Sedbergh, a small Cumbrian town with a population of just under 3,000, lies just inside the Yorkshire Dales National Park. It is mainly known as the home of Sedbergh boarding school in the centre of town. In recent years it has become known as England’s book town aiming for the same kind of reputation as Hay-on-Wye and Wigtown.Sedbergh, a small Cumbrian town with a population of just under 3,000, lies just inside the Yorkshire Dales National Park. It is mainly known as the home of Sedbergh boarding school in the centre of town. In recent years it has become known as England’s book town aiming for the same kind of reputation as Hay-on-Wye and Wigtown.
My reason for visiting Sedbergh was purely nostalgic because it had been the venue for many happy family holidays in the mid-70s. We stayed at the Pinfold caravan site on the outskirts of town. Pinfold edges onto the River Rawthey, that in 1976 provided a welcome place to cool through the summer drought and in another year flooded sufficiently to drive us out and end our holiday early. One of the pleasures of Sedbergh was the wealth of public footpaths all round the area which made exploring very easy.
My reason for visiting Sedbergh was purely nostalgic because it had been the venue for many happy family holidays in the mid-70s. We stayed at the Pinfold caravan site on the outskirts of town. Pinfold edges onto the River Rawthey, that in 1976 provided a welcome place to cool through the summer drought and in another year flooded sufficiently to drive us out and end our holiday early. One of the pleasures of Sedbergh was the wealth of public footpaths all round the area which made exploring very easy.
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And that was the plan, a day of drifting round the town and wandering by the river where the highlights were seeing a trio of dippers for the first time in 35 years and a very confused bat searching for insects by Millthrop bridge at 4 in the afternoon. The poor summer meant many of the fields were still boggy underfoot and the biggest challenge of the afternoon was negotiating a marsh that would have more firm grassy islands in a properly dry summer. It was a blissful way to build an appetite in preparation for an evening meal.
There were a number of places doing food in the evening with The Dalesman sounding the most interesting, based on its menu. The Dalesman is a stone-built pub on Main Street, slightly west of the town centre. The main door opens directly onto the bar area although there is a more formal restaurant room off to the right. The pub is a free house with a regularly changing selection of cask ales. I opted for Timothy Taylor’s Landlord during my visit and a table in the corner of the pub, with a green woodpecker watching over me.
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Pita bread with homemade houmous was ordered to start things off while looking at the rest of the menu. Although the portion was generous, the houmous had very little personality so it was not finished.
The next dish easily made up for the disappointing start. Crispy duck salad with pak choi, watercress and chilli ginger dressing was packed full of flavour. At first it looked like there was barely any duck but the more I dug in there was plenty scattered all the way through the salad. Water chestnuts were added for crunch and the pak choi was mostly stem providing additional texture. The small slices of duck breast had an excellent flavour and were not overwhelmed by the peppery watercress. The slice of chilli pepper weren’t really necessary because the dressing had a good heat to it. Additional strong flavour contributions came from spring onion and chopped ginger. I really enjoyed this salad.
Next course was also good. Piri piri poussin was served with fries and coleslaw. The poussin was the star of the dish. The marinade had permeated through the bird during cooking so the moist meat acquired a wonderful spicy edge. The generous portion of fries was the ideal accompaniment, although the coleslaw and additional side salad were pretty superfluous.
As the meal had been good to this point, I found it difficult to resist dessert particularly as the blackboard display listed homemade Yorkshire curd tart. Visions of the curd tart from Betty’s in York drove this choice but unfortunately this version didn’t quite deliver for me. The tart was much denser than expected with a flavour akin to Christmas cake with a hint of lemon. The scoop of rum and raisin ice cream on top was very welcome though.
Overall verdict.
The Dalesman was a decent venue for an evening meal and it picked up a good atmosphere as the night progressed. I really enjoyed the salad and main so would judge the overall food standard as pretty good.
Would I revisit The Dalesman?
It was a real pleasure to revisit Sedbergh so would love to go back again. If that happens I would be very happy to eat at the Dalesman again.
Overall Rating - 3/5
The Dalesman was a decent venue for an evening meal and it picked up a good atmosphere as the night progressed. I really enjoyed the salad and main so would judge the overall food standard as pretty good.
Would I revisit The Dalesman?
It was a real pleasure to revisit Sedbergh so would love to go back again. If that happens I would be very happy to eat at the Dalesman again.
Overall Rating - 3/5
