A
fter being cooped up
during the pandemic, my
husband and I yearned
to get out to some rugged
wide-open spaces and the
Yorkshire Dales were ideal.
We rented a cottage in Sedbergh
which nestles snuggly in the basin of
the Howgill fells. The 16th-century
St Andrews church in the centre
of town houses two impressive
embroideries illustrating life past
and present in Sedbergh. The craggy
isolation of the area is intoxicating
and one of first walks is the Orton
Circular Walk which took us gently
up and down fells with historical
points of interest along the way such
as an old lime kiln, a Celtic stone
cross marking the Golden Jubilee
of Queen Victoria in 1887 and the
Gamelands Stone Circle which dates
to 2,500 BC.
After a long steady climb, we
reached the top of Orton Scar. Thelandscape was bathed in golden
sunlight and crisscrossed with dry
stone walls on green meadows where
many sheep graze. Purple thistle,
ferns and nettles crowded together
along the muddy paths strewn with
gangly roots and stones to trip you
up if you’re not careful. Little streams
trickled down the hillsides. The air
smelled moist with a hint of moss.TRAVEL & ADVENTUREOur reader Suzanna
Kyle explores the
Yorkshire Dales
The Darling
Dales
My Great Escape:
92 • DECEMBER 2021