North West England is bounded on the west by the Irish Sea and on the east by The Pennines. The region extends from the southern Lake District in the north to the northern margins of the West Midlands in the south. The highest point in North West England (and the highest peak in England) is Scafell Pike in the Lake District.
The region has a population of almost 7 million and comprises five ceremonial counties of England: Cumbria, Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Merseyside, and Cheshire.
Two sprawling conurbations, centred on the cities of Liverpool and Manchester, occupy the south of the region and are the largest centres of population. The north of the region, comprising Cumbria and northern Lancashire, is mostly rural.
