Cartmel
Cartmel is one of the most charming and most complete small villages in the Lake District, a medieval settlement in the low-lying Cartmel Peninsula south of the main Lake District mountains whose combination of the magnificent Augustinian priory church, the medieval gatehouse, the racecourse on the village green and the reputation for exceptional food, particularly the Cartmel sticky toffee pudding, creates one of the most rewarding and most distinctive small destinations in Cumbria. The village retains its medieval character in an unusually complete form for a settlement of its age and quality.
The Cartmel Priory, one of the finest medieval churches in Cumbria, was founded in 1190 and its survival through the Dissolution is attributed to its role as the parish church of the local community, a status that protected it when the adjacent monastic buildings were destroyed. The interior contains an exceptional collection of medieval misericords, monuments and stained glass that makes it one of the most rewarding ecclesiastical visits in the northwest of England. The uniquely positioned diagonal tower, crossing the roof at an angle to the building below, is the most architecturally distinctive feature of a church of considerable overall quality.
The village racecourse, one of the smallest and most atmospheric in England, hosts meetings on the Whitsun and August Bank Holiday weekends that have been held here since the seventeenth century and create a unique atmosphere combining horse racing with the character of a medieval village green.