Howgills and Westmorland Dales

This is Cumbria's south eastern corner, where the Lake District gives way to the Yorkshire Dales. On this site it covers the Howgill Fells, Sedbergh at their foot, the limestone upland around Orton, the Kirkby Stephen side of the hills, and the Lune valley south to Kirkby Lonsdale. Sedbergh was historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire but is firmly in Cumbria, in Westmorland and Furness, and it lies inside the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

The Howgills are unlike any other Cumbrian hills: smooth, steep, grassy domes cut by deep valleys, with almost no walls or fences on the tops. Cautley Spout pours off their eastern flank. The Westmorland Dales around Orton are limestone pavement, scars and wide views. Sedbergh is England's book town, and Kirkby Lonsdale has the Devil's Bridge over the Lune. The Lune gorge at Tebay, where the M6 and the railway squeeze between the Howgills and Shap Fell, is one of the most dramatic pieces of road in England, and the minor roads around Ravenstonedale and Orton are perfect for cycling.

It is the place for big, quiet walking without the Lake District crowds, and for unhurried market towns. It is also easy to reach from the M6, which runs straight through the Lune gorge.

The Howgills are featureless in mist and navigation is genuinely hard, so take a map and compass and know how to use them. Buses are sparse and mostly community run, so plan around a car or a careful look at the timetables.