Penrith Castle opens Penrith’s list
Penrith and its surroundings hold 4 castles, 3 museums and 2 attractions. Look within 5 km of its edge and the list grows by 10 beyond the 3 inside Penrith’s built-up area. The list includes 3 places cared for by English Heritage. Inside 1 km of the middle lie 3 of the places on the list. A longer outing takes you to Carlisle Cathedral, 28 km off.
Start with these in Penrith
Penrith Castle aside, the next best known are 3 castles, a museum and an attraction.
Castle · English HeritagePenrith Castlein townMuseumMuseumPenrith & Eden Musuemin townAttractionAttractionThe Plague Stonein town
Castle · English HeritageBrougham Castle400 m outside town, to the southeast
CastleBrougham Hall800 m outside town, to the southeast
Castle · English HeritageClifton Hall2 km outside town, to the southeastEach has a page of its own: what it is, who runs it, the weather month by month and what else is near it.
Where they are
To the southeast is where most of the 10 lie.
The dashed line is Penrith’s built-up area; orange marks its middle (where most people live). Numbers match the list below. © OpenStreetMap contributors · ONS built-up area 2022
What sort of places
Ahead are castles or historic places (5); next, museums or galleries (3).
Green: inside Penrith. Grey: within 5 km of its edge.
3 places are cared for by English Heritage (Penrith Castle, Brougham Castle and Clifton Hall).
All the places to visit
13 places in all: 3 in town and 10 within 5 km of its edge.
7The 3 inside Penrith come first, best known first; then the places within 5 km, close and well known first. Churches and listed buildings are on the History page, not here.
179 listed buildings and 4 scheduled monuments are on Penrith’s History page → · Parks, footpaths and green space in Penrith →
For a day out
The 12 days out are led by Carlisle Cathedral, 28 km away.
CathedralCarlisle Cathedral28 km northwest
Castle · English HeritageCarlisle Castle29 km northwest
CastleLowther Castle6.4 km south
CastleGreystoke Castle8.3 km west
CastleDacre Castle6.9 km southwest
Historic houseHutton-in-the-Forest8 km northwest
CastleAppleby Castle20 km southeast
Castle · English HeritageBrough Castle32 km southeastCastleCastleKirkoswald Castle12 km northCastleCastleArmathwaite Castle16 km north
Historic house · National TrustHill Top38 km south
CastlePendragon Castle38 km southeastPlaces well known beyond Penrith (Wikipedia articles in several languages, published visitor counts, or a National Trust, English Heritage or Cadw property), close and famous first. Distances are straight lines from the middle of the town.
Visiting Penrith: questions
What are the main attractions in Penrith?
The best known inside Penrith’s built-up area are Penrith Castle, Penrith & Eden Musuem and The Plague Stone. In all, 3 places to visit are mapped inside the town, and 10 more within 5 km.
Does Penrith have a museum?
3 museums and galleries are in or within 5 km of Penrith: Penrith & Eden Musuem, Fell Pony and Countryside Museums and Westmorland & Cumberland Yeomanry Museum.
Is there a National Trust or English Heritage property near Penrith?
Yes. In or within 5 km of Penrith, 3 places are cared for by English Heritage (Penrith Castle, Brougham Castle and Clifton Hall).
What are the best-known days out near Penrith?
Within 40 km: Carlisle Cathedral (28 km), Carlisle Castle (29 km), Lowther Castle (6.4 km), Greystoke Castle (8.3 km).
Where are Penrith’s historic buildings listed?
Penrith has 179 listed buildings, 3 of them Grade I. They are on its History page, from Historic England’s list, not repeated here.
How is this list made?
From OpenStreetMap (museums, galleries, zoos, theme parks and attractions, castles, forts and abbeys, and historic houses and gardens that are open to visitors) and Wikidata (what each place is, who runs it, its website and visitor counts). A place counts for Penrith when it is inside the ONS 2022 built-up area, and as nearby within 5 km of its edge. Opening times and prices are not shown: check the official site.
Places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database Licence) and Wikidata (CC0), placed in the ONS 2022 built-up area (Open Government Licence v3.0). Visitor counts are the latest Wikidata gives, with their year.
Photos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (15)
- Penrith Castle: David Rogers, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Brougham Castle: Michael D Beckwith, CC0, Wikimedia Commons
- Brougham Hall: Tom Parnell, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Clifton Hall: The original uploader was Brookie at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Dalemain: Geoff Gill, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Carlisle Cathedral: Diliff, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Carlisle Castle: John Gibson, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Lowther Castle: Burtonsi, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Greystoke Castle: Simon Ledingham, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Dacre Castle: Geoff Gill, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Hutton-in-the-Forest: Mdbeckwith, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Appleby Castle: Stephen Craven, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Brough Castle: Supergolden, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Hill Top: Chris Brown, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Pendragon Castle: Matthew Hatton, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.