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Ulverston in
Cumbria
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This cozy, little market town is situated on the Furness Peninsula off the waters of the Windermere and of Morecambe Bay with the majestic mountains forming a natural barrier of the Lake District in the background. The friendliness of this town is readily seen in the warm smiles and the hallo of the Ulverston town crier as he welcomes people on Thursdays and Saturdays, the town’s prime market days. The cobbled-stoned streets are a bustle with activity as the shoppers fill the shops, pubs, and old-fashioned restaurants. With everything from food, to clothes, to watches, there isn’t anything a person won’t find there. The rest of the week, excluding Sundays, the center of the commercial life is found in the market hall on New Market Street.
Towering over the town from on top of the Oubas Hill is a monument that catches everyone’s eye as they enter into the town. The Hoad Monument built in 1850 is a lighthouse shaped memorial dedicated to Sir John Barrow, a distinguished Arctic explorer and Secretary of the Admiralty after which a couple of places along the North West Passage to the Pacific are named. However, Barrow is not the only famous person who’s roots lead back to Ulverston. Stan Laurel, the famous 1920s Hollywood actor was born here. There is a museum in town exclusively devoted to him and his life and accomplishments. Another notable Ulverstonian is George Fox, the founder of the Society of Friends as known as the Quakers. His meeting house, Swarthmoor Hall still stands here today.
For a more interactive experience the glass factory, Cumbria Crystal is a great place to watch the blowing of glass to the meticulous task of carving.
Another miscellanous fact about Ulverston is that pole vaulting as a sport was invented here in 1879.
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