Bewcastle is one of the last unspoilt areas of Britain. Farmed, lived in and fought over for three thousand years, it still retains the rugged splendour of the border regions. This is the haunt of buzzard, curlew and lapwing. While sheep now graze over much of the land, the fells and 'wastes' have changed little since prehistoric times.

Bewcastle is an ideal centre, both to explore, and as a base for visiting the nearby Lake District, Pennines, Cheviots, Scottish Lowlands and Northumberland coast. While the roads in the national parks fill to distraction, Bewcastle's labyrinthine lanes and tracks see more sheep than cars.