Cumbria, the third largest county in England, is bound to the west by the Irish Sea, to the south by Lancashire, to the southeast by North Yorkshire, and to the east by County Durham and Northumberland. Scotland lies directly to the north.

A predominantly rural county, Cumbria is home to the Lake District National Park, considered one of the most beautiful areas of the United Kingdom. The area has provided inspiration for generations of British and foreign artists, writers and musicians. Much of the county is mountainous, with the highest point of the county (and of England) being Scafell Pike at 978 m (3210 ft). All the territory in England that is over 3,000 feet above sea level is in Cumbria. Parts of Hadrian's Wall can be found in the northernmost reaches of the county, in and around Carlisle.

Ambleside is a town in Cumbria, in north-west England. It is situated at the head of Windermere, England's largest lake. The town is within the Lake District National Park, in the Westmorland area. Ambleside has a relatively large number of pubs for its size with some ten pubs and bars within a quarter of a mile radius. The high number of drinking establishments is maintained by both the tourist industry, so essential to the town, as well as the student population associated with St Martin's College (formally Charlotte Mason College).

Appleby-in-Westmorland is a town in Cumbria in North West England. It is situated within a loop of the River Eden and has a population of approximately 2,500. It is in the historic county of Westmorland, of which it was the county town. Appleby's main industry is tourism due to its history, remote location, scenery and closeness to the Lake District and the North Pennines. Appleby is on the Settle-Carlisle Railway and is overlooked by the (currently closed) Appleby Castle.

Barrow-in-Furness is an industrial town and port in Cumbria, North West England. It is known for its shipbuilding and steel-making industries. The town, often simply known as Barrow, is situated at the tip of the Furness peninsula. Barrow is the second largest settlement in Cumbria, the seventh largest on the Irish Sea coast, and the nineteenth largest in North West England. Barrow forms the overwhelming amount of territory of the wider Borough of Barrow-in-Furness. Barrow is located just over 220 miles north-west of London and 60 miles south of the Scottish border.

Cockermouth is a town within the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England, and is so named because it is at the confluence of the River Cocker as it flows into the River Derwent. Historically a part of Cumberland, Cockermouth is situated on the northwest fringe of the English Lake District. This location tends to enhance the life and character of the town without the effect of receiving too many tourists. Much of the architectural core of the town remains unchanged since the 18th and 19th centuries.

Grange-over-Sands is a town by the sea or depending on the state of the extensive tide, sands, in Cumbria. The town developed from a small fishing village in the Victorian era with the arrival of the railway as it became a popular seaside resort, lying on Morecambe Bay, across the sands from Morecambe itself.

Kendal is a market town and civil parish within the South Lakeland district of Cumbria. It is 39.5 miles (63.6 km) south of Carlisle, on the course of the River Kent, and has a total resident population of 27,521, making it the third largest settlement in Cumbria (behind Carlisle and Barrow). Historically a part of Westmorland, Kendal today is known largely as a centre for tourism, as the home of Kendal mint cake, and as a world-renowned producer of pipe tobacco and tobacco snuff. Its buildings, mostly constructed with the local grey limestone, have earned it the nickname the Auld Grey Town.

Keswick is a market town within the district of Allerdale, Cumbria. With a population of 4,281, it is situated just north of Derwent Water, and a short distance from Bassenthwaite Lake, both in the Lake District National Park. It lies within the historic county boundaries of Cumberland.

Penrith is a market town in the county of Cumbria. It is in the Eden Valley, just north of the River Eamont, and lies less than 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) outside the boundaries of the Lake District National Park. Other local rivers bounding the town are the River Lowther and the River Petteril. A partially man-made watercourse, known as Thacka Beck, flowing through the centre of the town, connects the Rivers Petteril and Eamont. For many centuries, the Beck provided the town with its main water supply.

Seascale is a beach-resort and village in the county of Cumbria, England. Although the place-name indicates that it was inhabited by Norse settlers, probably before 1000 AD, the community remained insignificant until the development of a railway line along the coast from Whitehaven to Barrow in Furness in Victorian times, following which, in the 1850s, it was developed as a seaside resort.

Windermere is the largest natural lake in England. It has been one of the country’s most popular places for holidays and summer homes since 1847, when the Kendal and Windermere Railway built a branch line to it. It is in the county of Cumbria and entirely within the Lake District National Park. The word "Windermere" translates as "Vinandr's lake", from the Old Norse name Vinandr and Old English mere, meaning lake.
There are two towns on the lake, Ambleside and Bowness-on-Windermere. The town of Windermere, confusingly, does not directly touch the lake. Known as Birthwaite prior to the arrival of the railway, it is about a fifteen-minute walk from the lakefront, and has now grown together with Bowness. Windermere railway station is a hub for train and bus connections to the surrounding areas, Manchester, Manchester Airport, and the West Coast Main Line.