Ravenglass

A Roman bathhouse stands roofless in a field beside a narrow-gauge railway that runs steam trains into the mountains, and between them an estuary empties to sand and silence. Ravenglass in West Cumbria is where the Roman Empire, the Victorian railway age, and the wildest coast in the Lake District converge on a village of 30 houses.

Ravenglass occupies the confluence of three rivers — the Esk, Mite, and Irt — forming the only coastal village in the Lake District National Park. The Roman bathhouse at Walls Castle, dating to the 2nd century AD, preserves walls standing four metres high — the tallest Roman domestic structure in northern England. The Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway, a 15-inch narrow-gauge line known locally as La'al Ratty, runs seven miles up the Eskdale valley to Dalegarth, passing through scenery inaccessible by road. The estuary, a Site of Special Scientific Interest, supports breeding colonies of black-headed gulls, terns, and wading birds. Muncaster Castle, a mile from the village, has been the seat of the Pennington family since 1208 and houses a collection that spans eight centuries. The coast south of Ravenglass — sand dunes stretching to Sellafield — is among the least visited in the National Park.