Sedbergh

• Work the bookshops at your own pace, mixing new stock, second-hand shelves and collectors' finds.
• Walk from the door: the Dales Way heads downstream toward Brigflatts, crosses the Rawthey into Dentdale, and the Howgill Fells rise straight above town for steeper ascents.
• Look at the history: a 12th-century Norman church in town, the early motte-and-bailey earthwork at Castlehaw nearby, and Sedbergh School, founded in 1525, which shapes much of the townscape.
• Add Farfield Mill, just east of town, an 1837 woollen mill now an arts and heritage centre with craft studios, exhibitions, weaving demonstrations, a shop and a cafe.

There are several small car parks, including Joss Lane, plus free roadside parking around the outskirts. Public toilets are on Main Street near the information centre at the top end of town, and there are also toilets at Joss Lane. Buses connect Kendal and Dent if you would rather not drive. Everything in the centre is walkable in a few minutes, so park once and stay on foot.

The town centre is small and quiet, and you can see the main street in half an hour. It works best paired with something else, a fell walk, a stretch of the Dales Way, or the mill, rather than as a destination on its own. If you are not interested in books, cafes or walking, there is not a great deal else to hold you.