The Westmorland part of cumbria consists of three districts (Barrow-in-Furness, Eden and South Lakeland). Cumbria is one of the most sparsely populated counties in the United Kingdom, with 73.4 people per km² (190/sq mi).

Westmorland is predominantly rural and contains mush of the Lake District and Lake District National Park, considered one of England's most outstanding areas of natural beauty, serving as inspiration for artists, writers, and musicians. An upland, coastal, and rural area, Wetsmorland's history is characterised by invasions, migration, and settlement, as well as battles and skirmishes between the English and Scottish.

In the early Middle Ages, the entire county was called Westmoringland (West-mara-ingas-land - the people who lived by the western sea) by the Scandinavians on the east side of England. Gradually, however, as the Industrial Revolution grew in strength, the county became partitioned along the lines of connections. The southern coastal strip had its connections with the south and remained part of Lancashire until the amalgamation because the only safe way to reach this "North Lonsdale" strip was via the sands of Morecambe Bay. This left the central lakes area across as far as Appleby still being called Westmorland.

The division of unified cumbria was not accepted everywhere. Towns in the east, along the edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park were upset at being part of cumbria because all their traditional ties were with Yorkshire.

Now that heavy industry is all but non-existent in the county, the historic ties have been broken and the main industry has become tourism.