Penrith and The Border (UK Parliament constituency) includes part of the English border with Scotland. The neighbouring constituency of Hexham (together with Berwick-upon-Tweed) also takes in the border area. The name stems from the fact that when the constituency was first created it consisted of the Penrith Rural and Urban Districts, the Border Rural District and also the Alston with Garrigill Rural District. A heavily undulating, mostly farmed terrain dotted by market towns and historic villages, with wooded mountainsides and heath-covered tops, the constituency is focused on the Eden Valley between the Pennines and the Lake District, with the vale of the River Irthing above Carlisle. In
River Esk, Dumfries and Galloway Longtown the river enters England and merges with the River Lyne and enters the Solway Firth near the mouth of the River Eden. It was formerly one of the boundaries of the Debatable Lands as marked by the Scots' Dike. The Scotland Act 1998 (Border Rivers) Order 1999 provides that functions relating to the management of salmon, trout, eels and freshwater fish in respect of the whole of the River Esk remain with UK ministers: the Border Esk and its tributaries are the only rivers in Scotland where an Environment Agency rod licence is required for angling. The various tributaries