shap
Shap is a village situated on the eastern edge of the lake district. less than a mile west of shap and you are in the lake district national park,
The village straddles the A6 road which goes from north to south through the village,to the north the market town of penrith is about 10 miles away,to the south the market town of kendal is about 16 miles away .The M6 motorway runs north to south about a mile east of the village and the main west coast railway also runs to the east of the village although shap no longer has a railway station
Shap is perhaps synonomous with the A6 and the bad weather that used to befall shap fell ,in years past when the A6 was the only west coast route between the south of england and scotland shap became famous or should that be infamous ! due to the treacherous conditions on shap summit which struck down many a poor wagon driver, many of whom were stranded in shap for days,sometimes even weeks on end.
Shap summit is the highest point on the west coast rail line at 914 feet above sea level.
Shap is also famous for its granite ,with polished pink granite being found in many buildings all over the uk ,including st marys cathedral in edinburgh ,st pauls cathedral in london and the king george v dock in southampton .
Although the shap granite works itself closed down a few years ago the pink and blue quarries remain and can be seen off the A6 as you come down from shap fell towards shap .Shap would not be the village it is today without the quarrying industry,as well as the granite quarries you will find corus (the kilns you see at the south end of shap) and hansens who both quarry limestone and are major employers in the area.
Shap is an ideal place to stay if you are planning on visiting the lake district with easy access and prices way below the tourist rip offs that are the central lakes, (just compare prices to see) .
Filming on the cult 1986 film "withnail and i " was done at nearby wet sleddale.
Shap today is a thriving village ,a very good primary school ,4 pubs (yes 4!), an award winning butchers shop ,several shops ,a library and for the brave among you shap boasts englands highest open air swimming pool !! (heated of course) ,and best of all you might get to meet one or two of the shapites that are still around.
If you are visiting shap for the day shap has a free car park (yes free ,try finding one of those in the central lakes !) situated next to the public toilets in the middle of the village, the newly refurbished toilets are open from 08.00 -18.00 daily.
shaplad
the A6 over shap fell in winter