The Village Of Wetheral

Just a couple of miles from Carlisle in the north of Cumbria sits the thriving and rather affluent village of Wetheral

With great transport links – it is five minutes’ drive from the M6, less than that from the A69 Carlisle to Newcastle route, and has a station on the railway line linking those two cities – it is not surprising that Wetheral, while still nominally a village, has evolved into a commuter town for Carlisle.

Happily the settlement has retained its character, indeed one of the attractions for the professionals who live in the substantial period homes in Wetheral is that very character, elegant Georgian and Victorian properties in local red sandstone and yellow brick standing throughout the older areas in the centre.

As all good villages should, Wetheral has a sizeable village green, roughly triangular with the Wetheral Cross in one corner, once a market cross. The village amenities – shop, restaurant, pub, church and hotel are all on or near the green. Wetheral is on the west bank of the River Eden, with the Wetheral Viaduct, an impressive structure of five arches – taking the railway and a footpath over the River far below to the village of Great Corby on the other side.

Holy Trinity Church in Wetheral is a lovely red sandstone building in the early English style, with an octagonal tower overlooking the river, a mix of church architecture. It is 16th century, with a Georgian doorway and mausoleum and Victorian restorations.

Near the church is Wetheral Priory Gatehouse, a 16th century element of the Benedictine priory founded here in 1106, and just a short walk from that there are the Constantine Cells, caves cut by hand high in the banks of the Eden to provide shelter during border raids.