Carlisle Cardiff Train

Carlisle is the only city in Cumbria and its compact city centre is largely pedestrianised and The Lanes shopping centre is home to around 75 stores. Carlisle's historic centre has a castle, museum, cathedral and semi-intact city walls. The former law courts or citadel towers which now serve as offices for Cumbria County Council were designed by Thomas Telford. The first Citadel building was a Tudor fortification replacing the medieval Englishgate, designed by the Moravian military engineer Stefan von Haschenperg in 1541.

The city has a nickname of the "Great Border City" due to its proximity with the English border with Scotland and is the county town of Cumbria in the north west of England. The city's fortunes were transformed during the Industrial Revolution where milling became an important industry in the town. The city is also home to the University of Cumbria where it has four campuses in the city.

Carlisle is a principal railway station on the West Coast Main Line and is also on other lines that go to Newcastle along the Tyne Valley Line, Leeds along the Settle and Carlisle Line, Glasgow Central via Dumfries along the Glasgow South Western Line which connects Ayr and Stranraer for the Stena Line ferry to Port of Belfast or P&O Ferries to Larne Harbour, and west Cumbria along the Cumbrian Coast Line to Whitehaven, Barrow-in-Furness and Lancaster.

The city of Cardiff is located in South Wales and is the capital city of Wales. Cardiff is a small city and at its centre is Cardiff Castle whose history spans over 2,000 years which began with the Romans. The National Museum Cardiff contains Wales' national archeology, geology and natural history collections. In addition, the Wales Millennium Centre is one of the most varied and lively performing arts centres in Europe. Located five minutes from the city centre is Mermaid Quay which is a great place to relax with a drink and a meal on the waterfront. For fans of Whisky there is the Penderyn Distillery which is the only distillery in Wales and one of the smallest in the world. Cardiff also has a vibrant cultural scene with St David's Hall, the national concert hall of Wales, playing host to the Welsh Proms. Also, at the Wales Millennium Centre you can catch the Welsh National Opera and The BBC National Orchestra of Wales. For fans of the hit BBC television show Doctor Who, Cardiff is home to the Doctor Who Experience which offers an interactive journey through Doctor Who's world giving visitors a chance to fly the Tardis and come face to face with Daleks.