Sedbergh links

Community

Local Groups, clubs and leisure activities: Information about a number of clubs, societies, trusts and other groups in the Sedbergh area can be found on the Sedbergh and Western Dales section of the Westmorland Gazette Communigate web site. These cover a wide range of interests including adult education, sports, special interests, health & social care.
The Sedbergh & District Lookaround: The Lookaround is a monthly Community Newsletter which serves the population of Sedbergh and surrounding areas. The first issue was in March 1986 and consisted of four photocopied A5 pages with a print run of 500 copies. Over the years Lookaround has grown considerably with issues usually consisting of between 72 and 84 A5 pages with a print run of 1,000 every month. Copies are available from the 1st of every month from February to December (no January issue) in many shops in the Sedbergh area and are also available by post. It is estimated that an average of just over 4 people read each copy making a readership of about 5,000 people
In addition to the normal printed copy the Lookaround is also available in large print for the partially sighted in the area and as an 'Audio Lookaround' which is an abridged version of some of the articles which is recorded onto tape and distributed to the Blind members of our community.
Parts of the Newsletter are reproduced on the Lookaround Web Site and mainly consist of details of events that are occurring in the area and all the reports that appear in the last six issues.
The Westmorland Gazette: The Westmorland Gazette is the local newspaper for a community stretching from the hill farmers of the Yorkshire Dales in the east to the industries of Furness in the Wes and from mountains like Helvellyn in the north to Morecambe Bay in the south.
The Sedbergh Community Office: The Sedbergh Community Office is run for the people by the people. Staff in the office are available to provide the community related help and information you need. See the Sedbergh Community Office web page for details of all the facilities available

Books & Booktowns

Sedbergh, England's Book Town: The Sedbergh Book Town company was set up in 2003 to develop a community of businesses involved in selling, writing, publishing and designing books and other publications. In May 2006 Sedbergh wass officially recognised as England's Booktown and became a member of the International Organisation of Book Towns.
International Organisation of Book Towns: The Book Town concept was initiated in the Welsh town of Hay-on-Wye by Richard Booth in 1961. This was seen as an exemplary model of sustainable rural development and tourism and led to the formation of a European Book Town Network covering 5 Book Towns in The Netherlands, Norway, France, and Belgium in addition to the original Hay-on-Wye Book Town. Following this growth of Book Towns the International Organisation of Book Towns was founded. Currently (in 2007) the IOB has 11 members, 3 of which (Hay-on-Wye, Wigtown and Sedbergh) are in the United Kingdom. The Book Town concept has since been followed by several other towns and villages around the world.
Wigtown Book Festival: Wigtown is a historic market town on the Galloway coast that is home to 900 people, a malt whisky distillery and over a quarter of a million books. Each year their autumn book festival provides ten days of readings, performances, exhibitions and debates, prompting a mass migration of bibliophiles to this pastoral corner of Scotland.
The Complete Guide To Book towns: An informative article about book towns in the on-line version of "The Independent"
The Sharpe Appreciation Society: The Sharpe Appreciation Society was set up in 1996 to deal with the many hundreds of requests for information etc. from the fans of Sharpe novels written by Bernard Cornwell, Britain's leading historical novelist. Following the novels came ITV's award winning drama series starring Sean Bean as "Sharpe". Today the society has expanded worldwide to over 1,400 members, holding conventions and visiting European battlefields with members and guests.
One of the ways of keeping members in touch with plans for new Sharpe books and films is by taking their own road-show around the UK. The Society has have a varied display of weaponry some of it used on the sets of the films, prints relating to the Napoleonic period, a good range of “Sharpe” merchandise and naturally the books and films of Sharpe.
The road-show is often joined by some of the cast members of the films of Sharpe, and wherever they go they find fans of the books and films who are fascinated by the world of Richard Sharpe and Napoleonic history.
The Wainwright Society: The book "Walks on The Howgill Fells : And Adjoining Fells" by A.W. Wainwright, author of the famous Pictorial Guides to the Lakeland Fells, is an excellent guide for those wishing to explore the nearby Howgills. Copies of this book are available from the Dales and Lakes Book Centre. Additional information about A.W. Wainwright and his guidebooks can be found on the Wainwright Society's website.

Our Neighbours

Dent: Local information for Dent and it's surroundings.
Hawes: Hawes lies in the heart of Wensleydale and is surrounded by spectacular scenery. Close to Hawes is Hardraw Force, England's highest single-drop waterfall.
Kendal: Kendal, Sedbergh's nearest “large” town, stands on the River Kent, surrounded by low hills. It is just outside the Lake District National Park, and is often regarded as being part of the Lake District itself.
Kirkby Lonsdale: The historic market town of Kirkby Lonsdale sits in the South Eastern corner of the County of Cumbria. Set in a superb location of enchanting natural beauty, the town is a great tourist attraction, famous for Devil's Bridge, and Ruskin's View.
Kirkby Stephen: Kirkby Stephen is the half way access point to Wainwright's Coast to Coast long distance walk. It is the current northern terminal of the Pennine Bridleway and the Cumbria Cycle Way passes through the town. The Pennine Way long distance walk passes a little to the East.
Mallerstang: Mallerstang Dale is a fairly isolated narrow valley at the head of the river Eden, located south of Kirkby Stephen on the B6259 road to Hawes. The area provides excellent walking country where you can leave the 21st century (and your mobile phone signal) behind.
Ravenstonedale: This website portrays the parish of Ravenstonedale at the time of the Millennium, from the year 2000 to the present day. It is a record of people, places and activities associated with the parish and describes some of the surrounding area.

Town Twinning

UK Town Twinning Portal: This web site is a portal to the world of Twinning for everyone interested in Town Twinning activities within the United Kingdom. The place to find out about your local twinning groups, to discover how to contact your local association and who they are twinned with. It is also the place to discover how to go about setting up a twinning link, and where to go to find a potential twinning partner, to check current information concerning twinning, travel information, and useful links..The site also includes a section which contains factual and “how to” articles, feature articles, and amusing stories, a news section about the activities of British groups and a forum for the discussion of twinning related matters.
The Local Government International Bureau: The governing body within the UK for all twinning matters.
The UK One World Linking Association: The UK One World Linking Association is a charity set up in 1984 to support, promote and encourage communities in the UK to develop partnership links with communities in the south (Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Carribean).

Yorkshire Dales

Yorkshire Dales National Park: The official web site for tourist information about the Yorkshire Dales National Park.
Dalenet,..the internet gateway to the Dales: A wide ranging selection of Yorkshire Dales related items.
The Yorkshire Dales (www.yorkshire-dales.com): A website providing a host of information about the Yorkshire Dales, including landscape, geology, geography, facilities for the disabled, tourist attractions, long distance walks, accommodation, eating out, travel information, local art and photography, local culture and events.
The Yorkshire Dales Society: The Yorkshire Dales Society is an independent charity which has been operating to protect, conserve and promote the Dales for 25 years. It provides a voice for people who care about the Dales to be heard at local and national level, enabling them to be represented in local consultations, planning and decision making.
The Dales Way: This long distance footpath of about 80 miles (129 km) from Ilkley to Bowness-on-Windermere passes through nearby Dentdale and the Lune Valley. By following as far as possible riverside paths, it offers a scenically attractive route from urban West Yorkshire to the Lake District, which any reasonably fit family can undertake in a week's holiday.
A Diary and Paintings by Delya Randall: A collection of watercolours and acrylics by Delya M Randall who has had the privilege of living in South Cumbria all her life, and has painted the scenery around this beautiful area for over 25 years.

Events

Local events are listed on the Sedbergh events page of this web site. Details of events in some of the surrounding areas in the Yorkshire Dales and the Lake District can be found at:

Sedbergh history

The Sedbergh & District History Society: The Society was founded in 1980 and now has members throughout the world. Its aims are to study, research, publish and stimulate interest in history, mainly in the history of the local area. The Society maintains an archive in the Sedbergh Community Office, this contains much information of interest to people researching the history of the area or their local family history.
Old Photographs from Francis Frith and Co.: A collection of old photographs of Sedbergh and District dating back to 1890 can be browsed and purchased from in the Francis Frith web archive.
The Sedbergh Embroidery: Sedbergh Stitchers formed a group in 1993 to create the Sedbergh Embroidery which depicts Sedbergh's landscape, historic buildings and social background and is on display in Sedbergh Library in Main Street. The web site has notes about the various historical features.
The Ingleton Branch of the North Western Railway: An account of the history of the line from the abandoned first proposal in 1854 and subsequent re-introduction and opening in 1862 through to it's final closure in 1967.
Farfield Mill Arts and Heritage Centre: Farfield Mill, built in 1836 as a woollen mill, has been restored as an arts and heritage centre. Artists' exhibitions and work being created can be viewed throughout the year. Heritage displays explain the production of cloth and the social history of the area. Working looms are sometimes in operation.
The mill also houses a shop and café.
UK & Ireland Genealogy (GENUKI): The GENUKI web site has a page containing links to various 19th. century census transcriptions, church records, directories, gazetteers and map for the Sedbergh areas.
The Dales Knitting Tradition: Details of origins of the local hand knitting industry and sample knitting and embroidery patterns inspired by the Dales landscape.There is also a collection of photographs depicting the Dales Knitting tradition and some of the people, products and settings associated with its long history.

Local Authorities

South Lakeland District Council
Cumbria County Council

This website is managed jointly by Sedbergh Community Office and Sedbergh Chamber of Trade. Photographs and illustrations on this web site must not be reproduced without written permission.