From Kirkby Lonsdale you don’t have to travel far to enter either North Yorkshire or Lancashire, so Cumbria is lucky to be able to call this unspoiled market town its own.

Sitting at the south eastern corner of the county it is the ideal location from which to explore the area, but not before you have fully explored the town itself.

The Royal Hotel is a fine Georgian buildingThe Royal Hotel is a fine Georgian building

STAY

Starting with places to stay, amid the traditional inn rooms in town Absoluxe is a surprise for its contemporary, glamorous suites with luxury bathrooms and the latest technology.

In the heart of the action, the Royal Hotel has 14 bedrooms and suites, including some dog-friendly rooms, all sumptuously decorated.

Plato’s is a ‘boutique bed and breakfast’ awarded a five-star AA breakfast award in 2022 and something of an institution in Kirkby Lonsdale, priding itself on its wines and cocktails.

The Orange Tree – named after a pub with rooms near Twickenham – has six bedrooms including some set up for families. It also has a restaurant and popular bar, especially with the rugby crowd.

The Outhouse Bothy is a bijou, one-bedroom bolthole bookable through Airbnb.

Elodie's cafe and wine shopElodie's cafe and wine shop

EAT

When it’s time for something to eat, the town centre is characterised by historic inns and independent restaurants and cafés; you won’t find any national coffee chains or fried chicken restaurants here.

The Royal Hotel occupies a prominent corner position opposite the Market Square and it is a beautiful Georgian building serving lunch, pizza and grills, afternoon tea, dinner and a popular Sunday lunch. Try some of the beers on tap from Bowland Brewery.

Elodie’s opened last autumn in the former premises of the well-known Crossing Point Café. Husband and wife owners Adrian and Helen Shield have overseen a smart refurbishment of the licensed café with a focus on brunch, lunch and coffee, tea and cakes in the daytime. At the back of the café are more than 200 wines in their shop that reflects 15 years of hands-on experience in the trade. Wine tastings with food at Elodie’s are a popular event on the local social scene.

A few doors down the delightfully named Jingling Lane brings you to The Milking Parlour. The magnificent range of Italian-style gelato on offer is made in small batches at the parlour using milk from owners Ed and Sarah Beattie’s family farm. They also serve waffles, brownies, milkshakes and proper hot chocolate, all takeaway.

Fish and chips are available next door.

You are spoiled for choice at Botanica, which has an enormous menu starting with brunch and moving on to small plates and sandwiches, bowls, bao buns and main courses or burgers, tacos, noodles and flatbreads.

Avanti is a popular spot for pizza, especially when the sun is out and you can sit in its hidden courtyard at the back, and Number Nine wine bar serves cocktails and sharing dishes.

The town is full of interesting old streets [Cumbria Tourism/Charlie Wearden]The town is full of interesting old streets [Cumbria Tourism/Charlie Wearden]

SHOP

Fuelled up ready to shop, for locally-made luxury head to Bath House. The Sedbergh-based company’s body and skincare ranges are made just over the hills in Dent.

Nip around the corner for handmade sweet treats at Chocolat – they have dairy-free, gluten-free and vegan chocolate among a wide selection.

Homewares including antiques, art and decorative items are the speciality of Brocante at No 45. Searching for unusual items is a passion for owner Ursula Scott who travels across the UK and Europe to bring back the old and interesting.

Abrahams is Kirkby’s ‘department’ store selling men and women’s clothing and accessories, jewellery, gifts, cards, homeware, skincare and chocolates including big city brands like Barbour, Oui, Ortigia, Ren and Dr Hauschka.

GR & RD Taylor is a hardware-cum-outdoors and camping shop while The Black Bicycle offers a stylish collection of menswear.

For ladies’ fashion head to The Spotty Hen, Ladies of Lonsdale and Boo & Belle.

If your visit happens to coincide with not so good weather, The Book & Jigsaw Lounges might be the order of the day, while Parma Violet has a whole host of gifts or treats for yourself. Across the road, JTR Jewellery, which opened just a few weeks ago, is a first high street store for Josh who studied at the prestigious School of Jewellery in the heart of Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter.

The fine array of unique, independent shops continues at Gathered which offers original gifts, books, useful and beautiful household goods and vintage finds. Nearby is Bumblebee Gallery whose carefully curated range includes the work of more than 70 talented British artists and artisans.

Head back to Elodie’s for a bottle of bubble from its namesake family-owned Champagne house in France and stocked exclusively in the UK at the Kirkby shop.

Finally, you cannot go home without stocking up at Dales traditional artisan butchers, pie maker and delicatessen and the official home of Britain’s Best Sausage 2023.

If you need cash, Kirkby Lonsdale has one of those rare things these days – an actual bank, that is open Monday-Friday until 3.30pm.

For the time being, visitors have to make do with images of Ruskin's View [Cumbria Tourism/Scarlette DG]For the time being, visitors have to make do with images of Ruskin's View [Cumbria Tourism/Scarlette DG]

DO

Normally, top of the ‘things to do’ list would be Ruskin’s View but sadly it remains inaccessible, two and a half years after closing due to safety concerns. Kirkby Lonsdale Town Council (KLTC) and The Friends of Ruskin’s View are doing their best to have it reopened so visitors and local people can once again admire the vista across the Lune that art critic and write John Ruskin declared, in 1875, one of the loveliest in England. William Wordsworth was pretty keen on it too, and JMW Turner painted it. You can support the fundraising effort by having a pint or two of 1822, Kirkby Lonsdale Brewery’s beer from which a percentage of profits go towards the campaign.

There are enough footpaths around and close to Kirkby Lonsdale to fill a much longer holiday but on a short visit first complete a tour of the town itself including the riverside path and Radical Steps that lead down from the churchyard of St Mary's Church to the River Lune, near Ruskin's View. Multiple paths lead out of the town into the Dales, one of the most popular being to follow Barbon Beck.

Kirkby Lonsdale Brewery Co Ltd was established February 2009 and its Royal Barn tap house is definitely one to visit. There is a wide range of beers – they’ve put the ‘ale in Lonsdale’ as they say – and there is often live music. Take home some of its home-roasted coffee too.

Devil’s Bridge is definitely one for motorbike enthusiasts, so if you enjoy talking cruisers and carbon cans then this is the place to come, especially on a weekend.

Kirkby Lonsdale Golf Club prides itself on welcoming visitors, who can play any day of the week. Set in more than 160 acres, the 72-par course comprises two nine-hole anti-clockwise loops with the 17th hole being a 157-yard par three.

DIARY

Time a visit to fit with the Charter Market that takes place every Thursday in Market Square.

The Country Market in the Lunesdale Hall is held to coincide with the Charter Market, on Thursday mornings offering a selection of homemade food and handcrafted gifts and accessories.

For more information on visiting Kirkby Lonsdale contact the information centre, in Main Street, on 015242 97177.