Just 10 miles from the present Scottish border - it's relatively level topography and myriad of cycling pathways, offer the cycling tourist an opportunity to discover a wealth of history and natural beauty often missed when travelling by car and too far to reach by walking.

Besieged many times, occupied by the Romans, the Scottish and eventually returned to English rule by William Rufus, the son of William the Conqueror. Carlisle has featured prominently throughout the wars that raged between Scotland & England, with lawlessness rife. The indiscriminate raiding or reiving of livestock and goods became so bad that in 1525, Archbishop Dunbar of Glasgow invoked a curse on the Border Reivers, known as the 'Carlisle Curse', which is commemorated on a ‘Cursing Stone’. This is inscribed with all 1,069 words of the curse and is currently housed beneath Castle Way, near the entrance to the Castle Keep.

Discover how the Romans built Hadrian's Wall, what happened to the Royalists left behind by Bonnie Prince Charlie, why Carlisle held such geographic, military, political importance and economic importance to the region and … most of all, discover the beauty of the city and the lands outside of it's ancient walls by exploring on a bike from Border City Cycle Hire. BOOK HERE