Cumbria

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Ceremonial County in England
Region: North West

§ This page provides an overview of an England's ceremonial county. Our website has 48 such county pages.

Overview ⁞ Cumbria is a largely rural and mountainous county in the far northwest, home to the majority of the Lake District National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of England’s most visited natural attractions. The historic counties of Cumberland and Westmorland, as well as parts of Lancashire and Yorkshire, were merged in 1974 to form Cumbria. Key towns include Carlisle (the county’s only city), Kendal, Barrow-in-Furness, and Whitehaven. Since 2023, Cumbria has been governed by two unitary authorities: Cumberland and Westmorland and Furness, though it remains a single ceremonial county.

Is Cumbria a historic county? No—Cumbria is not one of the historic counties; it was created in 1974 from Cumberland, Westmorland and parts of Lancashire and Yorkshire. Administratively, the ceremonial county comprises two unitary authorities (Cumberland and Westmorland & Furness, established in 2023).

Cumbria has 2 Local Authority Districts. The chart below shows how this compares with other counties in England.

Number of local authority districts in Cumbria and other counties
Number of local authority districts in Cumbria, compared with other counties
This county page, Cumbria, is a sub-page this region page: North West. It zooms in to local authorities, administrative districts, and parliamentary constituencies in this county. We have this list page for easy browsing of all historic counties, ceremonial counties, and administrative counties: List of all counties in the UK.

Local Authorities in Cumbria

Cumbria, in the North West of England, moved to a new unitary system of local government in 2023, replacing the former county and district councils. The county is now governed by two unitary authorities: Cumberland Council, which covers Carlisle, Allerdale, and Copeland in the north and west, and Westmorland and Furness Council, which covers Barrow-in-Furness, Eden, and South Lakeland in the south and east. Each authority is responsible for all local services, including education, housing, transport, planning, and social care, removing the previous two-tier structure. Together, they oversee a county renowned for the Lake District National Park, Hadrian’s Wall, the Solway Coast, and historic market towns such as Kendal, Penrith, and Whitehaven, balancing local needs across a landscape of mountains, lakes, and coastal communities.

Districts in Cumbria

In the International Territorial Levels (ITLs) hierarchy, Cumbria is one of ITLs Level 2 area that contains the following 2 ITLs Level 3 areas:

(ITL 1) North West
(ITL 2) ⇒ Cumbria
(ITL 3) ⇒⇒ Cumberland ⁞ Westmorland and Furness

Constituencies in Cumbria

A constituency is a specific geographical area that elects one Member of Parliament (MP) to represent them in the House of Commons. The United Kingdom is divided into 650 parliamentary constituencies, 6 of them are in Cumbria.

Counties in North West