The beautiful slice of rural England that was wiped off the map by bureaucrats

Almost 50 years after Westmorland was wiped off the map of England by bureaucrats, this country’s most rural and arguably most beautiful historic county, a sublime blend of Lake District, Pennines and Eden Valley, is back, at least in name.

The little town of Appleby-in-Westmorland, a pleasant and ancient place sitting in a loop of the River Eden, with its Norman castle and wide, sloping high street, can boast once more of being England’s smallest and highest county town. 

The castle sits at the centre of a complex of medieval buildings surrounded by a curtain wall at the top of the town. In the 17th century it was the home of the Earl of Cumberland’s daughter Lady Anne Clifford, who spent her fortune restoring not just Appleby but all her father’s many castles and estates throughout the North. 

Boroughgate, Appleby’s main thoroughfare, climbs up to the castle from the church forming one of England’s loveliest high streets, lined at the bottom with Tudor and Victorian stone buildings and further up with trees and grassy banks.

In June each year the tranquillity of Appleby is shattered as travellers arrive from across Britain to buy and sell horses at the world’s biggest horse fair. The sight of the animals being bathed in the clear waters of the Eden is magical and draws huge, enthusiastic crowds.

Twelve miles south of Appleby is the small market town of Kirkby Stephen, set against the dramatic backdrop of Nine Standards Rigg, a group of cairns standing over 2,000 feet up on the Pennine Fells, marking the ancient boundary between Westmorland and Yorkshire.

The River Eden, one of the only major rivers in England that flows north, rises about five miles south of Kirkby Stephen in the limestone fells above Mellerstang on the border with Yorkshire, and after it tumbles off the fells over Hell Gill Force the river broadens out into the lush and beautiful Eden Valley, one of Britain’s undiscovered jewels, full of pretty stone villages and romantic, ruined castles constructed against the Scots.

A good way to view the valley is from the famously scenic Settle to Carlisle railway, which stops at Kirkby Stephen and Appleby.

Ten miles west of Appleby is the bleak, lofty village of Shap, associated today with the highest point on the M6 motorway, but more importantly home to Shap Abbey, founded in the 12th century and found just below the village. Despite the thousands of motorists who pass by every day on the M6, the abbey ruins are remote and hard to find but well worth a visit if you are feeling adventurous.

North along the River Lowther is Lowther Castle, home of the Lowther family since 1150, once Westmorland’s grandest house and now its most spectacular ruin.

The present castle was built in 1814 by Robert Smirke, who would go on to design the British Museum, on the site of two previous castles, and was finished off by the extravagant Hugh Lowther, 5th Earl of Lonsdale, known as the Yellow Earl, due to his fondness for the colour – his cars were yellow, his servants wore yellow and the decor of Lowther Castle was yellow. By 1937, the Yellow Earl could no longer afford to live at Lowther, which slowly deteriorated, and by the 1960s had become a picturesque but roofless shell. It is now one of Lakeland’s most spectacular visitor attractions, with 50 acres of restored gardens and Britain’s largest wooden playground.

Ullswater, England’s second largest natural lake, marks the boundary between Westmorland and Cumberland. Described by Wordsworth as “the happiest combination of beauty and grandeur which any of the lakes affords”, the best way to see it is from one of the two 19th-century steamers that offer daily tours. On the western shore, just inside Cumberland, is the patch of woodland grass beside the lake where Wordsworth came upon “a host of golden daffodils…”

At the southern end of Ullswater is the village of Glenridding, a good base for those who wish to climb Helvellyn, at 3,118 feet the highest point in Westmorland and England’s third highest mountain. The most challenging approach to the summit is along Striding Edge, a narrow winding path along the top of a steep ridge, at places less than three feet wide. The views are stupendous but when the clouds come down it can be perilous.

South of Glenridding, the village of Patterdale stands at the northern end of Kirkstone Pass, the Lake District’s highest, which reaches 1,489 feet on its way to Ambleside and is home to the Kirkstone Pass Inn, England’s third highest pub.

Pretty Ambleside sits at the northern tip of England’s largest natural lake, Windermere, which is shared between Westmorland and Furness. The town is home to the Lake District’s most photographed man-made landmark, the quaint Bridge House, built astride the Stock Beck to avoid land tax. Originally an apple store it once housed a family of eight and in 1946 became the first ever National Trust Information Centre.

North of Ambleside we are in Wordsworth Country. Rydal Mount was the poet’s final home, where he died on St George’s Day in 1850. The house is open to the public and in spring the field next to the churchyard is resplendent with thousands of daffodils planted by Wordsworth in memory of his daughter Dora, who died of tuberculosis in 1847. 

A little further on, in Grasmere, is Dove Cottage, Wordsworth’s first Lakeland home, where he lived from 1799 to 1808 and where he wrote most of his greatest poetry. Wordsworth is buried in the churchyard of St Oswald’s in Grasmere, along with his wife Mary, four of their children, and his sister Dorothy.

To the east is Kendal, Westmorland’s largest town, famous for Kendal Mint Cake, carried to the top of Everest by Edmund Hilary and Sherpa Tenzing, and Postman Pat, whose creator, local librarian John Cunliffe, based the stories on his local post office in Kendal’s Greenside.

South of Kendal are two of Westmorland’s finest homes: 14th-century Sizergh Castle (National Trust), home of the Strickland family for over 800 years, and Levens Hall (Historic Houses), home of the Bagots for 400 years and featuring the world’s oldest topiary garden. 

Kirkby Lonsdale to the east, a beautiful town of timeless narrow streets and charming grey stone houses, has a 12th-century bridge across the River Lune and Westmorland’s finest Norman church, full of sturdy round pillars carved with diamond shapes. The view across the Lune from the churchyard inspired a painting by Turner and was described by Ruskin as “one of the loveliest scenes in England, and therefore the world”.

Finally, Westmorland has the shortest stretch of coastline of any English maritime county, where the river empties into Morecambe Bay. The county’s only port is the little fishing village of Arnside, centre of an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty shared with Lancashire.

As William Wordsworth might say, “Welcome back, fair Westmorland”.

Where to stay

Augill Castle, Kirkby Stephen

In beautiful grounds between Appleby and Kirkby Stephen, this 19th-century gothic castle hotel has 13 huge characterful rooms from £180 per night. See stayinacastle.com

Cedar Manor, Windermere

A 150-year-old country house hotel near the centre of Windermere, with comfortable rooms from £155 per night. See cedarmanor.co.uk.