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Dalton-in-Furness

Lying in a narrow valley on the part of Furness hat extends deep into Morecambe Bay, this ancient place was once the leading town of Furness and an important centre fo administration and justice. The 14th-century pele tower, Dalton Castle, was built with walls six feet thick to provide a place of refuge for the monks of Furness Abbey against Scottish raiders and it still looks very formidable. It is now owned by the National Trust and houses a small museum with an interesting display of 16th and 17th-century armour, along with exhibits about iron mining, the Cvil War in Furness, and the life and work of George Romney, the 18th-century portrait painter. He was best known in his day for his many portraits of Nelson's mistress, Lady Hamilton, with whom he formed a romantic attachment in spite of having a wife in Kendal. He is buried in the graveyard of the red sandstone Church of St Mary, where his grave is marked with the inscription 'pictorceleberrimus' (most celebrated painter).

Visitors to Dalton will find that it is time well spent looking around the many fascinating facades in and close to the market place, such as the unique, cast-iron shop front at No 51 Market Street. In the market place itself is an elegant Victorian Drinking Fountain with fluted columns supporting a dome of open iron work above the pedestal fountain. Nearby stands the market cross and the slabs of stone that were used for fish-drying in the 19th century.

From the mostly pedestrianised Tudor Square, visitors can board a bus to the award-winning South Lakes Wild Animal Park, which has ben designated the Region's Official Top Attraction by the Cumbria Tourist Board. It's the only place in Britain where you can see rare Amur and Sumatran tigers (the world's biggest and smallest tigers). At feeding time (2.30pm each day) they climb a 20ft vertical tree to 'catch' their food. Ring-taild lemurs wander freely through the park, visitors can walk with emus and hand-feed the largest collection of kangaroos in Europe. The 17 acres of natural parkland are also home to some of the rarest animals on earth, among them the red panda, maned wolves and tamarin monkeys, as well as some 150 other species from around the world, including rhinos, giraffes, tapirs, coatis and the ever-popular meerkats. In 2005, pygmy hippos, mandrills and penguins were added to the menagerie. Other attractions include a safari railway, adventure play area, many picnic spots, a gift shop and a restaurant overlooking the African Savannah.

To the south of the town stands Furness Abbey (English Heritage), a magnificent ruin of eroded red sandstone set in tranquil parkland, the focal point of south Cumbria's monastic heritage. Furness Abbey stands in the Vale of Deadly Nightshade, a shallow
valley of sandstone cliffs and rich pastureland. The abbey itself was established in 1123 at Tulketh, near Preston, by Kng Stephen. Four years later it was moved to its present site and, after 20 years, became absorbed into the Cistercian Order. Despite its remoteness, the abbey flourished, with the monks establishing themselves as guides across the treacherous sands of Morecambe Bay.