North West England

Introduction

Northwest England is home to the industrial cities of Liverpool and Manchester, the beautiful Lake District, the Howgill Fells, the Forest of Bowland and the smaller cities of Lancaster and Carlisle.

Geography

North West England is bounded to the east by the Peak District and the Pennines and to the west by the Irish Sea. The region extends from the Scottish Borders in the north to the West Midlands region in the south. To its southwest is North Wales. Amongst the better known of the North West's physiographical features are the Lake District and the Cheshire Plain. The highest point in North West England (and the highest peak in England) is Scafell Pike, Cumbria, at a height of 978 metres.

Windermere is the largest natural lake in England. Broad Crag Tarn on Broad Crag is England's highest lake. Wast Water is England's deepest lake, being 600 metres deep.

A mix of rural and urban landscape, two large conurbations, centred on Liverpool and Manchester, occupy much of the south of the region. The north of the region, comprising Cumbria and northern Lancashire, is largely rural, as is the far south which encompasses parts of the Cheshire Plain and Peak District.

The region includes parts of three National parks (all of the Lake District, and small parts of the Peak District and the Yorkshire Dales) and three areas of Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (all of Arnside and Silverdale and the Solway Coast, and almost all of the Forest of Bowland).

Counties

• Cumbria
• Lancashire
• Cheshire
• Merseyside
• Greater Manchester

Cities

• Liverpool - Best known as home to The Beatles, but with a UNESCO heritage designation for their maritime past and serving as 2008's European Capital of Culture, this city has a lot of offer above and beyond seeing Penny Lane.
• Manchester - Once famous for its cotton mills, is the still the home of stunning waterways and victorian architecture. The city has undergone huge redevelopment in the past several decades and now is the urban capital of the north. Huge retail complex's, a highly popular music scene and home to world class sporting venues.
• Lancaster - An ancient city in the heart of northern England. Lancaster stands on the ruins of a roman garrison settlement and is full of history. Home to the house of Lancaster during the war of the roses it is a great attraction and also a base for discovering the rest of Lancashire.
• Carlisle

Getting There

By Plane

• Manchester Airport (MAN), located about 14 kilometres from the centre of Manchester, is well served, including many intercontinental routes. Quite a few budget airlines use Manchester Airport as well.
• Liverpool John Lennon Airport (LPL) offers a wide range of flights including some intercontinental. The airport is 8 miles (13 kilometres) from the city centre. Alongside domestic services, there are also regular scheduled flights to dozens of locations across Europe, North Africa as well as North America.

By Boat

From Isle of Man

• The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company runs a regular service between Liverpool and Douglas on the Isle of Man.

From Ireland

• P&O Irish Sea Ferries between Dublin and Liverpool
• Norfolk line runs ferries between Liverpool (Birkenhead) and Dublin and Belfast.

External Links