Starting at Levens Hall south of Oxenholme which is the largest Elizabethan house in Cumbria although it's origins are earlier. The hall has many points of interest to all, the strangest being a collection of Steam Engines. After the hall the gardens are of particular interest, being the only one which has remained unchanged since creation in 1690 by a Frenchman Guillaume Beaumont.

Sizergh Castle is a fortified home which has remained in the Strickland family since thirteenth Century, after the original pele tower some 60 feet high, each century has seen additions including a Great Hall during the reign of the Tudor's.

Continuing through Oxenholme which is only a few miles from Kendal, to Sedbergh the central market town of the area, it's narrow main street  has Old Coaching Inns and the Weaver's Yard is found behind the Kings Arms is particularly attractive on market days.

Heading down Dentdale a wide rolling valley where black marble was mined and polished to Dent where it narrows into a tight gorge. Dent's main industry was the knitting of worsted stockings which were probably sold at the Wavers Market in Sedbergh.

Dent's cobbled streets and grey stone houses make it attractive on a sunny day as well as in the rain. Adam Sedgwick an early pioneer on geology  at Cambridge University was born here in 1785, a memorial to him can be found at the gate of St Andrew's Church inscribed in a lump of granite from the nearby Pennine Hills of Shap.

Turning towards  Barbon the road rises to over 1000 feet at the head of Barbondale, where a 360 degree panoramic view is an ideal place fo a packed lunch on a fine day. After Barbon a detour past Rigmaden Park takes by quieter roads to Kirby Lonsdale.

John Ruskin a Cumbrian Artist of the 19th Century described the Lune Valley as the loveliest in England, where the Devil's Bridge in Kirby Lonsdale is said to have been built by the devil in one night. The town boosts many fine 18th Century buildings plus Castleton School where the Bronte Sisters were taught.

Being only a few miles from Ingleton an continuation on the Ribblesdale Tour is possible after visiting Whittington further up the Lune Valley which edged with rocky peaks almost 1000 feet high.

Photos and Maps are to follow