What makes Cartmel famous?

Cartmel is a unique, medieval village filled with history, landmarks and famous attractions including Cartmel Racecourse. The picture perfect town is most famously known for being home to the world famous Sticky Toffee Pudding, amongst more local treasures.

  • Cartmel Priory

The villages famous ancient Cartmel Priory has been a place of Christian worship for over 800 years. The first historic reference to the village was found in 677 AD when King Ecgfrith of Northumbria conquered the area. He gifted the area and its residence to St Cuthbert, which lead to the founding of the Priory, which was built by Augustinian canons between 1190 and 1220. Unfortunately, a lot of the priory was lost during the Dissolution of the Monasteries between 1536 and 1541, however the priory church building survived through efforts of parishioners.  Internally, it displays a combination of styles including Renaissance screens and choir stalls. The church holds many historic treasures including the organ, which dates back to 1867, and the church bells, which originate from as early as 1661. The priory Gatehouse is also an exceptional surviving piece of history dating back to the time of original priory in 1330 and has many uses throughout the years including a prison and a school.

  • Cartmel Village Shop: the home of the Cartmel Sticky Toffee Pudding

Sweet toothed visitors will know Cartmel well due to their world famous Sticky Toffee Pudding which has been baked inside Cartmel Village Shop for over 30 years. Word got out about the village’s delectable toffee sauced pudding and soon enough, everyone in the country wanted a taste! No matter how busy the shop is, the pudding is still handmade from natural ingredients, the way it has been for over three decades and is available to buy straight from the kitchen at the village shop. If you crave the tasty dessert but don’t have access to Cartmel, the shop sells their product to independent fine food stores including Booths, Selfridges, Waitrose, Harvey Nichols and Fortnum and Mason.

  • Horse Racing

The tradition of racing at Cartmel began with the monks from Cartmel Priory in the 12th century when they entertained themselves by organising mule races. Early meetings at Cartmel Racecourse were on the flat but by the start of the 20th century has switched to jumps. The Whit Holiday Races have been a fixture in the village since 1856 and attracted locals who mainly consisted of farmers who enjoyed hunting. Today, there are typically nine days of racing each year at Cartmel Racecourse with a selection of local food stalls, picnic areas and family entertainment. Food stalls serve the areas famous Cartmel Sticky Toffee Pudding, which you can enjoy whilst watching the horses tackle the jumps!

  • L’Enclume Restaurant

In 2002, chef Simon Rogan opened the fine dining L’Enclume Restaurant in Cartmel. The restaurant grew in popularity and quickly became of the UK’s favourite diners holding the top spot as the UK’s best restaurant in The Good Food Guide from 2014-2017 and again in 2020. It has recently become the first restaurant in the UK outside of London to gain 3 Michelin stars. The chef makes use of the agricultural culture in Cartmel, with most of the supplies and ingredients used in the restaurant originating from the peninsula from his 12-acre farm.