Temple Sowerby offers different ways to explore local history and landscape: the garden at Acorn Bank focuses on herbs, The Moss on a wet woodland area, and the village is home to several historic landmarks. If you are planning a stay, you can first decide whether plant diversity, a walk through the landscape, or architectural and village history should shape your plans.
Garden and footpath to Acorn Bank
The garden at Acorn Bank contains more than 275 varieties of herbs. This makes herb diversity a clear focus for anyone interested in herbs and plants. A public footpath connects Temple Sowerby and Acorn Bank over a distance of about one mile. By including this connection in your plans, you can consider the walk as a separate part of your stay. The garden and the path are two different aspects of your plans: one offers a botanical theme, while the other provides a specific walking route.
The Moss: Wetland with a footpath
The Moss, a significant woodland area, lies on the eastern side of Temple Sowerby. It is wet and boggy and contains many species of aquatic plants. These features make The Moss a distinctly different landscape from the herb garden: here, the focus is on wetland, woodland and aquatic plants. A footpath runs through the area; access is from Lower Green between Mickle Bower and Moss Gate, or opposite Red Brows on the old “A66”. As wet conditions can affect access, check the state of the path before setting out. This way, your plans take account of both the distinctive landscape and the specific access points.
Village landmarks and historical layers
St James Church stands at the edge of Temple Sowerby’s main village green. The listed maypole may stand on the site of an earlier cross; its wrought-iron weather vane is dated 1891. These two details highlight different aspects: a possible earlier history and a precisely dated feature. The church’s location and the history of the maypole thus offer two distinct ways to explore the village’s past.
At Acorn Bank Mill, the construction period can be distinguished from the machinery: the current buildings, together with their associated weir, date from the late 18th or early 19th century; the surviving machinery dates from the mid-19th century. The buildings and machinery therefore belong to different but consecutive periods. This distinction helps you consider the information about the structure and its technical equipment separately.
The history of Sowerby Manor can also be considered in chronological order. Around 1228, it was transferred to the Knights Templar. After their dissolution in 1312, it passed to Robert de Clifford, who transferred it to the Knights Hospitaller in 1323. The sequence of dates makes it possible to follow the changes between the religious orders and the named holders of the manor, offering a different historical perspective from the architectural and village features.
Discover more destinations: Penrith, Calthwaite, Mungrisdale, Bampton, Kirkby Stephen, Spark Bridge, Threlkeld, Lindal in Furness.
For the main travel overview: Cumbria.
