Eden Valley history
Appleby-in-Westmorland
Walk from a Norman keep to a historic church along one of northern England's finest Georgian streetscapes.
- Best for
- History, river walks and independent shops
- Give it
- An unhurried half-day
- Don't miss
- The walk down Boroughgate from castle to church
The Fox verdict
A historic Eden Valley town with a walkable spine
Appleby rewards a simple route: start above the town, follow Boroughgate downhill and then pick up the River Eden path.
The intact Norman keep, Grade I church, cobbled Georgian street and quiet riverside path make a compact visit with real range. Independent shops and two contrasting town inns give the historic circuit useful places to pause.
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Local signatures
3 placesBoroughgate
A straight cobbled street lined by Georgian frontages and independent shops, running from the castle to the church.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: allow around 60 minutes
- Locality
- between Appleby Castle and St Lawrence's Church
Royal Oak Inn
A CAMRA-listed former coaching inn with an oak-panelled tap room, a separate lounge and dining room, home-made food and two changing ales that are usually local.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: allow around 75 minutes
- Locality
- on the road east out of town
- Access
- Dog-friendly, with doggie dinners available.
Tufton Arms Hotel
A traditional town hotel with an elegantly furnished, cosy bar and traditional hotel dining.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: allow around 75 minutes
- Locality
- on the market square
- Access
- Walk-ins are welcome, although the hotel is mainly used by residents.
History & heritage
2 placesAppleby Castle
A Norman castle with a fully intact 12th-century stone keep that can be climbed, open grounds and views over the Eden Valley.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: allow around 90 minutes
- Locality
- at the top of Boroughgate
St Lawrence's Church
A Grade I listed church with a Norman 12th-century core, later additions and the tomb of Lady Anne Clifford.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: allow around 30 minutes
- Locality
- at the bottom of Boroughgate
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On the map
Appleby-in-Westmorland at a glance
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Three ways to explore Appleby-in-Westmorland
Signature outings
A Norman vantage point
Climb the fully intact 12th-century keep before taking in the Eden Valley views from the castle grounds.
A tomb at the street's end
Step inside St Lawrence's to find the tomb of Lady Anne Clifford in the church she restored.
Appleby's cobbled spine
Follow Boroughgate's straight cobbled line past Georgian frontages and independent shops from Appleby Castle to St Lawrence's Church.
The village story
Appleby-in-Westmorland: castle, county and river
The original guide follows Appleby's straight historic axis before branching into its inns, market traditions, river paths and scenic railway.
Boroughgate and the castle above
Boroughgate runs in a straight cobbled line from the castle at the top to St Lawrence's Church at the bottom, and walking down it is the quickest way to understand Appleby. Georgian frontages stand on either side, independent shops among them, and the street is counted one of the finest Georgian streetscapes in the north of England. You are walking the length of a town that was the county town of Westmorland from the Norman Conquest until 1974, when the county was abolished and Appleby was left holding a title with nothing behind it.
At the top of the hill, Appleby Castle keeps a 12th-century stone keep that is fully intact and can be climbed. It began as a Norman motte and bailey after 1066. The grounds are open to visitors, and from them the Eden Valley opens out — the Pennines rising to the east, the Lake District fells visible to the west, and the River Eden curving around the town below.
Lady Anne Clifford and St Lawrence's
The castle belonged to Lady Anne Clifford, who spent her later life restoring the Westmorland estates she had spent decades fighting to inherit. She rebuilt Appleby Castle after Parliament dismantled its defences in 1648, restored the church, and built the Hospital of St Anne almshouses in the town, which are still occupied. She is buried in St Lawrence's, at the bottom of the street.
St Lawrence's is Grade I listed and Norman at its core, 12th century with later additions. Lady Anne's tomb is inside, the church she restored in the years before her death in 1676.
Two contrasting town inns
There are two pubs worth knowing. The Royal Oak is a former coaching inn on the road east out of town, CAMRA listed, with a tap room panelled in oak and a separate lounge and dining room. The kitchen does home-made food and a Tuesday Pie Night, and there is a gelato parlour on the premises, which is not a sentence you write about most Cumbrian coaching inns. Two changing ales, usually local. Dogs get doggie dinners.
The Tufton Arms Hotel sits on the market square, a traditional town hotel with an elegant, cosy bar. It's used mainly by residents but takes walk-ins, and the kitchen serves noon to two and half five to half eight.
Market charter and Horse Fair
The market square earns its name. Appleby has held a weekly market under a charter dating to Norman times, and the town appears in the Domesday Book as the principal town of Westmorland.
Once a year the town's population multiplies. Appleby Horse Fair, established by royal charter in 1685 and held every June, is the largest horse fair in the world and one of the biggest gatherings of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities in Europe. Tens of thousands come for the week, and horses are washed in the River Eden at Gallows Hill.
River paths, moorland and rail
The rest of the year the river is quieter, and a flat path follows it through town and out into the countryside. For something steeper there is Nine Standards Rigg, high on the moors.
The station is on the Settle–Carlisle line, one of the great scenic railways, and it stops in a town most trains would be forgiven for missing.
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A guide with a point of view
Written from research. Edited for real journeys.
Use the Official site links for live practical details, then use this guide for context, ideas and room to explore.
Sources
Every place on this page is checked against a published source. Each entry links the record we used and names who publishes it.
- Appleby Castle — applebycastle.co.uk operator, sector body or destination organisation
- St Lawrence's Church — carlislediocese.org.uk national body or asset manager
- Boroughgate — historicengland.org.uk statutory register or public authority record not machine-readable; publisher restricts automated access
- Royal Oak Inn — royaloakappleby.co.uk operator, sector body or destination organisation
- Tufton Arms Hotel — tuftonarmshotel.co.uk operator, sector body or destination organisation