Explore from The Royal: History, Heritage and a Royal Visitor

Come for the landscape. Stay for the stories. 👑

The Lake District might be famous for its scenery, but scratch beneath the surface and there are centuries of stories waiting to be discovered.

Castles. Ancient stone circles. Historic houses and gardens. Literary connections. Roman remains.

And one rather famous visitor to our own little corner of Cumbria.

Mary Queen of Scots and The Royal

The Royal’s history stretches back more than 500 years.

The building was originally a farmhouse with a barn, stables and carriage houses and was once known as The Cross Keys.

Legend has it that on 13 July 1568, Mary Queen of Scots stopped here during her journey from Carlisle towards Bolton Castle.

Her first overnight stop was Lowther Castle, and those responsible for her journey were anxious to avoid confrontation with the local Catholic population. A quieter route through the countryside would therefore have made sense.

And so the story goes that Mary and her party stopped at The Cross Keys along the way.

It’s from that royal association that The Royal takes its name today.

Follow some other famous footsteps

Of course, Mary isn’t the only famous name associated with this part of the world.

Beatrix Potter became synonymous with the Lake District, not only through her books but through her work to protect its landscape.

Then there’s Alfred Wainwright, whose beautifully illustrated guides inspired generations to explore the Lakeland fells.

Cumbria’s literary and artistic heritage gives you a completely different way to experience the landscape.

Go back even further

You can go much further back too.

The area around Keswick and Penrith is home to ancient sites including Castlerigg Stone Circle and Long Meg and Her Daughters, while castles and historic houses tell the stories of the people who shaped Cumbria over later centuries.

It also makes a very useful itinerary for those days when climbing a fell doesn’t appeal.

History – with dinner afterwards

Then return to The Royal and become another small part of our own 500-year story.

Sit down for dinner, order a drink and consider just how many travellers may have stopped here before you.

Come for the landscape. Stay for the stories.

Some images courtesy of visitlakedistrict.com