BB1416 : Eye Spy Sedbergh

Thursday 8th May 2014

Now, for the first time in 60 years, my right eye can see reasonably well without glasses. And once I have the other cataract done I should have the vision of an eagle, not that I want to pounce on small mammals from several hundred feet in the air.  However, close work like reading a map could become a rather more challenging matter.

Today was the new eye's first BOOTboys outing, shielded by dark glasses to avoid the glare of the sun.  Unfortunately, as we parked in the central car park in Sedbergh, the sun had reneged on the appointment. Indeed, rain was expected.  That fact plus time constraints confined us to a shorter, leveller but more historic walk than normal.

Sedbergh seeks to promote itself as the English equivalent of Ross-on-Wye, i.e. a book town.  However, it is best known for its public school, the buildings of which dominate the approach.

Sedbergh School cricket pitch

There was one building in which I was particularly interested.  I had hoped we would be able to visit the Old Grammar School, built in 1716 and now used as the School Library.  However, we were unable to see inside due to it being in use for examinations. Nonetheless, the outside is interesting.

We followed the footpath through the school grounds, straying to look at the war memorial and the sad list of those ex-pupils wiped out in the two world wars. A huge number in relation to the size of the school.

Come on, if you think you're hard enough!

After passing through Birks and then roaring at some bullocks that were showing too much interest in us, we arrived at Brigflatts and my favourite church- the Quaker Meeting House- where we were warmly greeted by the warden, Tess.  She told us much about its history from George Fox's time in the mid seventeenth century onwards.

The Meeting House has made at least three television appearances. The most recent was in 2007 as part of Griff Rhys Jones' Mountain series.

In 2005, Songs of Praise featured Aled Jones singing the lovely old hymn "How Can I Keep From Singing?"  Unfortunately for the pedantic, although the setting is very atmospheric, it seems mislocated as Tess confirmed that Quaker meetings do not involve the singing of hymns. Nonetheless. although the sound quality is poor, the evocative video clip is worth watching.  To do so, click on the photo below left.

The other appearance was in a 1982 Channel Four production about the poet, Basil Bunting.  Much admired by Ezra Pound and W. B. Yeats, Bunting published his epic poem "Briggflatts," in 1966. You can see him reciting extracts by clicking on his photo, above right, and discover more by clicking on the book cover in the right hand column.

John had another reason for being interested in the hamlet.  Directly opposite the Meeting House is a building in which his godfather lived for some years.

After Brigflatts we followed a track that led to the entrance to Ingmire Hall grounds. The Hall is now subdivided into apartments, some of them holiday homes and one for sale, all set in splendid grounds.  Tony was particularly interested in the fish pond with its enormous multicoloured carp.

Built for the navvies who worked on the construction of Ingmire Hall is St Gregory's Church,  Now deconsecrated, it is well maintained and features stunning William Morris windows.  

At Lincoln's Inn Bridge we turned north, up the Dales Way and alongside the River Lune as far as the railway viaduct- a magnificent structure and a good shelter from the wind for our lunch stop.

River Lune railway viaduct

As we climbed up past Low and High Branthwaite to Howgill Lane, we debated whether or not to climb Winder which was right in front of us.

Winder

The weather had proved far better than expected and the summit was no longer shrouded in mist (although the higher tops still were). What's more, it seemed that we were already half way up.

Instead, we dropped back down into Sedbergh, passing a novel weather vane, then continuing our cultural investigations by visiting its parish church, St Andrew's.

Inside, it is surprisingly wide.  Like so many of the Victorian churches in this area, it was designed by Paley and Austin although this one incorporates a presumably 15th century wall.  

That concluded the cultural aspects of our tour.  I am pleased to report that my new eye performed sufficiently well to end the walk with the old game.

I spy with my little eye, something beginning with B.

Correct: the Bull Hotel !

Don, 8th May 2014

Offa's Dyke

Do you remember how on BB1317 Bryan and I went to meet Tim and his pals to accompany them one day on their Coast to Coast expedition?

Well, Tim & co. are at it again, this time in the English / Welsh border country.

You can follow their progress by clicking on Offa's Dyke.  Somewhat counter-intuitively, to find the subsequent pages, you need to click on the left hand arrow at the bottom of the screen.

BOOTboys routes are put online in gpx format which should work with most mapping software. You can follow our route in detail by downloading bb1416 .

To discover which Wainwright top was visited on which BB outing - although it may not be that up to date - see: Which Wainwright When?

For the latest totals of the mileages and heights (ditto) see: BB Log.

Photos have been gleaned from many sources although mostly from me!
Likewise written comment.  
Unless stated otherwise, please feel free to download the material if you wish.
A reference back to this website would be appreciated.
.If I have failed to acknowledge properly the source or infringed copyright, then I apologise.
. Please let me know and I will do my best to put things right.

E-mail addresses on this web site are protected by

 Spam Trawlers will be further frustrated by
 Spam Blocker: help fight spam e-mail!.

BOOT boys

If you want to join
The BOOTboys
Inter-continental
Fan Club
let us know and
you will receive
automatic notification
of new BOOTboys reports.

Click on
to contact us.

For the Index pages
of our various outings
click on the relevant
link below:

Click on the photos
for an enlargement
or related large picture.