Hesket Newmarket

Hesket Newmarket sits where the Lake District's Northern Fells drop down to meet farmland, on the west bank of the River Caldew and a mile or so east of its better-known neighbour, Caldbeck. It is barely more than a hamlet: a long, sloping village green lined with whitewashed eighteenth-century cottages, an old market cross, a set of stocks, and a single pub. That green is really the whole story of the place. Hesket Newmarket was granted a market charter in the thirteenth century and grew up as a trading centre for the fell farms around it, but the market itself died out long ago, leaving behind only the green and the name.

What makes Hesket Newmarket worth the detour is what lies around it rather than in it. The village stands directly beneath Carrock Fell, Bowscale Fell and the wider sweep of the Northern Fells, a quieter, roomier and far less crowded corner of the National Park than the honeypots around Windermere or Keswick. Caldbeck, with its shops, cafes and the grave of the huntsman John Peel, is a level, riverside walk away. For anyone who wants Lake District scenery without the queues, a proper village pub, and easy access to genuinely empty fell walking, Hesket Newmarket makes a good, low-key base.

Top things to do in Hesket Newmarket

There is not a long list of attractions in the village itself, but the surrounding fells and neighbouring Caldbeck more than make up for it.

• Hesket Newmarket Brewery — Founded in 1988 in a converted barn behind the Old Crown, this is the oldest surviving microbrewery in Cumbria. Since 1999 it has been run as a workers' co-operative, and its beers, including Blencathra and Skiddaw Special, are brewed on site and sold across the region.
• The Old Crown — England's first co-operatively owned pub, bought by 125 local customers in 2003 to save it from closure. It is the only pub in the village and remains the social hub of Hesket Newmarket, serving the brewery's own beers.
• The village green and market cross — A broad, sloping green surrounded by eighteenth-century cottages, with an old market cross and a set of stocks as reminders of the village's former life as a market town.
• Walking to Caldbeck — A gentle riverside route follows the River Caldew and Cald Beck through farmland and ancient woodland, past the point where the two rivers meet, to reach Caldbeck in a couple of miles — glorious with bluebells in spring.
• High Pike and the Northern Fells — Hesket Newmarket sits at the foot of the Caldbeck Fells, with High Pike, Carrock Fell and Bowscale Fell all within reach. Old mine workings dot the moorland above the village, evidence of a once-thriving lead and barytes mining industry.
• Caldbeck village — A short walk or drive away, Caldbeck has shops, tea rooms, the Priest's Mill craft centre, and St Kentigern's churchyard, where huntsman John Peel is buried.

Getting to Hesket Newmarket

Hesket Newmarket lies just off the B5299, roughly ten miles south-east of Wigton and around eight miles from Keswick as the crow flies, though the fell roads make the drive longer. The most straightforward approach by car is via the M6, leaving at Junction 41 (Southwaite) and following the B5305 and B5299 through Caldbeck. The lanes into the village are narrow, so allow extra time and drive with care around blind bends and passing places. There is no railway station in the village; the nearest mainline stations are at Penrith and Carlisle on the West Coast Main Line, both around 30-40 minutes away by car. Public transport is limited, with only occasional rural bus services reaching this corner of the Northern Fells, so a car is the practical way to arrive.

Best time to visit Hesket Newmarket

Late spring through early autumn (May to September) brings the best conditions for walking the surrounding fells, with the woodland between Hesket Newmarket and Caldbeck particularly attractive in April and May, when bluebells carpet the ground near the river confluence. Summer days are long and the moorland tracks are at their driest. Autumn brings quieter fells and good colour in the valley woodland, while winter can be atmospheric but the higher ground, including High Pike, sees snow and exposed conditions that call for proper hillwalking experience and kit. Whatever the season, this is a village that rewards settled weather, since its main appeal is the walking on its doorstep rather than indoor attractions.

Where to stay in Hesket Newmarket

Accommodation in the village itself is limited to a handful of farmhouse bed and breakfasts and self-catering cottages, reflecting its size. Nearby Caldbeck offers a wider choice of guesthouses and cottages, while Wigton, Penrith and Keswick, all within half an hour's drive, have a fuller range of hotels and inns if you want more choice. For those happy to base themselves in the fells rather than a town, a farm B&B or cottage around Hesket Newmarket puts you in walking distance of the Northern Fells with none of the crowds of the central Lake District.

Food and drink in Hesket Newmarket

The Old Crown is the village's only pub and its principal reason to linger, serving cask ales brewed a few steps away at the Hesket Newmarket Brewery, alongside straightforward pub food. Beyond that, options in the village itself are thin, but Caldbeck, a short walk or drive away, has cafes, a village shop and further places to eat, making it easy to combine a fell walk with lunch or a pint back in Hesket Newmarket afterwards.