The Howgill Fells, or Howgills, lie to the east of the M6, the West Coast railway line and the River Lune, all of which share the same valley.

Sedbergh lies to the south of the Howgills with Tebay and Ravenstonedale to the north. The Howgills are rounded hills composed of Silurian and Ordovician slates and gritstones and are characterised by a general lack of walls and fences. Just north of Sedbergh there is, with increasing height, Winder at 473 metres, then Sickers Fell at 498 metres, Arant Haw at 605 metres, Great Dummacks at 663 metres, Calders at 674 metres and The Calf at 676 metres. Further north is Yarlside at 639 metres and Randygill Top at 625 metres with, to the west of these, Simon's Seat on Langdale Fell at 587 metres and Docker Knott at 530 metres, the source of Carlin Gill, mentioned below. Also in the Howgills to the east of Sedbergh there is Baugh Fell with its highest top, Knoutberry Haw, equal to that of The Calf at 676 metres.

There is a notable waterfall at Cautley Spout, a mile east of The Calf.

This flows into the River Rawthey, which, upstream of Rawthey Gill, has a series of waterfalls as it flows north west off Baugh Fell. Another series of waterfalls can be found along Carlin Gill Beck and its tributaries, including The Spout and Black Force. Carlingill Beck runs into the River Lune about 5 km south of Tebay.

Langdale in the Howgills runs north south and its beck, Langdale Beck, is also a tributary of the River Lune, joining it where the infant river is running westwards towards Tebay.

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It is intersting to note that, while Cautley Spout, The Calf and fells in the Howgills to the south of The Calf together with Baugh fell are in Cumbria, they are also part of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, which splits the Howgills in two. The anomaly has been caused by county boundary changes. High seat is also in the Yorkshire Dales National Park but it is also in North Yorkshire.

Scotland has Wigtown. Wales has Hay-on-Wye. England has Sedbergh. It is just to the south of the Howgills and even though it has a population of less than 4000 people, it is now England's Book Town, which was started in 2003 in order to attract visitors to the area. Several book shops selling second hand books have been set up. Tea rooms and inns are not in short supply either. Most are to be found along 'Main Street', a narrow road running through the centre of the town.

Farfield Mill arts and heritage centre lies 1 mile to the east of Sedbergh on the A684. An exhibition created by local people explains the rise and fall of the woollen and textile industries in the Sedburgh area and galleries feature work by local arts and crafts people.Travel rugs made from cloth produced by Dobcross weaving looms housed in the mill are some of the items, which can be purchased from the mill shop. Check the web site for latest information and opening times.