As one of England's largest and newest counties, Cumbria is predominantly rural and one of the most sparsely populated. Acclaimed for its beauty, the county contains every mountain in England that is above 900m and the Lake District National park.
As England's most northern city, Carlisle is located at the confluence of rivers Eden, Caldew and Petteril and as is nicknamed ‘the Border City' as its only 10 miles from Scotland. Dating back to Roman times, Carlisle has a compact centre and intact city walls. It is the focus of developers in Cumbria due to its strong transport links. As a principal station on the West Coast Main Line and on the M6 which links Scotland and England, the city is well connected.
Elsewhere in the county the Lake District settlements of Penrith, Windermere, beside the largest natural lake in England of the same name, and Ambleside are scenic and quaint, but currently have very little new home development.
Barrow-in-Furness is the main other settlement in Cumbria. Located at the tip of the Furness peninsula close to the Lake District, it is bordered by Morecambe Bay, the Duddon Estuary and the Irish Sea. It's a former industrial town which now specialises in energy generation and several wind farms located off the coast of the town form one of the highest concentrations of turbines in the world, including Walney Wind Farm, the world's single largest offshore wind farm. After much regeneration in the 1990s, in 2007 the Dockland regeneration was started and is due to be completed in 2020. With 15 primary schools and five secondary schools, there is plenty of choice for families.
Affordable
£102,500
In a residential area on the south-west side of Carlisle, The Elms from Lovell offers nearby main road access to Carlisle and the M6 nearby if you want to go further afield. The two-bedroom ‘New Upton' semi-detached house is an ideal starter home with the developer offering a range of incentives.
Family
£265,950
Clifton Hall Gardens from Story Homes is one of their newest sites and is located in the pretty village of Clifton close to the M6. The ‘Cypress' on plot two is a four-bedroom detached house with a garage and a private driveway.
Luxury
£419,000
Otters Holt is the exclusive new development from Cumbrian Homes with three- and four-bedroom detached properties six miles east of Penrith in a village called Culgaith. It has many local amenities such as a school, pub, and garden centre with tea room and has easy access to the M6. ‘Plot 18- Kestrel' is a four-bedroom detached house in which all bedrooms have walk in wardrobes and there is a double garage.