Kirkby Lonsdale

Kirkby Lonsdale's combination of a handsome market town and dramatic Lune Valley scenery makes it a popular base for a hotel or B&B break. The town centre has a small number of characterful coaching inns and boutique guesthouses within easy walking distance of Ruskin's View, Devil's Bridge and the Thursday market, ideal if you want to explore on foot and enjoy the town's restaurants and pubs without needing a car in the evening. The Sun Inn, opposite St Mary's Church, is among the best known, combining rooms with a highly regarded restaurant.

Just outside the town, the surrounding villages and countryside offer farmhouse B&Bs and small country hotels set among the fells and drystone walls of the southern Yorkshire Dales, many with views towards the Howgill Fells or Barbondale. These make a good choice if you are visiting for walking, cycling or touring the Dales, while still being only a short drive from Kirkby Lonsdale's shops and restaurants. Casterton and the villages along the Lune Valley are particularly well placed for this quieter, more rural style of stay, while remaining within easy reach of the M6 for onward travel into the Lake District or further into the Dales.

Kirkby Lonsdale rewards a slow pace, whether you are pottering around its shops or heading out along the river and into the surrounding fells. Highlights include:

• Devil's Bridge — A three-arched packhorse bridge dating from around the 13th or 14th century, now a scheduled ancient monument. Long closed to traffic, it remains a popular gathering spot for walkers, cyclists and, on summer weekends, motorcyclists, with a shingle riverbank ideal for picnics below.
• Ruskin's View — The panorama across the Lune Valley from the churchyard of St Mary's, painted by J.M.W. Turner and later eulogised by John Ruskin. A short, level path leads to the viewpoint from the town centre.
• St Mary's Church — A part-Norman parish church with a striking chunky tower, standing right at the edge of the famous view and worth a look inside for its Norman arches.
• Kirkby Lonsdale market and independent shops — A street market is held every Thursday, and the town centre is otherwise filled with independent galleries, antique dealers, homeware and clothing shops, best explored on foot down its cobbled courtyards.
• Devil's Bridge riverside walk — A gentle circular walk along the banks of the Lune, taking in the bridge, weirs and wooded riverbank, popular with families and dog walkers alike.
• The Yorkshire Dales National Park — Kirkby Lonsdale sits right on the park boundary, making it a natural base for exploring the limestone scenery, drystone-walled fells and villages of the southern Dales, including nearby Dentdale and Barbondale.
• Casterton and the Lune Valley — The neighbouring village of Casterton and the wider Lune Valley offer quieter lanes for cycling and walking, with views back towards Kirkby Lonsdale's church tower.

For a small town, Kirkby Lonsdale has an outsized reputation for food and drink. The Sun Inn, a former coaching inn opposite the church, is well known locally for its restaurant and rosette-winning food. The Royal Barn, home to Kirkby Lonsdale Brewery, pours its own beers alongside a large range of guest ales and serves wood-fired pizzas in a converted barn setting. The Orange Tree is a cosy, traditional pub serving local ales, while Lunesdale Bakery is a popular daytime stop for lunches and baking in a courtyard setting. Jingling Lane Fish & Chips is a well-regarded spot for a classic seaside-style takeaway, and the town's cafes and delis make good use of produce from the surrounding farms and the Thursday market.

The countryside around Kirkby Lonsdale, straddling the boundary between Cumbria and the Yorkshire Dales National Park, offers some of the most scenic camping and glamping country in the North of England, from riverside sites along the Lune to fell-edge spots looking out over limestone country. As with the rest of England, wild camping is not permitted without the landowner's permission, so pitching up should always be on an established campsite or with a farmer's explicit consent, particularly given how much of the land here is working farmland.

The Lune Valley itself is gently rolling and green, with several campsites set beside or near the river offering easy access to the riverside walk down to Devil's Bridge. Further out, towards Dentdale, Barbondale and the fringes of the Yorkshire Dales, the terrain becomes hillier and more dramatic, with limestone scars, drystone walls and open fell offering a wilder backdrop for a tent or campervan pitch, and excellent walking and cycling straight from the campsite gate.

Late spring through to early autumn is the best window for camping here, when the ground has dried out after winter and the long evenings suit a walk along the river or up onto the fells after pitching. Midsummer weekends can get busy, particularly around the school holidays, so booking ahead is worthwhile for the more popular riverside sites. For those who prefer a bit more comfort, the area has a growing number of glamping options, including safari tents, shepherd's huts and pods, many on working farms, giving a taste of the Lune Valley and Dales scenery without needing your own kit. Campervan and motorhome pitches are also well provided for, with several sites offering hookup close to the A65 for easy access into town.