Carlisle Chester 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 Chester lies close to the border with Wales and is located in the north west of England in the county of Cheshire. There are many things to do in the city including visiting the Roman walls and wandering along The Groves or around the historic market town. The Groves is Chester's own promenade that runs alongside the River Dee from Grosvenor Park to the Old Handlebridge. The Groves was established as a promenade in the early 18th century.

For visitors interested in horse racing, Chester Racecourse is located on the Roodee which was originally the site of the Roman Port. If visitors want to see some of the racing action for free then the Roman walls walk you right past a view of the action.

Roman remains can still be seen in the city, particularly in the basements of some of the city's buildings and also in the lower parts of the northern section of the city walls. Perhaps the most important feature is the amphitheatre just outside the walls. Roman artifacts are on display in the Roman Gardens which run parallel to the city walls from Newgate to the River Dee.