Aspatria
Aspatria is a great gateway to the Solway Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It has everything you need for a day trip, all set in lovely rolling countryside.
This little town lies just three miles to the south east of the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty’s boundary and provides easy access to its southern dunes and beaches .
Travelling north west from Aspatria, through the characteristic landscape of hamlets, farmsteads small fields and hedgerows, head for Allonby or Silloth where the B5300 provides easy access to this area of coastline.
The town’s name is said to be derived from ‘ash tree of St Patrick’, a combination of Scandiavian and Celtic – the legend has it that the saint was here to convert the locals to Christianity. After the authors Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins visited, they gave the name ‘Spatter’, a word close to the pronunciation ‘Speatrie’ used by many Cumbrians.
Seek out the Grade II parish church of St Kentigern which stands on the site of an older Norman church, demolished when its congregation outgrew the space. Several ancient crosses and grave stones have been preserved there after being discovered in the area.
The famous Cumbrian artist Sheila Fell grew up in Aspatria and her friend and mentor LS Lowry would come and visit. They took their inspiration from the town and its surrounding villages, and the beauty of those places still exists today.
Aspatria has a strong mining history, but today, cheese is something this town is becoming increasingly famous for. Its award-winning Lake District Dairy Co. becoming one of the biggest brands in the UK. The bedmaker Sealy is also based here – its fans include David and Victoria Beckham.
Rugby and music are also big reasons for people to visit. The Aspatria Hornets RLFC and Aspatria RUFC the BlackReds are based in the town, which is also home to the popular Aspatria Music Festival.
Getting here…
Aspatria has its own railway station and is easily accessible by road from Carlisle from the north and Maryport from the south along the A596, or on the B5300 from Allonby and Silloth.
Facilities
- Shops
- Cash machine
- Post Office
- Food & drink
- Toilet
- Parking
- Petrol station
- Railway station
Did you know…?
The British Museum houses the almost complete skeleton of a Viking chief which was found in Aspatria in the 1700s after a local dignitary hired labourers to flatten a mound known as Beacon Hill.
Look for…
The views painted by renowned Aspatria artist Sheila Fell. She was a protégé of LS Lowry who used to travel to her family home by taxi from London while wearing carpet slippers.
