Holiday Homes in Sedbergh

Tucked beneath the smooth green slopes of the Howgill Fells, Sedbergh is a charming stone-built market town with a distinctive claim to fame: it is England's official book town. A point worth being clear about is that, while Sedbergh lies within Cumbria, it actually sits inside the Yorkshire Dales National Park rather than the Lake District, in glorious walking country between the two. That makes it a wonderful and slightly different base for a Cumbrian holiday.

Books are the town's calling card. Since 2003 Sedbergh has been England's book town, its shops and corners filled with second-hand and specialist booksellers, a delight for browsers and collectors alike. It is also home to the historic Sedbergh School, founded in 1525, while the Norman parish church of St Andrew and the grassy mound of Castlehaw speak to a much older past. At nearby Farfield Mill, a restored woollen mill now houses arts, crafts and heritage.

Above all, this is a walker's town. The rounded Howgill Fells rise straight from its edge, the Dales Way long-distance path passes through, and the beautiful valley of Dentdale lies just over the hill. The Settle to Carlisle railway and the Lake District itself are both within easy reach by car. For a quieter, bookish base in fine fell country, settle into one of our Sedbergh holiday homes and enjoy the best of the Dales.