A Walk around Kendal
  On a very hot July day History Society Members was taken around a part of Kendal by Patricia Hovey.  She is an expert on Kendal and has for many years been a leading light in the Kendal Civic Society. As we walked round we were amazed at how much has been achieved in restoration and /or protection of old property and yards in Kendal by the Society.
  Meeting at Canal Head we clustered under the trees to obtain maximum shade and breeze. Patricia told us of the plans which will eventually lead to the whole canal being once again open to traffic - albeit of the leisure kind. The Canal was opened in 1819 and brought much prosperity. Its dominance was however short lived as in 1847 the railway came to the town and became the favoured way of transporting goods in and out.
  Francis Webster and his son had a great influence on the buildings etc of Kendal and as we walked around it seemed as if nearly every house and bridge had been built by one or the other of them. After walking along the old canal path and under the restored bridge on Parr Street we went down to the main road and Jennings foot bridge; here we looked up stream.
  Kendal originally was a one street town with yards leading westwards up to Castle How and others leading down to the river.  The river side was heavily populated with old cottages, mills, lodging houses, warehouses, workshops and other local industries  Two sets of steps leading down to the river have recently been restored; these were used by the women to reach the banks where they could do their daily washing - both personal and clothes!.  In contrast the east side of the river was completely undeveloped, mainly because there were no springs there.
  Then up the steps where Braithwaites' Mill was situated and through Mannings' Yard.  The Yards were mainly constructed in the 1750s: they were 150 yards wide and the gates at each end were closed every night at 10.00 pm.
  We crossed over Highgate to look at some of the large family houses built (mainly by the Websters) for the prosperous business men of the town. All the good and the great had their homes here, the Mosers, Mannings, Websters etc.  As the town boomed the gardens were filled with cottages. The Yards now look very picturesque but at one time they must have been crowded with people. Walking up Collincroft we saw further evidence of the restoration work of the Civic Society which has turned derelict buildings into a set of flats with a top entrance leading into Beast Banks. Originally there was a brass foundry here together with a malt kiln.  The noise must have been dreadful.
  Further up Beast Banks we turned off a narrow land which has been in use since mediaeval times with Fellside on the right and a wall on the left.  The views across the town and castle are spectacular. We walked down through the Brewery, crossed Highgate again and walked down Tanners Yard, passing the snuff works, back to Waterside. It was a wonderful afternoon and so interesting that we forgot all about the heat. We fully recommend anyone interested in Kendal to go on one of Patricia's walks.

  This is a description used to describe the stunning landscape of the Indian Himalayas but even here the world is a small place as we were to discover.
  First we travelled by train on the Shatabdi Express to the railhead; then 3 days on the road up the ever narrowing Kullu Valley, over the mighty Rohtang Pass at 13,000ft, leaving the summer monsoon behind, on part of the Ley Highway, the 2^nd highest motorised road in the world. This road was definitely not for the faint-hearted but, as we were to discover, it could only get worse until it finally petered out into a pile of rocks in the Miyar Nulla Valley.
  This is in one of the most northern parts of India, in the state of Himachal Pradesh, bordering Tibet to the east and Kashmir to the north. It is the land of the Lahouli people, rich in Tibetan culture with Buddhism the dominant tradition.
  It is time for us to start walking; 8 days camping with porters and a pack horse train, following magical trails in this enchanting valley through remote villages, linked by swaying footbridges over raging torrents of melted snow and glaciers, with the snow covered Greater Himalayas a magnificent backdrop.
  Phillipa, our guide, has lived and worked in the region for over 20 years. She has established an educational centre for 150 displaced Tibetan nuns in Dharamsala and her husband works for the office of the exiled Dalai Lama. We have come to her chosen place with her team of guides and porters. Her extensive knowledge of the region meant that the trek was an educational experience too. We learnt about the traditions and
lifestyles of the villagers, visiting their Temples and Gompas, and saw how they survived growing crops of peas, potatoes and buckwheat at 12,000ft with only a 4 month growing season.
  Beyond the villagers we mingled with semi-nomadic Gaddi shepherds and their huge flocks of mainly  sheep and goats, with a few cows and yaks, on their summer grazing grounds a 6 week trek, over two 16,000ft mountain passes, from home.
  Imagine our surprise when we learnt that Phillipa had walked past our house in Howgill Lane in May with 3 generations of her family to scatter the ashes of her father (an Old Sedberghian) on Winder!
  Anyone who would like to share in our quite amazing experiences on this once in a lifetime journey, and learn more about the way of life in this area,  is invited to  join us for an illustrated presentation on Wednesday 27^th September at 7 30pm in St Andrew's Church Rooms. For this occasion we have teamed up with the local Help Tibet group and will invite donations in support of their work with Tibetan refugees.

Tony and Kath Hannam

WHAT THE PROBLEM WAS
  Yorkshire Dales National Parks Authority has withdrawn free car parking permits for local residents.  The cost of South Lakeland District Council (SLDC) permits is £270/annum.  Negotiations between SLDC and Sedbergh Parish Council (SPC) to allow the Parish Council to lease and run the car park have been going on for some time, but the issues are complicated. In particular the financial implications for SPC had to be considered very carefully.
ISSUES THAT HAD TO BE CONSIDERED
  The range of issues about which agreement had to be reached included: pricing policy for parking, income levels, enforcement arrangements, ownership, maintenance and emptying of ticket machines, routine care and upkeep of the car park, signage, costs of general overheads such as rates and electricity, the future management of the market and the level of the rent to be charged to the Parish Council by SLDC.
AGREEMENT REACHED
  Agreement has now been reached. The Parish Council will lease Joss Lane car park from SLDC and will take over the responsibility for running the Market.  The rent which SPC will have to pay to SLDC is £10,880 per annum plus VAT and is subject to an annual inflationary increase.  The business rates are £3,100, electricity £130 and sewerage and environmental charge £100 per annum - total costs £16,114.  In addition to these costs there are initial set up costs and also there will be some recurring running costs.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE AGREEMENT
  The Parish Council will have to make sure that the income from parking charges is sufficient to cover all these costs.  When deciding at what level to set the charges for permits for local residents we have tried to set them as low as possible, but without running the risk of not raising sufficient funds to keep the car park viable.
COSTS OF PARKING PERMITS
  The cost of an annual permit is £35 - which is less than 10p a day.  For those who wish to use the car park as somewhere to keep their car overnight then the cost for this is £52 - equal to £1 a week.  (Remember the SLDC annual permits are £270).  The permits will run for 12 months from September each year, beginning this September and will be available from the Community Office.
CONCLUSION
  Car parking will be far cheaper than would otherwise have been the case. It also helps to keep the town's roads safer.  Recent experience has shown that when the car parks are not used more cars are parked on the roads. This has made the roads more dangerous for pedestrians, has caused more congestion and has left less room for passing cars to stop particularly along Back Lane.  It is in the interests of us all to make a success of this venture by the Parish Council.

Dorothy Blair, Vice Chairman,  Sedbergh Parish Council