Carlisle Salford 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.

Salford, located in the north west of England, has a secret that many visitors don't realise - 60% of the city is green space! The city has three green flag parks, five local nature reserves and over 20 public parks, all of which offer visitors plenty of things to do and see. You can explore one of the beautiful country parks such as Clifton Country Park's meadows, play hide and seek in Worsley Woods, take a leisurely stroll at Blackleach Country Park, or enjoy a brass band concert with an ice cream in the summer at Victoria Park. If you prefer a more wild approach, try some real wilderness at Chat Moss. If you are looking for a taste of Salford's past, visit Ordsall Hall which is a formerly moated Tudor mansion, the oldest parts of which were built during the 15th century. The mansion is located in the Ordsall area of Salford and was the family seat of the Radclyffe family, who lived in the house for more than 300 years. The hall was the setting for William Harrison Ainsworth's 1842 novel Guy Fawkes, written around the plausible although unsubstantiated local story that the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 was planned in the house.