This 32-page booklet is more than just what it says it is – it is both a guided tour down the valley of Lancaster’s eponymous river as well as a survey of the settlements on its banks across the ages. It is also a photographic record. Rising high in the Westmoreland fells between Kirkby Stephen and Sedbergh, the Lune flows for some sixty miles southwards (mostly) through some of the most beautiful scenery in the North of England, and only enters Lancashire near Arkholme.

Williamson’s account is - naturally enough, for he is a trained historian – enlivened and enhanced by choice historical facts about the settlements by the river, from small villages to the only two larger townships on the Lune: Kirkby Lonsdale and Lancaster. Williamson describes the monastic remains at Ravenstonedale, Roundthwaite (“a medieval monastic grange belonging to the Premonstratensian monks of Shap Abbey”) and Cockersands Abbey, as well as “George Fox’s Pulpit” near Firbank, where the founder of Quakersim preached in 1652.

Also mentioned are juicy titbits such as Kirfit Hall, near Kirkby Lonsdale, “where Henry VIII is reported to have stayed on a visit north to court Catherine Parr of Kendal Castle”. Yes, that’s the lucky one who outlived him. We doughty Northerners know how to stand up to people, and are not so easily disposed of.

Among the other notable figures with connections to the valley are the Brontë sisters, who stayed at Nether Burrow (what evocative names these places have), John Ruskin and John William Mallord Turner, who painted several landscapes in these parts. It is a pity that none of these is reproduced in the book, an omission no doubt due to shortage of space.

But that omission is more than compensated for by the wonderful original photographs that grace every page of the book. Taken by the author himself, they illustrate the settlements and scenery of the valley through the four seasons, and demonstrate a keen eye for both composition and for the unusual.

Despite a couple of minor inaccuracies (on railway matters), the text is well written and, like the best writing, informs and delights without sounding too academic (God forbid) or dry (even worse). His love of the countryside he is describing comes across vividly in the prose, which is always a good sign. Even the alliteration works well!

The book starts with the bold assertion that “The Lune valley is one of the most beautiful and least-spoiled river valleys in the entire country”. Reading this lucid and literate account, and enjoying and admiring the excellent photographs, this reader is in no doubt about the veracity of this remark. Yet again, one of the “hidden gems” to be found in this delightful corner of the British Isles.

But hurry and get your copy now; there were only 2,000 were printed.

Copyright © 20 March 2004 Michael Nunn

The book is currently available in Lancaster at Waterstones, Ottakers, the Tourist Information Centre and the City and Maritime Museums. It is also available at Kirkby Lonsdale, Sedbergh and Kirkby Stephen TICs, as well as a number of post offices in the villages of the Lune valley.

Copies of the photographs are available from the author on 07050 392170, or by email on .