Rose Castle, home of the Bishop of Carlisle for many centuries until 2009, is within the parish of Dalston, 2.5 miles (4 km) south of the heart of the village.

With its location just outside Carlisle and near the M6 motorway, the Dalston Oil Terminal is a major distribution hub for fuels across the important Northern England supply corridor.

Originally built in 1938 as a facility for the storage of aircraft fuel in the build-up to World War II, the terminal was expanded in the early 1960s by a joint venture between ShellMex and BP to include motor spirit tanks.

The terminal is fed directly from the Grangemouth Refinery via rail link, and delivers various product grades of petrol, diesel, fuel oil and kerosene to road customers.

In late 2023 Petroineos announced that it would cease manufacturing operations at Grangemouth by 2025, to convert the refinery into a terminal for the import, storage and distribution of a range of fuels.