BOOKWORMS in the UK have plenty of options for staycations, in which they can combine their passion for reading with a holiday. However, one of those options might fly under the radar a little more than others. Sedbergh in Cumbria is England's "official book town" and is home to family-run independent book shops, as well as the site of several annual literature festivals.
A book town is labelled as "a small rural town or village in which second‐hand and antiquarian bookshops are concentrated," according to the International Organisation of Book Towns . Included in that is the Death in the Dales book festival, where crime fiction enthusiasts descend upon the sleepy town to attend talks, discussions and films all about their favourite genre. Elsewhere, the town hosts the Yoto Carnegies Book Town Takeover - the UK’s longest running book awards for children and young people.
That's not to say the town isn't worth visiting when there's no festivals on. Visit Cumbria pointed out some of its highlights and reasons to visit. They wrote: " Sedbergh , an attractive old market town with its old world atmosphere, developed at the confluence of four rivers where ancient trade routes merged.
"It is not only set in the magnificent western dales of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, but is also close to the rugged eastern fells of the Lake District. "The town is full of character from its cobbled streets to its historic houses, some of which show the hallmarks of the old knitting and woo.