Cumbria

Map of the Cumbria Area

Cumbria is a shire county that is located in the northwest of the UK and has been in existence since 1974 due to the Local Government Act 1972 being passed. It is a 3rd biggest ceremonial county in the UK and consists of six districts. The county is bordered by Lancashire to the south, the Irish Sea in the west, North Yorkshire to the southeast and to the east by Northumberland and County Durham. It is bounded to the north by Scotland. Home to the Lake District National Park, the county is principally rural. A large portion of the county is mountainous and all area in England that is over 3000 feet is located in Cumbria with the highest point in England (97 m above sea level) at Scafell Park.

Although Cumbria was only created as a legal county in 1974 the name had been used in the area for centuries. The county town is Carlisle and it has a total population of 496,200 with a density of 73 people per square km (source: link). This makes it the 3rd least densely populated county in the UK and it is also one of the country's least ethnically diverse areas with over 95% of the population being White British (source: link). As Cumbria borders with Scotland, throughout history it has faced continual invasion the result of which has been a very distinctive Northern English culture. However, the county also has close links with Nordic culture due to invasions from the Vikings. This has also resulted in the genetics of the population having some of the highest dominance of Scandinavian traits in the UK (source: link). Cumbric and Norse were two languages that were spoken in the region before the 11 century and the names of the local settlements reflect these languages.

The six districts of Cumbria are Barrow-in-Furness, South Lakeland, Copeland, Allerdale, Eden and Carlisle. The only professional team of the county is Carlisle United who play in League One; however rugby is very popular in the region with several local teams making the national leagues. Cumbria is also the home of Woodsworth the poet.