Sedbergh brings together book culture, historic places and the landscape of the Howgill Fells. The town lies against their striking backdrop, with rolling hills and open common land shaping the scenery. In and around Sedbergh, you can therefore choose different areas of focus, from bookshops and town history to crafts and riverside walks. If you’re looking for a hotel in Sedbergh, it helps to first consider which of these aspects you’d like to shape your stay.
Books and traces of history
Sedbergh became England’s official Book Town in 2003. Numerous shops and book cafés offer the chance to browse for second-hand books. Book culture thus has its own place alongside the landscape and history: you can make the bookshops a distinct focus of your visit.
The narrow Main Street, with its courtyards and lanes, forms the oldest part of the town and is largely within a Conservation Area. St Andrew’s Parish Church also offers a tangible connection to the past: it is partly Norman in origin, particularly around the entrance. Sedbergh School was originally founded in 1525. The Sedbergh Town Trail passes through part of its grounds, combining a town walk with the school’s history.
Farfield Mill: crafts and weaving
Farfield Mill, a former wool mill dating from 1837, lies east of Sedbergh. Today it houses an arts and heritage centre with craft studios, a café, a shop, exhibitions and weaving demonstrations. A 300-year-old Witney blanket loom is also on display. Visitors can watch craftspeople and designers at work in their studios and talk with them. Farfield Mill therefore offers a different cultural focus from the bookshops and historic streets: here, the emphasis is on studios, exhibitions and weaving.
Routes through the town and along the river
The Sedbergh Town Trail runs through the town centre and part of the Sedbergh School grounds; it takes approximately one hour. Another walking route follows the River Rawthey to the Farfield Mill Arts & Heritage Centre. Several routes are available for the return journey. The two walks thus differ both in their destination and in the time information and return options provided.
Walk 7: Brigflatts Quaker Meeting House starts at the Sedbergh Information Centre, 72 Main Street. One section of this route follows the river along the Dales Way. Near Sedbergh stands Brigflatts Quaker Meeting House, a Grade I listed building dating from 1674. It has wheelchair access, an accessible toilet, a car park and a hearing loop in the main room.
Landscape, getting here and other interests
The distance from the M6 provides a useful guide for getting here: Sedbergh is five miles from Junction 37. Golf enthusiasts will find a course near Sedbergh, with fairways crossing or running alongside the River Dee and the River Rawthey. For local food, there’s Real Dairy Ice Cream, made at Lockbank Farm using milk from the farm’s own cows.
The landscape of the Howgill Fells is another distinctive feature of Sedbergh. This selection gives you a practical starting point for deciding whether Sedbergh suits the interests you have for your stay.
Discover more destinations: Holmrook, Appleby-In-Westmorland, Crook, Sedgwick, Grange Over Sands, Scotby, Aspatria, Bampton
For the main travel overview: Cumbria.
