Photographs of Kirkby Stephen, a quaint market town in the upper Eden Valley of Cumbria.
Low cloud over the Nine Standards on the summit of Hartley Fell in the North Pennines AONB near Kirkby Stephen in Cumbria.
Nothing is known of the history of these large ancient cairns, but one theory is that they were built by the Romans to resemble an army of soldiers.
No view today from the toposcope at 659m on Nine Standards Rigg, Hartley Fell in the North Pennines AONB near Kirkby Stephen in Cumbria.
A female walker with dogs descending the rough moorland of Hartley Fell in the Eden District of Cumbria.
Kirkby Stephen can be seen to the right of the photo beyond Birkett Hill.
Kirkby Stephen Railway Station on the Carlisle to Settle Line, Kirkby Stephen, Cumbria.
Kirkby Stephen Station was built in 1876 to a design by John Holloway Sanders for the Midland Railway Company. The station is over a mile from the town and this remote location was necessitated by the Midland Railway's desire to restrict gradients on the line to 1 in 100. This station (formerly known as Kirkby Stephen West Station) was closed in May 1970, but was reopened by British Rail in July 1986.
The signal box and old goods shed, Kirkby Stephen West Railway Station, Kirkby Stephen, Cumbria.
Freight facilities stopped in 1964 and the goods shed and yard is now in private commercial use.
The war memorial in the market square, Kirkby Stephen in the Eden Valley of Cumbria. The Cloisters and St Stephen's Church can be seen behind the memorial.
The Cloisters, Kirkby Stephen in the Eden Valley of Cumbria.
The Cloisters were built in 1810 to provide shelter for churchgoers and house a butter market.
The Cloisters, Kirkby Stephen in the Eden Valley of Cumbria.
The Cloisters were built in 1810 to provide shelter for churchgoers and house a butter market.
Market charter notice in the Cloisters, Kirkby Stephen in the Eden Valley, Cumbria.
This board gives details of the old market charges. The tolls were paid on the tombstone just inside the churchyard.
St. Stephen's Church, Kirkby Stephen, Cumbria.
There has been a church on this site since Anglo-Saxon times, but the present building dates from 1240 and has been partly rebuilt in 1847 and restored in the 1870s. Often referred to as the Cathedral of the Dales, the church contains the ancient Loki Stone which depicts the Norse god Loki, a horned figure, bound and chained.
St. Stephen's Church, Kirkby Stephen, Cumbria.
There has been a church on this site since Anglo-Saxon times, but the present building dates from 1240 and has been partly rebuilt in 1847 and restored in the 1870s.
The Loki Stone, St. Stephen's Church, Kirkby Stephen in the Eden Vallery, Cumbria.
One of only two such stones in Europe, this 8th century, metre high stone is believed to originally have been a cross base.
Loki Laufeyjarson was a Norse god, and an important figure in Viking mythology. He was a trickster and mischief maker who could change shape and become another creature. One day one of his tricks went wrong and he accidentally killed the son of the god Odin. Loki was then bound in chains and imprisoned, as depicted on this very rare stone.
Frank's Bridge, a two arch bridge spanning the River Eden in Kirkby Stephen, Cumbria.
This is a 17th century corpse road bridge linking Kirkby Stephen with the outlying settements of Hartley and Winton.
The bridge has large stones at one end where the coffin bearers could lay the coffins and heve a rest. The bridge is said to be haunted by Jangling Annas who drowned in the river with her chains after escaping from Hartley Castle.
Upper Eden Visitor Centre, Market Square, Kirkby Stephen, Cumbria.
The Westmorland flag flying over a shop in Kirkby Stephen, Cumbria.
This flag of the historic county of Westmorland was registered with the Flag Institute in 2011. The design is based on the shield from the coat of arms of the former Westmorland County Council until its demise in 1974 when the two historic counties of Cumberland and Westmorland united to form Cumbria.
Furlongs and miles signpost at Kirkby Stephen in the Eden Valley of Cumbria.
The Temperance Hall on Nateby Road, Kirkby Stephen, Cumbria.
Built in 1856 bearing a statue of Temperance.
The Temperance Hall on Nateby Road, Kirkby Stephen, Cumbria.
Built in 1856 bearing a statue of Temperance.
The 1839 Wesleyan Centary Chapel, Kirkby Stephen in the Eden Valley, Cumbria.
Memorial drinking fountain and water trough outside Silver Street Gardens in Kirkby Stephen, Cumbria.
The fountain was 'erected to the memory of Harrison Thompson, a native of the town' in 1895.
A view of Stenkrith Bridge from Stenkrith Millennium Bridge, Kirkby Stephen in Cumbria.
Here, the River Eden plunges dramatically through a gorge with spectacular whirlpools and rapids. This is a Site of Special Scientific Interest for its geological formations as the gorge has formed not from true limestone, but from brockram, a breccia of limestone fragments within sandstone. The rock formations are known locally as The Devil's Grinding Mill and the Devil's Hole.
A view of Stenkrith Bridge from Stenkrith Millennium Bridge. Here, the River Eden plunges dramatically through a gorge with spectacular whirlpools and rapids. This is a Site of Special Scientific Interest for its geological formations as the gorge has formed not from true limestone, but from brockram, a breccia of limestone fragments within sandstone. The rock formations are known locally as The Devil's Grinding Mill and the Devil's Hole.
A view from Stenkrith Millennium Bridge of the River Eden plunging dramatically through a gorge with spectacular whirlpools and rapids, Kirkby Stephen, Cumbria.
The Poetry Path, Kirkby Stephen in the Eden Valley, Cumbria.
This solid sandstone block has been carved by Pip Hall with the September poem, written by Meg Peacock.
The September poem:
"Revetted banks, a concrete post.
Rabbits tunnel the cinder waste.
Angle iron, link of a broken chain.
Listen, and catch the hiss of steam again.".
All twelve poems relate to a year in the life of a hill farmer and are carved into rocks positioned along a footpath on the banks of the River Eden.
Kirkby Stephen East station in the Eden district of Cumbria.
The station is run by the Stainmore Railway Company, a volunteer run non-profit preservation company formed in 2000.
The station is open on Saturdays and Sundays. No admission charge, but donations welcomed.
North Eastern Railway 901 Class steam locomotive with luggage trolley at Kirkby Stephen East in the Eden district of Cumbria.
The 910, built in 1875, is currently on loan to the Stainmore Railway Company.
Hartley Quarry, Kirkby Stephen in the Eden District of Cumbria.
Limestone was first quarried here in 1860.
'Lady Anne's Way' a 2020 bronze sculpture of the indominatable Lady Anne Clifford (1590–1676) by Diane Lawrenson on Market Street, Kirkby Stephen in Cumbria.
From the age of 15, Lady Anne fought a long battle with her uncle to inherit her father's estates. She regularly travelled through this area from her birthplace at Skipton Castle, restoring castles, building churches and almshouses for the poor..
Looking west from the B6270 near Butterbers as it climbs from Nateby heading towards the North Yorkshire border and Birkdale.