Experience the best of Dentdale, visit Cowgill.
The
Sportsman is located at the head of beautiful Dentdale in the Yorkshire
Dales National Park and is only a short drive away from the Lake District,
providing a perfect base for exploring all they have to offer.
We have a wealth of local
knowledge and can give advice on walks and places of interest to ensure that
you get the most from your stay.
Motorcyclists.
I have been riding motorcycles around the
Lakes and Dales since 1978 and know the area like the back of my hand., so
why not bring the bike and experience some of the best biking in the UK.
Devils bridge is only a few miles away and no visit to the area would be
complete without a trip to the Heartside Cafe via Middleton and Alston. If
you prefer a more leisurely ride then why not take up the challenge of
riding over HardKnott and Wrynose passes in the Lakes, all within easy reach
of the Sportsman's.
Cowgill.
(the best bit)
Cowgill is the most scenic part of Dentdale. Trains on the Settle
Carlisle railway line appear from Blea moor tunnel before crossing Denthead
and Arten Gill viaducts on their way to
tiny Dent station, the highest main line station in England. The drivers
take their passengers lives in their hands, balancing heavy trains on very
narrow lines with no steering wheel!!
Cowgill was also the home of the famous Dent Marble mill, where fossilised
limestone was quarried, cut, dressed and polished, to make luxury fireplaces
and memorials etc, before the import of real marble from Italy. The locals
worked a twenty six hour day for a week of fortnights in gruelling
conditions, all for tuppence, (paid promptly every 29th Feb) and as many off
cuts as they could eat. (we have a Dent marble fireplace in The
Sportsman's).
Hawes
Home to the Wensleydale Creamery and visitor centre, where you can watch the
cheese being made and sample it before buying.
I knew someone once who claimed to make Billy Goats milk cheese!! She said
the Billy goat was very accommodating and showed no sign of stress. Animal
welfare a prime consideration.
The Countryside Museum is another must for anyone visiting Hawes. It gives a
snapshot of people and trades from a bygone age that
shaped the Dales and made it what it is today. It's also somewhere to shelter
from the rain.
Hawes rope makers is another attraction not to missed as long as you're not
too tied up.
Sedbergh
Subject of the recent BBC series 'The town that wants a twin' at the foot of the Howgills.
Sedbergh school is well big and has had many famous people going there.
Nostradamus, Will Carling and Harry Potter to name but three. I might of
made the Harry Potter and Nostrodamus bit up,
but the rugby bloke definitely went there.
Sedbergh is also the home of the finest butcher I've ever known, Mr G.
Steadman who retired recently.
Garth supplied meat to the Sportsman for over twenty years and we never had
cause for complaint. Enjoy your retirement, you deserve it.
