Discover Holmrook

The following topics offer different starting points for planning—from a precisely specified narrow-gauge railway route to woodland and gorge landscapes and events centred on Herdwick sheep.

Railways, mills and trails

The Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway is a working historic narrow-gauge railway with a 15-inch gauge. It runs along a seven-mile route between Ravenglass and Dalegarth for Boot. Its gauge, route length and endpoints give the railway a clear technical profile. Anyone interested in transport history can place a specific route in context through its distinctive measurements.

The Eskdale Trail offers different ways to get around. The walk from station to station takes around four to five hours. You can also cycle the trail; it passes through riverside meadows, other meadowland and historic oak woodlands. On foot, you can plan the trip around an approximate time frame, while by bike the sequence of landscapes takes centre stage.

The Tramway offers a different scale and a distinct historical focus: the 400-metre out-and-back route follows the trackbed of an old railway from Eskdale’s mining era. Here, the former railway trackbed itself is the subject. The Eskdale Trail, in contrast, can be experienced as a walk from station to station or by cycling through meadows and oak woodlands.

Woodland, water and heritage

Giggle Alley is an 8.9-hectare woodland on the northern edge of Eskdale Green, used for recreation. It is home to animals including badgers and red squirrels. The woodland also contains a Japanese garden, which visitors appreciate. Giggle Alley thus combines woodland scenery and wildlife with a garden as another aspect of nature and landscape.

The Kings Oak, a tree approximately 1,000 years old, stands on the grounds of Irton Hall. Its approximate age makes it a distinctive natural feature in its own right; unlike the woodland area at Giggle Alley, the focus here is a named tree at a specific location.

At Stanley Ghyll Force, the landscape and access are both useful points of reference. The waterfall is in a deep, narrow gorge that is 60 feet high. Suggested starting points are the car park at Dalegarth Station and a closer National Trust car park; a woodland path leads to the waterfall from both. This lets you choose between two starting points when planning your visit, without confusing the height of the waterfall with that of the gorge.

Eskdale Mill illustrates 500 years of water power and the traditional art of grain milling. Its focus is therefore the use of water for milling—a different perspective on technological history from the railway trackbeds of The Tramway and the Eskdale Trail.

Near Holmrook, a wildlife pond was excavated on a farm in Santon in 2024. Ecological observations were recorded there in June 2025. The chronology is clear: the project to create the pond was followed by documented observations the next year.

Herdwick sheep and event dates

The Eskdale Tup Fair takes place on the second Saturday in May in a field next to the Woolpack Inn in Eskdale. Herdwick sheep are at the centre of the event. If you want to plan your trip around this date, check the date of the relevant year’s event before setting off.

The Eskdale Show brings together Herdwick sheep and life in Cumbria in a celebration with a tradition stretching back more than 150 years. While the Tup Fair explicitly centres on the sheep, the Show also embraces the broader context of life in Cumbria. The two events therefore offer different insights into rural tradition.

You can travel from Holmrook to the Eskdale Show via the A595, following the signs to Eskdale. This travel information can help with planning if the Show is the reason for your trip.

Discover more destinations: Calthwaite, Newby Bridge, Haverthwaite, Gamblesby, Sedgwick, Levens, Stapleton, Threlkeld

For the overview of the wider area: Cumbria.