours from Edinburgh, Scotland's capital, and from Glasgow, Scotland's largest city.

By train
Trains run hourly from London Euston, taking 3 hr 20 min via Warrington, Wigan, Preston, Lancaster, Oxenholme (for Lake District) and Penrith, and continuing from Carlisle non-stop to Glasgow Central (another 70 min).

Trains from Manchester Airport and Piccadilly, and from Liverpool Lime Street, also run via Preston to Carlisle and continue to Lockerbie, where they branch either for Motherwell and Glasgow Central, or for Edinburgh Haymarket and Waverley.

An hourly train runs from Dumfries via Annan and Gretna to Carlisle. Every few hours these start from Glasgow Central and meander through Kilmarnock and a dozen small places.

Trains run every 30 min from Newcastle upon Tyne, taking 90 min via Metrocentre, Prudhoe, Hexham, Haltwhistle and Brampton. Some start from Morpeth.

Trains from Leeds run a scenic route every couple of hours, taking 2 hr 40 min via Shipley (for Bradford), Keighley, Skipton, Settle, Ribblehead and Appleby.

The Dalesman is a steam-hauled excursion train running June-Sept from York or Chester to Carlisle via this line.

Trains from Barrow-in-Furness wend and wind along the coast hourly via Millom, Ravenglass (for Eskdale), Sellafield, Whitehaven, Workington, Maryport, Wigton and Dalston.

is central in town. It has a staffed ticket office and machines, toilets, a cafe and waiting rooms. There is step-free access to all platforms.

By plane

 * Manchester Airport is best choice global connections and competitive fares. There's an hourly direct train from the airport, taking two hours to Carlisle and continuing to Glasgow.
 * Newcastle upon Tyne and Glasgow ( and ) airports are reasonable alternatives.
 * Newcastle upon Tyne and Glasgow ( and ) airports are reasonable alternatives.

By foot
Much of Carlisle's history is within walking distance of the city centre.

By bus
Other places can be reached by bus: Stagecoach and Reays operate the bus services in the city.

See

 * Explore the Eden Valley.

Do
Carlisle offers easy access to many parts of Hadrian's Wall (though the Hadrian's Wall Footpath is just a scenic route along a path where wall was). The city runs just to the north of this historic landmark.


 * Football:
 * Football:
 * Football:
 * Football:

Drink
In 1916, during World War I, the government nationalised the breweries and pubs in the area around Carlisle, to reduce drunkenness in the workers in the munitions factories near Gretna. The State Management Scheme persisted until 1973, and can still be seen in the design of the New Model Inns, built in the early twentieth century.


 *  Concrete on Lowther Street is a popular nightclub. Very popular amongst students, it has a very positive atmosphere with 2 bars, 2 dance floors and a pool table.
 * Botchergate is lined with bars of differing styles and expense.
 * Botchergate is lined with bars of differing styles and expense.

Connect
As of June 2022, Carlisle has 4G from O2 and Vodafone, and 5G with EE and Three.

Go next

 * North across the border into Scotland is the wedding industry of Gretna. For Robert Burns associations continue to Annan and Dumfries.
 * West to Cockermouth
 * Southwest to the Lake District National Park including Keswick
 * South to Penrith, Appleby-in-Westmorland and the Eden Valley
 * East to Brampton and Haltwhistle, for the best sections of Hadrian's Wall.