Good things come in small packages (Carlisle in General)

Member Name: mdhughes03

Product:	Carlisle in General
Date:	25/08/09 (37 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Has everything you'd need but still feels small and cosy

Disadvantages: A little behind the times

The border city represents a stronghold passed between England and Scotland many times in the past. Always fortified in some way, this was a settlement on Hadrian's famous wall and remained important thereafter-at one time to keep the Scots out and later to open up trade with them. A walled town steeped in history, much of it bloody, it's a lovely place to visit.

Location
Carlisle is located about 20 minutes drive from Scotland and 90 minutes drive from Newcastle. It is the only city in Cumbria and situated at the very North of the county, above the Lake District national park boundary. In some ways, a city seems out of place in a county made up of small market towns, hamlets and lakes. However, this is no ordinary city-we aren't taking major cosmopolitan development here-more a town which just happens to have a Cathedral.

Carlisle United Football Club is the only League Football club in the county and therefore much beloved by locals. Despite a decline in recent years and a tendency to follow promotion and cup wins with immediate relegation, old timers still recall the season of 1974 when Carlisle were in the old first division and played host to the likes of Liverpool and Manchester United.

Shopping
Most of the shopping in Carlisle is concentrated around one long main street with a few artery streets off from it and the Lanes Shopping centre and Carlisle Markets at one end. The Lanes is a small covered shopping centre with a meeting place in the middle and a multi-storey at the end. However for cheaper parking, use the Town Dykes Car Park-often referred to locally as Sallyport.

Museums
Carlisle Castle houses a military museum which is excellent value for money at £4.50 per person but best of all, go across the road to Tullie House. Don't even think about using the ugly white monstrosity that is the millennium bridge, use the underpass where you will find a stone corridor lined with relics uncovered in the Roman excavation of 1999. There is also a stone monument depicted the curse placed on the people of Carlisle by the bishop of Glasgow due to Reiver activity in 1525 At over 1000 words long, it is quite a read-he must have been very displeased! Tullie House has an art gallery which has a free exhibition that changes regularly and a permanent museum covering local history from the Roman forts to the Border Reivers (look them up, it's fascinating stuff)

Nightlife
There are only a few clubs left in Carlisle, with chain late bars like Walkabout taking over the Botchergate end of town. No longer is the brilliant Twisted Wheel of my youth, but Moods is the main club these days. There are some decent venues for gigs with some larger bands and comedy acts coming to the Sands Centre and the Brickyard being a great smaller venue. Mostly, Carlisle nightlife is centred around the pubs and a few have barely changed in the last decade, whether you think that's a good or a bad thing is really a personal opinion-Myself, I'm all in favour as it adds to my feelings of Nostalgia whenever I return to the homeland
Greenery. There are a couple of decent parks in Carlisle-Bitts Park for families and Rickerby Park for a riverside location to walk the dog. However, you're so close to the Solway coast and the Lake District, you may as well head west or south and get a real feel of the countryside

Summary: Another one to give a try