In August's edition:
 Image Description: Removed Visitor Information Panels.
Penrith Town Council’s Wayfinding and Interpretation Project is moving into its second and final installation phase, with new visitor information signs due to be installed during the week commencing 14 September 2026.
Delivered through the Borderlands Place Programme, the fully government funded scheme will replace and refresh outdated signage across the town centre, helping people move between key locations while also telling more of Penrith’s story through updated visitor information panels, walking-route maps, interpretation content and a new digital trail.
The project follows the Penrith Town Centre Wayfinding Strategy, commissioned by Penrith Town Council, which sets out a clearer approach to pedestrian movement and interpretation across the town. As well as improving routes between arrival points, shops, car parks, public transport, heritage sites and public spaces, the strategy recognises the role of interpretation in helping residents and visitors understand Penrith’s history, culture and sense of place.
New fingerposts have now been installed across the town centre, following the removal of old and outdated signage. The next phase will update visitor information panels across Penrith. Some will replace panels that had become faded, damaged or broken, while others will introduce brand new interpretation content telling more of Penrith’s history, people and places. Digital elements, including a new trail and the Penrith Through Time video, will add another way for people to explore the town and its heritage.
Penrith Town Council will take responsibility for maintaining the signage, supported by a dedicated maintenance budget to help keep the town’s wayfinding and interpretation clear, accurate and well maintained in future.
Councillor Scott Jackson, Chair of Penrith Town Council’s Planning Committee said:
“Penrith has a rich and fascinating story to tell, and this scheme helps more people discover it. For too long, some of the signs that shared that story had become faded, damaged or broken, while in other places there was an opportunity to add new information about the town’s history, people and places.
“The new visitor information panels will make that history clearer and easier to explore, alongside improved fingerposts that help people move around the town. The digital trail then adds another layer, giving residents and visitors a different way to connect with Penrith’s heritage and discover more while they are here.
“Importantly, Penrith Town Council is also taking ownership of the signs, where previously there was no clear arrangement for their upkeep. That means we can look after them properly in the years ahead and make sure Penrith’s visitor information remains clear, useful and something the town can be proud of.”
The wayfinding scheme forms part of a wider package of Borderlands Place Programme investment in Penrith. Other local projects supported through the programme include improvements at Penrith Playhouse, which have already been completed and are helping the Players benefit from improved facilities, alongside further projects designed to support the town centre, community spaces and local cultural activity.
In most cases, signs removed as part of the works are being replaced through the new scheme, although a small number of redundant or superseded signs will not be reinstated where they are no longer required.
Further information is available on the Council’s project webpage.
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 Image Description: Cllr Val Bowen (Penrith Town Council Chair & Penrith Mayor) (Left) & Luke Brown (Penrith Swimming Club) (Right)
At its Extra Ordinary Meeting held on Monday 24 August 2026, the Council considered correspondence from Penrith Swimming Club and resolved to support the Club with a letter of support in seeking to maintain its Learn to Swim programme at Penrith Leisure Centre [Minute PTC26/32].
Penrith Swimming Club is a valued community organisation with a long history of helping local children learn to swim, build confidence and progress into club and competitive swimming. Its Learn to Swim programme is more than a set of lessons; it is a volunteer-led community service that supports children, families and the wider town.
The Council understands that GLL is reviewing the Learn to Swim arrangements with Westmorland and Furness Council, Swim England and Penrith Swimming Club, including whether Penrith and Eden communities would be best served by a single beginner Learn to Swim offer from GLL, or by separate offers from GLL and Penrith Swimming Club.
Penrith Town Council believes local families should continue to have choice. The Council supports a positive and sustainable outcome which allows the Club’s Learn to Swim programme to continue alongside GLL’s offer, recognising that the two offers are distinctive rather than directly competing, with a written formal agreement if required. More than 60 people attended the Council’s Extra Ordinary Meeting on Monday 24 August 2026, demonstrating the strength of local feeling about retaining choice for families in Penrith and Eden.
Cllr Val Bowen, Chair of Penrith Town Council & Penrith Mayor, said:
“Penrith is shaped by the people and organisations who give their time to support others. Voluntary sports clubs like Penrith Swimming Club make our town what it is – they help children gain confidence, learn vital skills and feel part of something that belongs to the community.
“The Council is pleased to offer its support and hopes that all parties can work together to protect choice for local families and keep this important provision in Penrith.”
Penrith Town Council has written to Penrith Swimming Club confirming its support and encouraging all parties to work constructively towards an agreement that keeps the Club’s Learn to Swim programme available to local families.
To read the letter of support to Penrith Swimming Club, please visit the Penrith Town Council website.
For more information about Penrith Swimming Club, please visit their website.
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 Image Description: Penrith Dinosaur Day.
Penrith Town Council has awarded £1,000 to Penrith BID to help deliver two of this year’s Summer Saturday events, Penrith Family Fun Day and Penrith Dinosaur Day.
The grant supports Penrith BID’s programme of free town centre activities, designed to bring families into Penrith, encourage people to spend time in the town, and support local businesses during the summer.
The Penrith Family Fun Day took place on Saturday 8 August at Penrith New Squares, with free activities including mini golf, a climbing wall, crafts and face painting for families to enjoy in the town centre.
Penrith Dinosaur Day returned on Saturday 29 August, with Great Dockray and the wider town centre transformed for a prehistoric day out. Families enjoyed life-sized dinosaurs, ranger training, Dr Bone’s Hatchery, face painting, balloon modelling, dinosaur stories, crafts and a golden dinosaur trail around town.
The Council’s support reflects its commitment to backing events that are free, inclusive and accessible, while also helping to increase footfall and celebrate Penrith as a lively, welcoming town centre.
 Image Description (Left to Right): Cllr Ron Kenyon (Penrith Town Council North Cllr), Ian Croucher (Network Rail), Cllr Val Bowen (Penrith Town Council Chair & Penrith Mayor), Les Hadon (Former Postman), David Nicholson (Former Postman) and Ken Harper (Cumbria Railway Association).
A new information plaque has been installed on Thacka Lane, between Lark Lane and Thacka Nature Reserve, to share the story of Penrith’s Mail Click, a small but fascinating part of the town’s railway and postal history.
The Mail Click was used by Travelling Post Office trains to exchange mail while on the move. Mailbags could be collected from trackside equipment and dropped off without the train having to stop, helping post continue its journey quickly through the railway network. The last mailbags dropped from a moving train using the Penrith apparatus were handled on 4 October 1971 at Thacka Lane.
The plaque has been installed by Network Rail on behalf of Penrith Town Council, close to where the original apparatus once stood beside the railway line. Our thanks go to the Network Rail Carlisle off-track installation team: Garry Cunnigham, Mike Williams and Mark Cannon for getting this installed so promptly.
Penrith Town Council hopes the plaque will help to share the story of this lesser-known piece of local history. The scheme was agreed and funded through the Council’s Communities Committee, supporting the Council’s work to celebrate and promote Penrith’s heritage.
The plaque was unveiled on Wednesday 12 August by the Mayor, Councillor Bowen, alongside Les Hadon and David Nicholson, two former postmen who used to work on setting up the Mail Click and are pictured on the information plaque. Councillor Ron Kenyon was also in attendance, together with Ian Croucher from Network Rail and Ken Harper from the Cumbria Railway Association.
Councillor Ron Kenyon, who proposed the project to the Council’s Communities Committee, said:
“I am really pleased to see this plaque in place. The Mail Click is one of those fascinating local stories that can easily be forgotten, but it is part of Penrith’s rich railway heritage and deserves to be remembered.
“This plaque helps bring that story back into view for residents and visitors and shows how even a small feature in the landscape can tell us something important about the town’s past. I hope residents, and walkers making their way to Thacka Nature Reserve, will take a moment to stop and see it.
“On behalf of the Council, I would like to thank Cumbria Railway Association for their support with the historical content and for providing the images used within the plaque design.”
The new plaque is now in place on Thacka Lane.
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 Image Description: Penrith Wild Play Days 2026 Collage.
Children and families joined in the fun at this summer’s Penrith Wild Play Days, a free programme of family activity days delivered across the town by Penrith Town Council, through Stomping Ground and local organisations.
The events took place at Thacka Beck Field, Fairhill Playing Field and Castletown Recreation Ground, giving children, young people and families the chance to enjoy free games, crafts, music, creative activities and outdoor play during the school holidays.
Delivered with Stomping Ground, BlueJam Arts, The Outside Club, My Community Penrith, Eden Valley Artistic Network and other local partners, the programme offered a varied mix of free activities designed to help families enjoy Penrith’s parks, open spaces and community venues.
Penrith Town Council would like to thank all the organisations involved in delivering the events, and gives special thanks to Wetheriggs United Football Club for the free use of Castletown Community Centre, which helped make the Castletown event possible.
Cllr Barbara Jayson, Chair of Penrith Town Council’s Communities Committee, said:
“It has been lovely to see children and families enjoying Penrith Wild Play Days again this summer. The events provided free, local activities during the school holidays and gave families the chance to spend time together in community spaces across the town.
“My thanks go to Stomping Ground, all the local partners who supported the programme, and Wetheriggs United Football Club for kindly providing Castletown Community Centre free of charge.”
All activities were free to attend, supporting Penrith Town Council’s commitment to inclusive, family-friendly opportunities for children and young people across the town.
Further information about the Penrith Wild Play Days sessions is available on the Penrith Arts & Culture website: https://penrithartsandculture.co.uk/penrith-wild-play-days/
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 Image Description: Sounds Around Town Graphic.
Penrith’s Sounds Around Town programme has drawn to a close after bringing free live music to locations across the town throughout Summer 2026.
Beginning in late May and continuing through to early September, the programme featured a varied line-up of local bands and artists performing in Angel Square, Middlegate, Great Dockray, Castle Park and the Cornmarket Bandstand, with appearances at the Great Penrith Picnic and Penrith BID’ Summer Saturdays also forming part of the schedule.
From folk and acoustic music to brass, busking and popular covers, each performance offered something different while giving musicians from Penrith and the wider area a platform in the heart of the town. Sounds Around Town celebrates the incredible local talent in Penrith and Cumbria, while encouraging visitors to explore the town centre, stay longer and enjoy everything our community has to offer.
The initiative was arranged by Penrith Town Council in collaboration with Eden Valley Artistic Network, Plug n Play and the Penrith Arts & Culture group. Penrith BID provided funding for the Summer Saturday element of the programme, helping live music complement its wider programme of activity in the town centre during July and August.
Together, the partners helped create a lively and welcoming atmosphere across Penrith, encouraging residents and visitors to discover different parts of the town and support its shops, cafés, markets and other local businesses.
Cllr Barbara Jayson, Chair of Penrith Town Council’s Communities Committee, said:
“Sounds Around Town has once again filled Penrith with music and given talented local performers the opportunity to be heard in some of our best-known town centre spaces.
“The programme has brought people together, added to the atmosphere on Summer Saturdays and supported our wider aim of making Penrith a lively and welcoming place to visit. I would like to thank EVAN and Plug n Play for bringing the programme together, Penrith BID for funding the Summer Saturday performances, every artist who took part and everyone who stopped to listen and enjoy the music.”
Penrith Town Council would also like to thank the town centre businesses and organisations that supported the performances and helped make the 2026 programme possible.
The full Sounds Around Town 2026 programme can be viewed on the Penrith Arts & Culture website. Follow Penrith Town Council Cumbria on Facebook for news about future events and activities.
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 Image Description: Cllr Val Bowen (Penrith Mayor & Penrith Town Council Chair) alongisde Star Wars characters "Kylo Ren" & " Darth Vader".
Councillor Val Bowen, Chair of Penrith Town Council and Mayor of Penrith, entered a world of superheroes, colourful characters and creative costumes when she attended Penrith Comic Con 2026 at Penrith Leisure Centre on Sunday 9 August.
Organised by Bolt Events, the family friendly day celebrated creativity, imagination and popular culture, with character appearances, retro gaming, workshops, traders, artists and interactive activities for visitors of all ages.
Councillor Bowen had the difficult but enjoyable task of helping to judge the cosplay competitions, with categories for tiny tots, children, teenagers and adults. She also met attendees, volunteers and exhibitors and enjoyed seeing the imagination and effort behind the many costumes on display.
The event brought local families, businesses, artists, charities and comic fans together for an inclusive and colourful day in Penrith.
Any member of the public can attend Council meetings. The Council's upcoming meetings are detailed below with dates, times and venues.
Full Council Meeting:
- Date: Monday 28 September 2026
- Time: 6pm - 8pm
- Venue: Unit 2, Church House, 19-24 Friargate
Planning Committee:
- Date: Monday 5 October 2026
- Time: 5.15pm - 7.15pm
- Venue: Unit 2, Church House, 19-24 Friargate
Finance Committee:
- Date: Monday 14 September 2026
- Time: 5.15pm - 7.15pm
- Venue: Board Room, Unit 1 Church House, 19-24 Friargate
Communities Committee:
- Date: Monday 21 September 2026
- Time: 5.15pm - 7.00pm
- Venue: Board Room, Unit 1, Church House, 19-24 Friargate
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