Orton, Westmorland
| Orton | |
| Westmorland | |
|---|---|
 All Saints Church, Orton | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | NY623083 |
| Location: | 54°28’6"N, 2°35’1"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 588 (2011) |
| Post town: | Penrith |
| Postcode: | CA10 |
| Dialling code: | 015396 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Westmorland & Furness |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Penrith and the Border |
Orton is a vilalge in Westmorland, near Tebay. It is located roughly equidistant between the county town of Appleby and Kendal.
The village stands just a mile and a half east of the M6 motorway (which here runs down through the dale of the Birk Beck). It is on the edge of the Lake District, at the foot of Orton Scar, a sudden scarp ranged around the north and east of the village, and in at the meeting of the Birk Beck dale with the upper Lune Valley.
Just a few miles over the scar is the Eden valley.
There are two becks flowing through the village which join into a river for about 20 yards then split up again, both leading to Bybeck bridge at the parish boundary next to Tebay.
About the village
Orton has many 17th and 18th century cottages: most of these traditional cottages are either stone-faced or whitewashed
The parish church, All Saints' Church, is of the 13th century. There is also a Methodist chapel
The village has a primary school, one pub, the George Hotel, and a small handmade chocolate factory which is famous worldwide. There are also places such as the Village Tea rooms and bed and breakfasts. Also the shop/post office is a popular place which usually has at least one or two people in it in the 10 hours of it being open.
Many unadvertised local businesses also are situated around the village such as builders or joiners. Around 25 new houses were built in the early 1990s and 50 more in around 2012.
Orton village has a popular farmers market held on the second Saturday of each month in the village hall and market square, this has a friendly atmosphere with a live band plus a hog roast. Orton was given a market town charter in the Middle Ages but despite this it has always remained a village like other similar places in Westmorland which were considered to have become market towns, as were Brough and Shap.
Orton Scar
Orton Scar is renowned for its beautiful limestone pavements and also the views. From its summit there is a view to the Howgill Fells, close by to the south beyond the Lune, and the great Lake District fells to the west. Blackpool Tower is visible on a clear day, and the Southern Uplands to the north beyond Cumberland and the Solway Firth. The dale of the River Eden can be seen as far up as the source of the river on Mallerstang Common.
On film
The road leading to Appleby (B6260) leads over Orton Scar and the surrounding moorland was used in the film version of Anne Brontë's novel The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Orton, Westmorland) |