Eden Valley poise
Askham
Two greens, two distinctive inns and centuries of architecture at the point where the Eden Valley meets the eastern Lake District fells.
- Best for
- Village history, country food and walks
- Give it
- A leisurely half day
- Don't miss
- St Peter’s light-catching leaded windows
The Fox verdict
A handsome estate village with several ways into the landscape
Askham pairs a compact historic core with riverside, lakeside and fell-bound walking choices.
The two pubs offer contrasting reasons to linger, while St Peter’s and Askham Hall place Robert Smirke’s nineteenth-century work beside a much older pele-tower story. Beyond the two greens, routes lead into the Lowther Valley, towards Ullswater and over the eastern fells.
Where to go
Places in Askham
Every place below is checked against a published source, listed with what it is and how long to give it.
Local signatures
3 placesThe Punchbowl Inn
An upmarket country pub with rooms, homemade Sunday roasts using local meats, Hawkshead Bitter and guest ales.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: allow around 90 minutes
- Locality
- Askham village
- Access
- Winter food hours may vary; check the official site before travel.
The Queen’s Head
A cosy village inn serving wood-fired pizzas and dishes shaped by local, seasonal ingredients, with dog-friendly bedrooms.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: allow around 90 minutes
- Locality
- Askham village
High Street Roman Road
An ancient Roman road crossing the eastern fells above Askham, older than the village landmarks below.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: allow around 2½ hours
- Locality
- on the eastern fells above Askham
- Access
- This is a route across the eastern fells; check conditions before setting out.
Food & drink
1 placeAskham Hall and Allium
A medieval pele tower extended into an Elizabethan mansion, now a hotel and restaurant whose Allium restaurant held a Michelin star.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: allow around 75 minutes
- Locality
- Askham village
Walks & outdoors
2 placesLowther Valley riverside walk
A gentle riverside walk following the Lowther Valley north through farmland towards Lowther Castle.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: allow around 2 hours
- Locality
- north of Askham in the Lowther Valley
Askham to Pooley Bridge Walk
A roughly four-mile walk from Askham via Celleron to Ullswater and Pooley Bridge.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: allow around 3 hours
- Locality
- between Askham and Pooley Bridge via Celleron
History & heritage
1 placeSt Peter’s Church
A Grade II* church designed by Sir Robert Smirke in 1832, distinguished by diamond-paned leaded windows angled to catch the light.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: allow around 45 minutes
- Locality
- Askham village
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Three ways to explore Askham
Signature outings
Smirke in miniature
Look for the small diamond panes in St Peter’s leaded windows, set at angles to catch changing light.
Askham Hall’s long life
Follow the hall’s story from fourteenth-century defensive tower to Elizabethan mansion and present-day hotel and restaurant.
A valley path north
Take the gentle riverside path through farmland from Askham towards Lowther Castle.
The village story
Askham: greens, good food and old routes
The untouched Travel Fox story moves from the village’s composed first impression to its pubs, architectural landmarks, outward paths and practical access.
Two greens, two different pubs
Askham has two village greens, whitewashed cottages lining both, and 44 listed buildings crammed into a conservation area that covers most of what you can see. It sits on the eastern edge of the Lake District National Park, in the Eden Valley, with the Lowther River running past. Estate villages are usually tidy. This one is tidier than most.
There are two pubs, and they have divided the work between them without much overlap.
The Punchbowl and the Queen’s Head
The Punchbowl Inn is the upmarket one — a country pub with rooms, doing confit duck leg, spinach and goats cheese strudel, and a Sunday roast made in-house with local meats and Yorkshire puddings. Food runs noon to nine daily, though winter hours can shorten. There's Hawkshead Bitter on the bar plus up to three guest ales. Reviewers keep using the phrase "beautifully presented," which for Sunday lunch is either a promise or a warning depending on your appetite. Dogs are welcome in the bar, and in the rooms for a small surcharge.
The Queen's Head is the cosier one. Anthony Amos is head chef, and the kitchen turns out wood-fired pizzas alongside more refined plates built on local, seasonal ingredients; food runs half past twelve to three and four to half past eight. Every bedroom takes dogs, and each arriving dog gets a Doggy Welcome Pack — treats, poo bags, and a map of local walks. It is a thorough approach to a species that mostly wants the treats.
Smirke’s church and the pele tower
St Peter's is Grade II* listed and dates from 1832, the foundation stone laid on 28 June that year. It was designed by Sir Robert Smirke, who at the time was two miles up the road working on Lowther Castle, and shortly afterwards would design the portico of the British Museum. The church has extraordinary leaded windows — small diamond panes set at angles so they catch the light at any hour and any season. It is a village church built by the man who built the British Museum, which is not a sentence you get to write often.
Askham Hall anchors the other end of the village's history. It began as a 14th-century pele tower — a defensive tower thrown up against Scottish raids — then was extended into an Elizabethan mansion by Thomas Sandford in the mid-1500s. The Sandfords held it until 1828, when it became a rectory. It is now a hotel and restaurant, and its Allium restaurant held a Michelin star, making it one of the most remote starred kitchens in England. The walled ornamental gardens are open to visitors.
Paths out, roads in
The walking spreads out in every direction. North, a gentle riverside path follows the Lowther Valley through farmland toward Lowther Castle. South, about four miles off, is Ullswater and Pooley Bridge, reachable on foot via Celleron. Above the village runs the High Street, the Roman road that crosses the eastern fells and predates everything else here by a wide margin.
There's no railway; Penrith is five miles northeast on the West Coast Main Line, reached by the B5320. Buses are limited. Bring a car, and let the dog find the welcome pack.
Stay around Lake District
Make a longer stay of it
Travel Fox holiday homes around Lake District, linked directly to their property pages.
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.
- The Punchbowl Inn — punchbowlinnaskham.com operator, sector body or destination organisation
- The Queen’s Head — queensheadaskham.co.uk operator, sector body or destination organisation
- St Peter’s Church — historicengland.org.uk statutory register or public authority record not machine-readable; publisher restricts automated access
- Askham Hall and Allium — askhamhall.co.uk operator, sector body or destination organisation
- Lowther Valley riverside walk — askhamhall.co.uk other published source
- Askham to Pooley Bridge Walk — askhamhall.co.uk operator, sector body or destination organisation
- High Street Roman Road — lakedistrict.gov.uk statutory register or public authority