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 and Windermere Railway from London to Glasgow) was not planned to go via Kendal. Although a 3.5 km tunnel north of Kendal was proposed to allow the L&CR to be routed via Kendal, that was too expensive, and the line seen today was adopted, running 1.5 km east of Kendal and then turning north-east. As a result, efforts were put towards a branch line from the L&CR at Oxenholme, to run through Kendal to Windermere. In this context, "Windermere" meant the lake, the Windermere station terminus being at the village of Birthwaite about one kilometre from the lake, the village only later becoming