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Day 1 Morning
Discover Farfield Mill the last of five working mills in Sedbergh, which charts over 200 years of weaving history and is now home to one of the UK’s leading venues for textile arts. There’s also a vibrant and thriving community of 20 resident artisan makers and crafts people, alongside additional spaces showcasing traditional and contemporary works of a further 60 makers on site. Throughout the year visitors can explore the Mill’s heritage displays, see the working looms in action, and discover the regularly changing exhibitions, as well as having the opportunity to take part in the regular craft workshops and demonstrations held by artisans and crafts people.
Lunch
After a wander around the Mill enjoy lunch in the Mill Café and delight in a fabulous cakes, tray bakes, toasted tea cakes, and choice of hot and cold drinks.
Early Afternoon
Hidden from view on the western edge of Sedbergh, just off Station Road, sits something rather remarkable, public gardens of significance. Queen’s Gardens, designed and created by world
renowned garden designer Thomas Hayton Mawson (1861-1933), commemorate the reign of Queen Victoria.
Thankfully, the Grade II listed Gardens still contain much of the original planting scheme conceived by Mawson: featuring holly, cedar, a several varieties of maple, beech, and conifers. There are three original gated entrances to the garden, with paths running the full length of the garden, which all interconnect in a geometric figure of eight pattern with a small knoll sitting at the very heart of the garden. On top of this small promontory sits an impressive five-metre-tall Anglo-Celtic cross dedicated to Queen Victoria. , which has quite an interesting provenance too and as a result is the subject of a Grade II listing.
Afternoon
Winton Park Gardens, near Kirkby Stephen, are something of a wonder… Thirty years ago, Winton Field was a working farm. In 1989 it was bought by Anthony and Janet Kilvington who began the task of creating a garden. Over time, helped by others, they have transformed five acres of farmland into a garden brim full of herbaceous borders, a rose garden, rhododendrons and azaleas, spring and autumn flowering heathers, acers, hostas, ferns, pines, clipped hornbeams, statuary, pillars, several ponds and a waterfall. The different sections of the garden are linked by a series of paths which meander to the highest part of the garden where you can take in spectacular views of Wild Boar Fell and Mallerstang Edge.
Day 2 Morning
Discover the story of John Bowes and his French wife Joséphine who created a magnificent chateau in rural Teesdale to house their collections of European fine and decorative art, ceramics, and textiles in 1811. Today this Grade 1 listed French-style château the Bowes Museum in the picturesque market town of Barnard Castle, is one of the most important museums outside London and houses significant collections, including paintings by El Greco and Goya – the only works by these artists outside the national collections in London and Edinburgh. Furniture, ceramics, and sculpture are also well represented. Among its treasures is a botanical cabinet, thought to have been commissioned by Mary Eleanor Bowes around 1780 to house her exotic plant collections. The Bowes is also home to an extraordinary Silver Swan, a lifesize 244-year-old musical automaton.
Lunch
Enjoy lunch at Café Bowes after taking in the sights and sounds of the museum and enjoy delicious food created by head chef Ben Parnaby using the fresh local produce.
Afternoon
Enjoy some green therapy in the glorious gardens of Acorn Bank a 17th-century mansion with its uninterrupted views over the surrounding countryside towards the high Pennine fells.
Acorn Bank has a long history that dates back to the 13th century and the Knights Templar, it then came into the possession of the Knights of St John. By the 16th century it was acquired by Thomas Dalston and it stayed in his family’s possession until 1930’s, eventually the house, gardens and 180 acres of woodland were given to the National Trust in 1950 by Dorothy Una Ratcliffe, the Yorkshire writer, traveller and art collector who had bought the property in 1934.
Outside enjoy the woodland walk along Crowdundle Beck, which is full of wildflowers and beautiful trees, to the partially restored Acorn Bank watermill. Discover a marvellous herb garden with a comprehensive collection of medicinal and culinary plants, a second, larger, walled garden which contains orchards, bordered by herbaceous beds, with a wild flower meadow beneath the trees and a more formal, sunken garden, that home to a pond containing great crested newts. A further collection of more than 100 varieties of local apples, many grown as cordons, and a restored vegetable garden.
Day 3 Morning
The Dales Countryside Museum tells the story of the Yorkshire Dales and the people who have shaped its landscape for thousands of years. Located in the former Victorian railway station at Hawes visitors can see the museum’s loco, climb aboard the carriages and get crafty in the ‘Creation Station’. Visitors can also check out a host of exciting and intriguing exhibits including Bronze age weapons and the museum’s beautifully crafted Viking ring. There’s loads of things to see and do, as well as galleries showcasing the weird and the wonderful, there’s also a programme of special exhibitions that offer something new to see and a range of exciting events and activities throughout the year.
Lunch
Savour light bites and snacks at The Firebox Café, which serves up an array of high quality light refreshments made using locally sourced ingredients sourced from local suppliers based in the Yorkshire Dales.
Afternoon
The Wensleydale Creamery is home to world-famous Wensleydale cheese. This interactive experience takes you on a journey through the art of cheese-making, with the opportunity to watch Wensleydale cheese being made in the creamery. You can also enjoy a full programme of cheesemaking and butter-making demos, as well as getting involved in cheese-grading and cheese tastings giving you an insight into a thousand-year history of cheese making in Wensleydale.
