About rural Cumbria

Cumbria is one of Britain’s most iconic rural counties, best known for the Lake District — a landscape of fells, lakes, and dry-stone walls that has shaped both the cultural imagination and the farming practices of generations. But Cumbria’s rural identity stretches beyond the postcard views.

Hill farming is at the core of Cumbrian life. Herdwick sheep, unique to the region, graze the high fells under a system of hefting that ties flocks to their ancestral land. Farms around Eskdale, Borrowdale, and Wasdale are often small, hardy operations, with buildings of local slate and walls weathered by wind and rain.

The Eden Valley and Solway Plain offer gentler farmland — green fields, dairy herds, and arable crops alongside market towns like Appleby and Wigton. These lowlands support a different type of rural economy, but one equally grounded in continuity.

Many of Cumbria’s farms are tenanted through large estates or the National Trust, which supports traditional grazing and conservation. Community events, fell races, and agricultural shows remain central to rural identity here.

Cumbria’s rural heart is shaped by hardship and beauty alike — a place of tough terrain and deep-rooted resilience.