A Journey Around Cumbria Trivia Quiz

Answer: Lancashire

The county of Cumbria was created due to the Local Government Act of 1972. It was an amalgamation of the historical counties of Cumberland, Westmorland and the northern most bit of Lancashire. It is the third largest county in England, but one of the most sparsely populated. Most of its area is taken up by The Lake District National Park.

Answer: Wainwrights

A peakbagger is a hiker who "collects" mountain summits. In the case of the Lake District, these summits are known as Wainwrights after the author Alfred Wainwright who described 214 of the most important hills and mountains in the area. Wainwright wrote a seven volume series of books that he researched and illustrated himself, with each mountain or "fell" having its own chapter with drawings and maps showing every possible route up it.

Answer: Scafell

The topography is very varied with a coastal plain and a central mountainous area that has been heavily glaciated creating wonderful lakes and tarns. All four of England's 3000 feet plus mountains are found in this small area. Scafell Pike is the highest of all at 3,209 feet and separated from it neighbour Scafell (3,162 feet) by the high mountain pass of Mickledoor. Just for the record, the largest lake is Windermere.

Answer: Carlisle

Carlisle is the administrative centre for Cumbria. It is right in the very north of the county, close to the Scottish border. Its origins are Roman and it was connected to Hadrian's Wall.

Answer: Grasmere

Grasmere is one of the prettiest villages in Cumbria. It is famous for being the home of poet William Wordsworth who called it "the loveliest spot that man hath ever found". His home at Dove Cottage is open to the public. It also has a very famous gingerbread shop which has been in existence since 1854. Samuel Taylor Coleridge also wrote much of "The Rime of The Ancient Mariner" whilst staying in Grasmere with the Wordsworths.

Answer: Wastwater

The village of Wasdale Head claims to have the highest mountain in England (it is at the foot of Scafell Pike), the smallest church, the deepest lake and the biggest liar. The biggest liar claim relates to Will Ritson who was a landlord of the Wastwater Hotel (now the Wasdale Head Inn) who, during the 19th century, told hugely entertaining shaggy dog stories.

The World's Biggest Liar competition is held at the Bridge Inn in the Wasdale Valley. True to the spirit of "Auld Will", the winner is the person able to tell the most convincing lie. Politicians and lawyers are not permitted to enter lest their professional lives give them an advantage.

Answer: It is the only body of water to use lake in its name

It sounds like a trick, but it is true. Every other body of water in the Lake District is either called a mere as in Windermere, a water as in Derwentwater or a tarn such as Stickle Tarn. The only "lake" is Bassenthwaite Lake. Just for the record, Wordsworth's daffodils were near Ullswater and the last place you can find a fish calld a vendace is in Derwentwater.

Answer: Sellafield

Calder Hall was the world's first commercial nuclear energy plant. It was closed in 2003. Another part of the site was the Windscale Advanced Gas Cooled Reactor, which was part of a second generation of nuclear plant. This was shut down in 1981. The whole site is now called Sellafield.

Answer: Newlands Valley

Beatrix Potter famously lived in the Lake District and a lot of her stories were set there. Mrs Tiggy Winkle, a hedgehog who takes in washing, lived in Little Town in the Newlands Valley. The illustrations for the book, also done by Potter, clearly show the outlines of the mountains around the valley including the very recognisable silhouette of a hill called Catbells.

Answer: Coniston Water

Coniston Water is around five miles long and due to its positioning within the mountains has a reputation for being very still. Sir Malcolm Campbell, Donald's father, had set the world water speed record of 141.74 mph on it in 1939 and Donald himself had also set four records previously on the lake. On January 4th 1967, Donald set a speed of 320mph but on the return leg he lost control of his hydroplane, called Bluebird, which flipped and rapidly sank.

The remains of the boat were eventually reclaimed from the lake in 2001 and Campbell's body found later that year.