The route from the village leads along a high path through woods above the River Caldew until it joins the Cald Beck at Waters Meet. This is a tranquil spot in a sylvan setting; during dry spells the river disappears, allowing time to leave the path and walk along the riverbed while looking for fossils in the limestone, whereas in winter it is a river of tumbling white water. At this point on the route you can either follow the bridle path through Parson's Park or follow the beck (both options lead to Caldbeck village).
In Caldbeck, John Peel's ornate gravestone is found in the graveyard of St Kentigern's Church, which dates back to the 12th century. Nearby stands Priest's Mill, built in 1702 and last used as a sawmill (recently commercial enterprises such as cafes and craft shops have occupied the site).
The last surviving pub in Caldbeck is the Oddfellows Arms, named after a subscription movement which gave out benefits to widows, orphans, the sick, and the aged. Also in the village is the Old Smithy, like Priest's Mill now converted to modern leisure needs. Lastly, perhaps the most interesting site in this diverse village is The Howk, a limestone ravine with Cald Beck (now called Whelpo Beck) running through it, near where a bobbin mill once worked claiming to have the largest water wheel in the country, measuring 42 feet in diameter.
Howk is Norse for "to scoop out", and over the centuries that is what the beck has done, creating a gorge with several waterfalls and two natural cauldrons called Fairy Kettle and Fairy Kirk, whose sides are polished smooth by the swirling waters. Best seen in winter, summer foliage from trees growing out of the vertiginous sides of the gorge makes viewing difficult in the growing season.
Above The Howk, the beck flows level again through water meadows between rows of willows to Whelpo Bridge. The walk back to Hesket Newmarket passes the site of Factory House, once a woollen mill, and the last leg of the walk is along a lane and across some fields to the road into the village.
Acknowledgment: Text derived from the Out and Out Series; Discovering the Countryside on Foot.
