Kirkby Lonsdale

Kirkby Lonsdale is a small, well kept market town on the River Lune in the far south of Cumbria, where Westmorland meets Lancashire and North Yorkshire. Its streets of stone houses, old inns and independent shops are some of the most attractive in the north, and it makes a good stop between the Lakes and the Yorkshire Dales.

The town's two famous sights are both by the river. Devil's Bridge, a medieval three arched bridge over the Lune, is the subject of a legend about the devil and an old woman's dog, and on Sundays it is a meeting place for motorcyclists. Behind St Mary's Church a path leads to Ruskin's View, the prospect over the Lune valley that John Ruskin praised and J. M. W. Turner painted.

The Thursday market sets up on the Market Square, and the town has a good range of cafes, delis and pubs. Walks follow the Lune upstream and down, and the Yorkshire Dales National Park boundary is only a few miles east, with Barbondale, Casterton Fell and the Three Peaks country beyond. It is lovely in any season, but autumn colour along the river and the clear days of early spring show the Lune valley at its best. Allow time to explore the narrow lanes off the Market Square and Mill Brow, where many of the older buildings survive.

Sunday afternoons around Devil's Bridge can be noisy with bikes, and parking in town is tight on market day and summer weekends. Public transport is limited, so most people come by car. On a weekday morning outside the holidays it is a delight.