The Dales to the Border
This northernmost region of England contains some of the wildest and loneliest parts in the country, but also some of the busiest industrial centres. The Ice Age formed many deep valleys in the counties of Cumbria and North Yorkshire, many rivers into waterfalls and left behind hills and mountains. Beneath the earth is coal - the foundation of the region's industry.
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West Yorkshire is a very good county for sheep-farming, and it has long been Britain's most important area for the wool industry. |
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York - a historic city with Viking and Roman associations and many mediaeval remains. |
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Lancashire - a county of great variety with its moorlands and mountains, industrial towns, little villages and farmland. It is famous for its coastline, in particular for the sea-side town of Blackpool. |
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Cumbria with its mountains and lakes is one of the most dramatic counties in England. |
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Newcastle-upon-Tyne was the first town to export coal. Today it is the centre of the heavy engineering industry, particularly shipbuilding. Sunderland is another important shipbuilding centre. |
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Northumberland National Park - over 400 square miles (1,000 square km.) of moors, hills and forests. |
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Lindisfarne, or Holy Island, is connected to the mainland by a causeway at low tide. The monastry there was the birthplace of Christianity in England. |
Susan Sheerin, Jonathan Seath, Gillian White: Spotlight on Britain; Oxford University Press, 1985, page 62