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Join a qualified Blue Badge Guide and discover what makes this Eden Valley market town so special. We will start the walk at Penrith Tourist Information Centre and Museum, located in Robinson’s School (1670) and finish at Penrith’s war memorial, the gateway to Castle Park, opposite Penrith railway station. In between we will discover the places where people have lived, worked, played, traded and worshipped in this area since Neolithic times.
We will see how the town’s situation at the meeting point of East/West and North/South trade and travel routes and close to the crossing point of the River Eamont led to the development of Penrith into a thriving trading centre. Penrith was also a strategically important defensive position fought over by England and Scotland for centuries.
Penrith Castle is now a romantic ruin but it was from here in the 15th Century that Richard Duke of Gloucester (later Richard 111) governed as Warden of the West Marches, attempting to bring law and order to the disputed Border region and control the infamous Border Reiver families. The legacy of this violent era can still be seen today in the defensive pele towers which have merged into the architecture of the town and the Penrith Beacon, high on the hill above Penrith where beacons were lit to warn of impending Reiver raids.
We will explore some of Penrith’s yards, built on the burgage plots behind the medieval town houses where large families lived in tiny cottages, and there were workshops, shops and ale houses crammed together. On the way we will hear the stories of the people of Penrith, the notable families of the area and the town’s most famous residents including Trooper William Pearson who survived the Charge of the Light Brigade in the Crimean war in 1854, William Wordsworth, the great C19th romantic poet and William Jameson, landlord of the Griffin Inn and Champion Wrestler of England.
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Cancellation Policy:
Please note our walks have a minimum attendance of 2 people. If for any reason we do not have the minimum number the guide reserves the right to cancel the tour. Your Guide will contact you no less than 12hrs before the scheduled start time.
Cumbria Tourist Guides reserves reserve the right, at our sole and absolute discretion, to: alter our advertised arrangements or cancel any ticket with no less than 12hrs notice; AND in any such event (a) we shall not be liable to you for any loss of business, revenue, profits, anticipated savings or goodwill (whether direct or indirect) or for any indirect, special or consequential loss of any kind and in each case howsoever arising, even if you have advised us of the possibility of same; and (b) our maximum liability to you shall not exceed the total amount you paid for your ticket. We will endeavour to give at least 24hrs notice for any cancellation or change of plans. Returns policy
Returns and refunds are not accepted without proof of purchase. If you have booked your ticket but can no longer attend, or you made an error during booking, please inform us as soon as possible so that we can refund/return your ticket and release it for someone else. Please get in touch if this should be the case on email info@cumbriatouristguides.org
Returns policy:
Returns and refunds are not accepted without proof of purchase. If you have booked your ticket but can no longer attend, or you made an error during booking, please inform us as soon as possible so that we can refund/return your ticket and release it for someone else. Please get in touch if this should be the case on email info@cumbriatouristguides.org
Season (1 Jan 2024 - 31 Dec 2024) |
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Adult £10. Children £2
Town Car Parks signposted
Short walk from Penrith Railway Station or Penrith Bus station to the Market Square.
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Cumbria Tourism, Windermere Road, Staveley, Kendal, Cumbria, LA8 9PL