Appleby-in-Westmorland, Cumbria, Autumn
In all my time of living in Cumbria I’ve never properly checked out Appleby-in-Westmorland.
Today we rectified that.
Appleby-in-Westmorland is a small town located in the northeast of the historic county of Westmorland. Whilst Kendal was the major trade town of historic Westmorland, Appleby was the county town and administrative centre where the Assize Courts met.
As a result, Appleby has a different atmosphere compared to Kendal; the latter feels more modernised whereas the former is much quieter and has maintained a lot of its historic charm.
We took the route to Appleby via Tebay, stopping off at the Lune Gorge M6 Viewpoint as well as the Lune Gorge itself, before arriving at Appleby for lunch and a solid potter around. We also checked out the grounds of Appleby Castle, which was founded in the early 12th century.
On the way back home we diverted off the main road to get another Bucket List item ticked off: Rutter Falls.
All photos shot on a Fujifilm X-T2 with a Fujinon XF 18–55mm f/2.8–4.0 lens using a customised Classic Chrome film profile.
The M6 was the first motorway constructed in the UK, and a serious feat of engineering was required to route the M6 through the Lune Gorge here.
Just before reaching Tebay you can stop off and scramble around the Lune Gorge. Here the River Lune turns south and drastically narrows, cutting out this fine gorge before broadening out again near Kirkby Lonsdale.
There’s a layby off the A685 that allows one to enjoy the views of the Lune Gorge and the surrounding fells with the M6 running through it.
We scrambled down the sides of the gorge to get close to the roaring water for better photos. My lovely Lisabet, here, providing a sense of scale and colour contrast.
As close to the rapids of the Lune as I dare.
A sign of the times: masks everywhere at Appleby-in-Westmorland town centre.
A simple composition of the pillar in Appleby town centre called Low Cross, itself a copy of High Cross just up the road near the castle.
Cumbria is quickly transitioning into autumn and the trees are starting to look real nice.
This is High Cross near the gates of Appleby Castle, framed by some lovely autumn trees.
Inside the grounds of Appleby Castle the views open up and we can peep over the trees towards the North Pennines.
Much like in Wetheral, a lot of the geology around the River Eden—which runs through Appleby—consists of deep red sandstone carved into fantastical shapes.
Up into the grounds of Appleby Castle, lots of reconstruction and landscaping going on.
The way to the castle from the Moat Walk.
Inside the well-kept courtyard of Appleby Castle you get a clear view of Caesar’s Tower, a largely intact Norman-era keep built around 1170AD.
The keep is currently in the process of being made structurally sound again by Historic England after years of neglect.
Appleby Castle was founded by Ranulf le Meschin in the 12th century. Perhaps its most notable resident was Lady Anne Clifford, who took up residence in the mid-17th century. She made a number of improvements and expansions to Appleby Castle as well as other properties that her family owned, such as Skipton Castle, Pendragon Castle, and Brough Castle.
Slap-bang in the middle of Appleby town centre, an area known as Boroughgate, is the Moot Hall, which dates from the late 1500s. The Moot Hall was made to conduct the business of the Borough of Appleby, established by royal charter in 1179. It is one of only a few early town halls that still serves its original purpose of conducting the business of the borough.
Everywhere you look in Appleby you are surrounded by historic buildings retaining a lot of their original forms and features. In fact the town contains 143 buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England: 6 are listed at Grade I, the highest of the three grades, 10 at Grade II*, and the others are at Grade II.
A decorative date stone attached to the Moot Hall, giving the year when Appleby-in-Westmorland was granted its Market Charter: 1179AD.
On our way back from Appleby we took a small diversion to check a beauty spot we’ve been wanting to see for a long time: Rutter Falls. The waterfall is situated on Hoff Beck in an impossibly idyllic location alongside a picturesque old mill that was once used to grind corn. In fact the nearby village of Great Asby was still powered by electricity generated from this waterfall until 1952, when the National Grid finally arrived.