 The beginnings of something like town life can be seen, but probably not with the same extent of urbanisation and wealth as in the south of England.Apart from settlements associated with the forts, Roman Cumbria consisted of scattered rural settlements, situated where good agricultural ground was to be found in the Solway Plain, the West Coastal Plain, and in the valleys of the Eden, Petteril, and Lune.Most of the population, the total size of which at its peak has been estimated at between 20,000–30,000 people, lived in scattered, but not isolated, communities, usually consisting of just a single family group.