Caldbeck

Caldbeck is an attractive village of stone cottages, greens and a beck, tucked under the northern edge of the Lake District fells in the country locals call Back o' Skiddaw. It is well away from the main tourist routes, and it has the feel of a self contained farming village with a long history of mills and mines. In the past the village had numerous mills along its beck, powered by water from the fells.

Its most famous resident was John Peel, the huntsman celebrated in the song D'ye ken John Peel, who is buried in the churchyard of St Kentigern's Church. The church itself is ancient and sits by the beck, near a well associated with the saint. Priest's Mill, a restored watermill by the church, has a cafe and small shops.

A short walk from the village leads to the Howk, a limestone gorge where the beck pours through a series of falls beside the ruins of an old bobbin mill. The Cumbria Way passes through Caldbeck on its way north to Carlisle, and the Caldbeck Fells to the south, including High Pike, offer quiet, rounded walking with old mine workings. Spring and autumn are lovely here, when the fells are quiet and the gorge and river are at their best after rain.

It is quiet, with a pub and the mill cafe, and public transport is limited. The fells here are less dramatic than the central Lakes but you will often have them to yourself.