# carlisle (blogs) — RSS Amplifier Recent posts from the 2 feeds in the RSS Amplifier directory that cover carlisle. Page: Feed: --- ## [Are Cumbrians Spanish?](https://hiddencumbrianhistories.substack.com/p/are-cumbrians-spanish-3d0) _2026-08-18 · Paul Eastham · Hidden Cumbrian Histories_ The history taught in British classrooms says Cumbrians were the pathetic survivors of an Anglo-Saxon massacre. But new research reveals their origins were far sunnier… ## [How Scottish King David held Cumbria hostage for 20 years](https://hiddencumbrianhistories.substack.com/p/how-scottish-king-david-held-cumbria) _2026-08-12 · Paul Eastham · Hidden Cumbrian Histories_ "Saint" David I grabbed Cumbria by force and made Carlisle Castle a monstrous fortress. As a result, lots of people are convinced the county is in Scotland. ## [Bloodshed and Ambition: Athelstan’s disastrous quest to dominate Cumbria](https://hiddencumbrianhistories.substack.com/p/bloodshed-and-ambition-athelstans) _2026-08-05 · Paul Eastham · Hidden Cumbrian Histories_ Conceited king unleashed one of medieval Britain’s goriest battles in a failed bid to drag the north into a united England ## [Scenic landscape with a language all of its own](https://thebeyonder.co.uk/2026/08/03/scenic-landscape-with-a-language-all-of-its-own/) _2026-08-03 · andrew · The Beyonder_ WHEN is a short path not a short path? When it’s a lonning, perhaps. At least, that would be the Cumbrian answer to this riddle, according to old friend and colleague Alan Cleaver (aka @thelonningsguy), who’s become something of an expert on picturesque country lanes all over the Lake District. So much so that he … Continue reading Scenic landscape with a language all of its own → The post Scenic… ## [Have we finally found King Urien of Rheged's elusive Dark Age headquarters?](https://hiddencumbrianhistories.substack.com/p/have-we-finally-found-king-urien) _2026-07-29 · Paul Eastham · Hidden Cumbrian Histories_ Mystery whereabouts of north's greatest sixth century warrior-monarch haunted medievalists for centuries. Now experts exploring remains of ferociously violent post-Roman Cumbria have answers ## [Why the Cumbrians hated the Romans.](https://hiddencumbrianhistories.substack.com/p/why-the-cumbrians-hated-the-romans-590) _2026-07-23 · Paul Eastham · Hidden Cumbrian Histories_ Today's children learn about underfloor heating, wine and mosaics. But Roman Cumbria was a land-grab by a violent and selfish military machine that provided none of these benefits. ## [How Elizabeth I’s quest for Armada cannons was murder for Cumbria.](https://hiddencumbrianhistories.substack.com/p/how-elizabeth-is-quest-for-armada-5c6) _2026-07-14 · Paul Eastham · Hidden Cumbrian Histories_ To defeat Spain, the Virgin Queen needed cannons. She encouraged Germans to build a smelly, smoke-belching copper smelter in Keswick. That's when the trouble started... ## [The surprisingly good life of the first Cumbrians.](https://hiddencumbrianhistories.substack.com/p/the-surprisingly-good-life-of-the-36f) _2026-07-08 · Paul Eastham · Hidden Cumbrian Histories_ Astonishing new evidence from Ravenglass that a few hundred innovative pioneers achieved an abundant Stone Age existence 8,000 years ago. ## [Riverside railway with royal connections](https://thebeyonder.co.uk/2026/07/01/riverside-railway-with-royal-connections/) _2026-07-01 · andrew · The Beyonder_ IT’S 1966 and the full impact of the Beeching cuts is being felt across the country, with the closure of dozens of rural branch lines. Just three years after Richard Beeching’s controversial first report on the reshaping of Britain’s railways, more than 2,000 route miles have already been closed. By the end of 1968 another … Continue reading Riverside railway with royal connections → The post… ## [The Cumbrian witch Craze](https://hiddencumbrianhistories.substack.com/p/the-cumbrian-witch-craze-fd5) _2026-06-30 · Paul Eastham · Hidden Cumbrian Histories_ Desperate to find scapegoats for their Civil War trauma, Cumbrians accused odd or skilled women of witchcraft. The terror peaked in April 1659 when females from Winton in Westmorland faced the rope. ## [Watch chovy live code (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/yWSs8btNbDEi) _2026-06-30 · **Sponsored**_ Join Mosh Coding streams with collaborative screen sharing and remote control, open source. ## [How severed heads cult ravaged ancient Cumbria](https://hiddencumbrianhistories.substack.com/p/how-severed-heads-cult-ravaged-ancient-761) _2026-06-20 · Paul Eastham · Hidden Cumbrian Histories_ Cumbria was centre of grisly prehistoric rituals involving 2,000 stone heads carved to celebrate decapitation of enemies in war ## [“King” Arthur was a “real warrior” who fought and died in Cumbria](https://hiddencumbrianhistories.substack.com/p/king-arthur-was-a-real-warrior-who) _2026-06-13 · Paul Eastham · Hidden Cumbrian Histories_ New academic analysis suggests hero was northern military commander who fought 12 battles over food for his starving people during famine caused by 536 AD volcano. ## [Rural railway built on granite foundations](https://thebeyonder.co.uk/2026/05/24/rural-railway-built-on-granite-foundations/) _2026-05-24 · andrew · The Beyonder_ THE railwaymania that engulfed the country in the 1840s meant that there was no shortage of ideas about different ways in which the Aberdeenshire market town of Alford could be added to the railway map. One proposal would have seen the Deeside Railway extended from its Banchory terminus north through Lumphanan and Cushnie to Alford. … Continue reading Rural railway built on granite foundations →… ## [Last lingering remains of the ‘Meldrum train’](https://thebeyonder.co.uk/2026/05/14/last-lingering-remains-of-the-meldrum-train/) _2026-05-14 · andrew · The Beyonder_ IT’S the best part of a century since passenger trains ran into the Aberdeenshire village of Oldmeldrum, and perhaps it’s not so hard to understand why the service didn’t survive longer. The five-mile branch line from Inverurie on the Aberdeen to Inverness main line was seen as a way of revitalising the fortunes of what … Continue reading Last lingering remains of the ‘Meldrum train’ → The post… ## [Fond memories of Macduff’s forgotten railway](https://thebeyonder.co.uk/2026/05/07/fond-memories-of-macduffs-forgotten-railway/) _2026-05-07 · andrew · The Beyonder_ PERHAPS it should come as no surprise that so few remnants can be found of the old branch line to Macduff. Meandering for almost 30 miles through rural Aberdeenshire towards the coast, it was dogged by financial challenges from its inception and the fishing and farming traffic its promoters dreamed of never materialised. Indeed the … Continue reading Fond memories of Macduff’s forgotten railway →… ## [Mellower moments on the long road to maturity](https://thebeyonder.co.uk/2026/05/03/mellower-moments-on-the-long-road-to-maturity/) _2026-05-03 · andrew · The Beyonder_ Teddy's making slow, steady progess on the journey to adulthood The post Mellower moments on the long road to maturity first appeared on The Beyonder . ## [Smell of steam and sea air on the Moray Coast line](https://thebeyonder.co.uk/2026/04/28/smell-of-steam-and-sea-air-on-the-moray-coast-line/) _2026-04-28 · andrew · The Beyonder_ IMAGINE a railway line with stations so rural you can hear only birdsong and the bleating of sheep when you stand on the platform. Imagine a route with spectacular views over clifftops and picturesque fishing villages, with the shimmering North Sea stretching off to the distant horizon. For 80-odd years, such experiences were a reality … Continue reading Smell of steam and sea air on the Moray… ## [Crumbling remnants of the branch line to Banff](https://thebeyonder.co.uk/2026/04/19/crumbling-remnants-of-the-branch-line-to-banff/) _2026-04-19 · andrew · The Beyonder_ IT’S August 1975 and I’m standing on the platform of the dilapidated Banff station on the Moray coast surveying the remains of a once proud little terminus. I’m 17 and if I do take any pictures with my very unreliable camera, they have been long lost. But unbeknown to me, a fellow enthusiast arrived at … Continue reading Crumbling remnants of the branch line to Banff → The post Crumbling remnants… ## [Moray Coast line is gone, but not forgotten](https://thebeyonder.co.uk/2026/04/19/moray-coast-line-is-gone-but-not-forgotten/) _2026-04-19 · andrew · The Beyonder_ IT WAS in the summer of 1974 that I discovered the appeal of exploring old railway stations and closed railway lines. Perhaps it was a timely transition from teenage trainspotter to railway historian, but the trigger was a glorious summer holiday exploring the railways of the Lake District with schoolfriends. Based in a small cottage … Continue reading Moray Coast line is gone, but not forgotten →… ## [Reach prospects with real signals (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/evNOKorGHuc9) _2026-04-19 · **Sponsored**_ Find prospects talking about your problem and get context-backed moments to engage ## [Steam graveyard where the dead came back to life](https://thebeyonder.co.uk/2026/04/15/steam-graveyard-where-the-dead-came-back-to-life/) _2026-04-15 · andrew · The Beyonder_ I WASN’T to know it at the time, but when I travelled by train for my first day at secondary school in September 1968, I had missed the official end of steam on British Railways by only a matter of weeks. Within days, someone had introduced me to my first Ian Allan “combined volume” listing … Continue reading Steam graveyard where the dead came back to life → The post Steam graveyard where the…