New Year, New Mag! Issue 31 of Cumbria Guide is here!
A Word from the Editor
Hello and Happy new year to all our readers. 2026 is already working up a storm and I’m not just talking about the weather. There’s lots to do, things to see and plenty of exciting things to come over the next few months as we plough on toward the promise of spring.
We know it’s going to be a fantastic year because when you look back through history there seems to be something about the number six. This year we celebrate 100 years of Winnie the Pooh, an icon that has prevailed through generations, 70 years ago Elvis introduced the world to Rock n Roll and changed pop culture forever, and 60 years ago, in 1966 England brought it home with their epic World cup victory, lets hope that history really does repeat itself because if so, it’s going to be a year to remember!
And right here in our little corner of the world we have lots to shout about. In this edition we visit some top quality businesses each unique and offering products and services that you simply can’t find anywhere else so get out there, support them and discover that the high streets are still very much alive.
As January gives a fair beating to the mental health of so many of us it’s great to see groups popping up with mental health as their primary objective. A new fishing group set up in Whitehaven is doing just that. We sat down and had a coffee with founder of Tight Lines and Sound Minds Alex and heard his story and how the simplicity of casting a line changed his life. We learned how he now wants to inspire others to find a more fulfilling and healthier way to deal with their mental health struggles and combat loneliness.
We have history on our minds with a brand new book from Paul Eastham. We thought it was only right to bring back our sneak previews into Cumbria’s history with clips from his latest publication which looks into the hidden history of Cumbrian folk. This addition expands our current history section by Jonathan Fraser from Cumbria and the Borders History, which has been long running.
Speaking of new additions, The Beacon Museum have some exciting new monthly programmes introduced for the upcoming year alongside their guest exhibitions and other upcoming events!
These long dreary months can really bring the mood down, so we decided that in this edition we’d add a little dopamine boost to your day with two whole pages dedicated to pictures of dogs just being dogs, your dogs in fact. We asked you to send in photos of your furbabies and our inbox was filled with hundreds of happy pooches, we only had space for a small few so we handpicked some of our favourites, I really hope it lifts your spirits a bit, it definitely worked on us.
I hope you enjoy reading on and wish you a very happy new year, hopefully this one is filled with belly laughs, adventures and memories made.
Have fun, be kind, see you in the Spring!
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