Penrith Beacon
Tower In Penrith, Cumbria
A beacon that when lit would warn the neighbouring villages of an impending attack!
Love this place? Become its champion with a short message, memory, dedication, or local business mention and share your connection to somewhere special.
Support the Fabulous North and champion this place for:
Usually £10
If you have ever seen Lord Of The Rings (and if you haven't then prepare yourself for 12 hours of orc-filled madness), then you will know that a pivotal scene is when Gondor lights the beacons to ask for help from neighbouring lands.
But did you know that there is a similar setup in Penrith? Sitting on the aptly named Beacon Hill the Penrith Beacon is 286m above sea level and can be seen from miles around. It is part of a chain of beacons that runs down the Eden Valley and could communicate with other neighbouring beacons at Orton Scar to the south and Kirkoswald to the north.
So if anyone had a whiff of an invading force, usually from Scotland, then the beacons would be lit so the locals could grab their livestock and take cover.
The beacon itself is actually a monument built in 1719 on a place where one of the original beacons would have been. Beacons have been present in this area as far back as 1296!
It's around a 1km climb uphill, but there are wonderful views from the top over the Lake District hills.
The beacon was last lit during the Jacobite Rebellion in 1745 and there also a recorded “flashing” during the Napoleonic Wars in 1804.
Source and more information over on Explore Penrith.
Get 4 points if you have visited this place. Already visited by 34 VIPs.
Login to bag this placeHow To Find Penrith Beacon
Where To Park For Penrith Beacon?
Lat / Long
54.671343, -2.747457
What three words
We parked on Lowther Street which, but there are other nearby streets you can ditch your car. Just be respectful of people's houses.
Contributed by Simon Hawkins
Thanks for checking out this place on the Fabulous North! I do enjoy a wander out in to the countryside trying to find hidden gems that not many people know about. You can't beat a rogue pele tower up a remote hill, a mysterious stone circle or a stunning waterfall secluded in a forest.
More Places from Simon
More Places In Penrith
Find more fabulous places in Penrith, Cumbria and if you know of a place we haven't listed, then let us know.
Bell Tower Of St Oswald Church Kirkoswald
Tower Penrith CumbriaA stand alone bell tower for the Church of St Oswald in Kirkoswald, Cumbria.
Kirkoswald Castle
Castle Penrith CumbriaA historical sliver in pinky Penrith sandstone, Kirkoswald Castle was built to impress and defend.
Long Meg And Her Daughters
Standing Stone Penrith CumbriaLong Meg and Her Daughters are a series of curious Neolithic standing stones forming a circle on a hillside in the western foothills of the Pennines.
More Towers
So this tower wasn't enough and you want more? Don't worry we have you covered.
Hundy Mundy Tower
Tower Kelso BordersA folly named after a princess overlooking bodies in a natural woodland burial site!
Hopetoun Monument
Tower East Lothian BordersA 29m high tower on Byres Hill built as a monument to John Hope, the 4th Earl of Hopetoun.
Corsbie Tower
Tower Gordon ScotlandCorsbie Tower is a ruined 16th-century tower house near Gordon in the Scottish Borders, built by the Cranstoun family and surrounded by earthwork defences.what
Never Miss A Fabulous Place
If you are afraid of missing out on all the fabulous places we post, or just want to be the first to know, then sign up to the Fabulous North.
Each week we will email you all the brand new places that we visit.
Sign Up To Alerts
Find Us On Facebook
We post all our new places daily on our Facebook Groups page, so join the group today and be notified when we add a new place.
Join Our Facebook Group