Discover Gamblesby

Gamblesby combines a village centre shaped by history with routes through a hilly landscape. If you are planning a stay, you can explore two sides of the place: its architectural and church history in the village, and the walking and cycling links through the countryside and to other villages in the valley.

Village Green and Local History

The central area of the village was designated a conservation area on 1 December 1994. The village green is surrounded by 18th-century red sandstone buildings, and contains a set of historic mounting blocks. This brings together a single historic feature and the buildings around the green at the village centre. Both the building material and the age of the houses, as well as the mounting blocks, are significant in understanding the character of the village.

The mounting blocks probably date from the late 17th century. According to local tradition, they were last used to punish someone for stealing a turnip. As well as their probable date, the set is also linked to a specific story about its former use. Both are part of the village’s history, but have different status: the dating is probable, while the episode is recounted as tradition.

Chapels and Churches

The Wesleyan Methodist Chapel was built in 1784; in 1864, a new chapel replaced the earlier building on the same site. John Wesley visited Gamblesby several times from 1749 onwards, before these chapels were built. The visits and the later building phases mark different periods in the village’s religious history.

St John’s Church was an Anglican chapel of ease for St Michael’s in Addingham. The building was erected in 1868 in the style of the late 13th century. The year and the style describe different aspects: the date gives the year the building was erected, while the style refers to a much earlier architectural period. Alongside the building history of the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel, St John’s Church offers a second, distinct perspective on Gamblesby’s church history.

Landscape and Routes

Gamblesby lies in hilly countryside between the Lakeland Fells and the North Pennines, below the Hartside Escarpment. The village is also just inside the boundary of the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. These details place Gamblesby both within the landscape between the two named areas and in relation to the protected area’s boundary.

A network of footpaths connects Gamblesby with other villages in the valley. The C2C cycling route also passes through the village. These are different kinds of links: the footpath network connects Gamblesby with other villages in the valley, while the C2C cycling route runs through Gamblesby. If you want to distinguish the routes by their described form, this is a useful starting point for planning.

The “Gamblesby & Hartside” circular walk starts in the centre of Gamblesby, near the mounting blocks. It follows older tracks and paths on the slopes of Gamblesby Fell to Hartside Café. This distinguishes it from the C2C cycling route in its starting point in the village centre and its described route over the slopes. As trail conditions can change, check the route and the condition of the paths before your walk. If you plan to stop at Hartside Café, check its opening hours in advance.

Discover more destinations: Brampton, Bowness-on-Solway, Windermere, High Harrington, Storth, Levens, Chapel Stile, Morland

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