Kendal Mint Cake been making confectionery since 1840 in the Isle of Man. When one of the four sons, Daniel Quiggin, moved to Kendal in 1880, the mint cake company was formed. In the BBC TV programme "Great British Menu", series 5, Lisa Allen visited Quiggin's factory and used Quiggin's Kendal Mint Cake in her Strawberries with Meringue & Kendal Mint Cake Water Ice dessert. In the BBC TV programme "Great British Railway Journeys" (Series 7, Episode 2), Michael Portillo visited Quiggin's factory. Wilson's Mint Cake was founded in 1913, when James Wilson purchased a factory in the Stricklandgate area of the town.
Kendal in the area, including Castle Park, Stramongate School, Heron Hill, Ghyllside, Vicarage Park, St Thomas's and Dean Gibson. In the nearby village of Natland, there is St Mark's School. The Kendal dialect, known as Kendalian, is a variant of the Cumbrian dialect spoken around the Kendal area. Kendal has for many years maintained a voluntary mountain search and rescue team based at Busher Walk. Its members have performed numerous rescues around the Kendal area, and along with other local mountain rescue teams, helped at the Grayrigg derailment in February 2007. The Kendal Mountain Rescue Team is one of ten current