Tebay

Near the Lune and Birbeck, two tiny streams, sits the village of Tebay. Once it was divided into two parts: High End and Low End. Sheep farming provided a means of income for the residents of this strung-along-the-road village. A free school was founded in 1672. The village and surrounding area belonged, at one time, to the Earl of Lonsdale. With the coming of the railway, the village became a railway settlement. Today salmon fishing is popular in the area.

An old inn, the Cross Keys, is associated with the ghost of Mary Baynes, known as the Witch of Tebay, who lived here until the age of 90, dying in 1811. The story says she was feared by the locals for forecasting the coming of the railway (what she called fiery horseless carriages). She was also supposed to have hexed a local farmhand who didn't give her cat a proper burial after it was killed by the Cross Key's dog. It was said she died because eggs she cursed were fried. Now apparently haunting the inn, she has been seen in a blue dress climbing into a bed, borrowing objects, and playing with lights.

Tebay is a starting point for exploring the Howgills, a triangular shaped range of rounded mountains. The Lune Gorge-the river flows from the high Pennines down towards Lancaster-is one of the scenic highlights of the area. The Romans built a fort (c AD79) in the Gorge at Low Borrow Bridge. Heart Wood, clinging to the side of the Howgill Fells, is just south of Tebay.

Tebay, a small village of less than a thousand people, looks out at the Howgill Fells and the northern edge of the Yorkshire Dales. Countryside lovers will find beauty close at hand.

Location Map of Tebay
Tebay is 8 miles north of Sedbergh on the A685.

Photos courtesy of Graeme Dougal and George Tod

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