"A Well Kept Northern Secret"

Last Saturday when visiting the Lakes, we took a trip to the Cumbrian market town of Ulverston.

Ulverston's between the Lakes ( 10 miles from Windermere) and Morecambe Bay; it was granted its Royal Charter in 1280 and still celebrates this every September...

And what a lovely surprise Ulverston was!

Ulverston's a quirky fairytale place; it has cobbled streets where craft shops nestle beside cafes and charity shops, picture-framers and oldfashioned ironmongers; it has alleyways through which I saw pastel-painted, petunia-bedecked houses, a fabulous dress shop, some lazy cats, old men chatting.... and teenagers, black-clad, pale-faced, smoking.

Ulverston has an indoor market ( see snap; thanks again GAC) where you step back into mid 20th century and find cheeses and flowers and old 45's and haberdashery ( when did you last hear of "haberdashery"?) and so much more.....including a clothes stall where hung a superb green coat in the very shade of green I love.. Hmm.

ALSO, there's a much-loved gorgeous Coronation Hall seating 636 ( can you hear that, Chester?!).... where there are plays, conferences, operas and concerts ( Manchester Camerata, Nov 15th!) ) and Ulverston has its own Buddhist centre at Conishead Priory situated in a stunning Gothic Victorian mansion which you can tour at weekends..

There's also the Lakes Glass Centre (Heron Glass) and Cumbria Crystal and OF COURSE, The Laurel and Hardy Museum celebrating its famous son: Stan Laurel, born Argyl Street, Ulverston, 1890. It seems the two comedians visited Ulverston in 1947, greeting the townsfolk from the balcony of the Coronation Hall...

CERTAINLY worth visiting, this surprise of a place.

There's a Dickensian Festival planned for Nov 24/25th...very tempting!!