How can be understood through clearly distinct themes: How Hill with its distinctive shape, the history of How Mill station, and a walk through How. There is also an aerial yoga offering at the TowTop studio in How Mill. The landscape, transport history, and physical activity provide different starting points for planning your trip.

How Hill: Landform and Possible Interpretation

How Hill is almost cone-shaped; its summit is slightly flattened and uneven. The hill is considered to be a natural sand hill about 50 feet high, with its upper part probably built up artificially. How Hill may be a burial mound or motte. Its shape and possible interpretation can thus be distinguished: the landform is clearly defined, while its historical classification remains uncertain. Those interested in landforms will find both here—a distinctive outline and a cautious archaeological interpretation.

Station, Railway Line, and Road Routes

How Mill station was established to serve the small village of The How. The How lay almost a mile west of the station, so the place name and the station refer to different locations. On 5 January 1959, the station closed to all traffic. Its history can thus be understood in terms of its original purpose, its distance from the village, and the precisely dated end of rail services.

The Newcastle and Carlisle Railway line was routed a mile south of Hayton after a route passing closer to the village had been rejected. The Cowran Cut appears in an 1837 print about the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway. This places a decision about the railway route and a visual depiction of the railway alongside each other as distinct historical points of reference.

Two road routes are also specifically named. The C1024 runs from Corby Hill via How Mill to Castle Carrock. How Street runs east from Toppin Castle, passing Street House. The C1024 is described by its starting point, an intermediate place, and its destination; How Street is described by Toppin Castle, its eastward direction, and Street House.

Walk and Class Offering

The Heads Nook and Hayton walk passes through How. The route includes woodland paths, tracks across farmland, and quiet lanes and roads. This mix is a practical consideration when choosing a walk: it includes woodland sections, paths across farmland, and stretches along roads. You can therefore decide whether a route with several different types of path suits you.

YOGAh offers aerial yoga classes on Fridays and Sundays at the TowTop studio in How Mill. As class schedules may change, check the date before making plans. The planning considerations differ: for the walk, the focus is on the route through different types of path; for aerial yoga, you should check the day of the class.

Discover more destinations: Barrow-In-Furness, Kirkby Stephen, Stainburn, Burneside, Flookburgh, Haverigg, Waterhead, Wellington.

For the overarching travel overview: Cumbria.