Dent

Dent sits in Dentdale, one of the quietest and most westerly of the Yorkshire Dales, even though the village itself now falls within Cumbria following the county boundary changes of 1974. The valley is narrower and greener than its better-known neighbours, hemmed in by the bulk of Whernside to the east and Great Coum and Rise Hill to the west, with the young River Dee tumbling along its floor on its way to join the Rawthey near Sedbergh.

The village itself is the main draw: a knot of cobbled lanes and whitewashed, thick-walled cottages that huddle around the Church of St Andrew, a Grade I listed building with roots going back centuries. Dent has kept its working character rather than becoming a museum piece, with a village shop, a couple of cafes, an art gallery, a blacksmith and two proper pubs all still doing business along streets that were laid with cobbles long before cars existed to complain about them.

Top things to do in Dent

Dent rewards slow exploration on foot, whether that means pottering around the village or heading out into Dentdale and up onto the surrounding fells.

• Dent village and its cobbled streets — wander the narrow lanes past whitewashed cottages, the old market cross, and the blacksmith's shop, much of it unchanged in appearance for generations.
• Adam Sedgwick memorial — a large boulder of pink Shap granite, hauled from the Lake District, stands as a fountain and memorial to Dent's most famous son, the pioneering Victorian geologist Adam Sedgwick.
• Dent railway station — on the Settle-Carlisle line, this is the highest operating mainline station in England at around 1,150 feet above sea level, though it lies some four miles from the village itself along a scenic riverside walk.
• Dentdale and the Dales Way — the long-distance Dales Way footpath runs the length of the dale, giving easy, well-signed walking beside the River Dee between drystone-walled meadows.
• Whernside — one of the Yorkshire Three Peaks can be climbed directly from Dentdale via the ancient Craven Way packhorse route, a quieter approach than the popular Ribblehead start.
• Flintergill Nature Trail — a old packhorse lane climbing out of the village onto Flintergill Outrake, with information panels on the dale's natural history and wide views back over the valley.
• Dent Brewery — a small, remote brewery founded in 1990 in the hamlet of Cowgill, three miles up the dale, supplying cask ales to Dent's own pubs.

Getting to Dent

Dent lies just off the A684 between Sedbergh and Hawes, roughly ten miles from the M6 at Kirkby Lonsdale via the A65 and A683. It sits close to the junction of Cumbria, North Yorkshire and the old West Riding boundary, which is why maps and older references sometimes still list it under Yorkshire. The nearest railway station is Dent, on the Settle-Carlisle line, but as it is around four miles from the village along country lanes and footpaths, most visitors arrive by car; the closest station with a regular onward bus or taxi link is Kirkby Stephen or Skipton for connections further afield. Roads into Dentdale are narrow and can be affected by snow in winter, so a little extra care is worth taking outside the summer months.

Best time to visit Dent

Late spring through early autumn is the easiest time to explore Dentdale, with the fells clear for walking and the village at its liveliest. May and June bring wildflower meadows and nesting birds along the dale, while September and October add russet colour to the valley's woodland and drystone-walled pastures. Winter has its own appeal for those after solitude and dramatic weather over Whernside, though snow can close some of the higher lanes, and several village businesses reduce their hours out of season.

Where to stay in Dent

Accommodation in and around Dent tends towards traditional Dales cottages, farmhouse B&Bs and a handful of small inns, reflecting the village's modest size. The George and Dragon and the Sun Inn both offer rooms in the heart of the village, while numerous stone cottages and farm buildings across Dentdale have been converted into self-catering holiday lets. Campsites and caravan parks are dotted along the valley for those who prefer to be closer to the fells, and Sedbergh, a few miles away, offers a wider spread of options for anyone wanting a slightly larger base.

Food and drink in Dent

The Sun Inn, a 300-year-old pub on the cobbles near St Andrew's Church, keeps a no-frills, traditional Dales atmosphere and was the original outlet for Dent Brewery's cask ales. The George and Dragon, the brewery's tap house, serves hearty home-cooked food alongside its award-winning beers and ciders in front of open fires. A village shop and a couple of small cafes cover daytime provisions, and Dent Brewery itself, based a few miles up the valley in Cowgill, has built a strong reputation among real ale drinkers for a brewery in such a remote spot.