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Egremont

This pretty town is dominated by Egremont Castle with walls 20 fet high and an 80-foot tower. It stands high above the town, overlooking the lovely River Eden to the sout and the market place to the north. The castle was built between 1130 and 1140 by William de Meschines on the site of a former Danish fortification. The most complete part still standing is a Norman archthat once guarded the drawbridge entrance. Nearby is an unusual four-sided sundial and the stump of the old market cross dating from the early 13th century.

Egremont's prosperity was based on the good quality of its local red iron ore, and jewellery made from it can be bought at the nearby Florence Mine Heritage Centre. Visitors to the mine, the last deep working iron ore mine in Europe, can join an underground tour (by prior arrangement) and discover why the miners became known as the Red Men of Cumbria. The museum here also tells the story of the mine, which was worked by the ancient Britons, and there is a re-creation of te conditions that the miners endured at the turn of the 20th century.

In September every year the town celebrates its Crab Fair. Held on the third Saturday in September, the Fair dates back more than seven centuries - to 1267 in fact, when Henry III granted a Royal Charter for a three-day fair to be held on "the even, the day and the morrow after the Nativity of St Mary the Virgin". The celebrations include the Parade of the Apple Cart, when a waon loaded with apples is driven along Main Street with men on the back throwing fruit into the crowds. Originally, the throng was pelted with crab apples - hence the name Crab Fair - but these are considered too tart for modern taste, so nowadays more palatable varieties are used. The festivities also feature a greasy pole competition (with a pole 30 feet high), a pipe-smoking contest, wrestling and hound-trailing. The highlight, however, is the World Gurning Championship in which contestants place their heads through a braffin, or horse collar, and compete to produce the most grotesque expression. If you're toothless, you start with a great advantage!

Lowes Court Gallery, in a listed 18th-century building, holds fine art exhibitions throughout the year. The premises also house a giftshop selling Made in Cumbria gifts, and a Tourist Information Centre.