Burton in Kendal: Our Beautiful Village

Have you looked at the place you live in lately? I mean really looked? Or do you take it for granted? We’ve lived in Burton in Kendal, Cumbria for seventeen years and rarely stop to think about or appreciate the qualities of our beautiful village. But for ‘Take your Child to Work Day’, Hannah and her friend Joe Elliott shadowed us on the blog. And we sent them off with a camera to ask locals and tourists what they thought of their home environment. The post and video they put together made us all see our village with fresh eyes.  Why don’t you do the same sometime and see if you reassess the place you live in?  

Welcome to Burton In Kendal, Cumbria

We believe Burton in Kendal is a wonderful place to live for all age groups and all nationalities. Everybody who comes here is surprised to see that our small village actually has a lot to offer. If you don’t know it, you can find it halfway between Kendal and Lancaster on the A6070. The famous 555 bus stops in 3 areas of our village. This bus route is famous for being one of the longest and most scenic routes in England. It can take over three hours to travel from Lancaster to Keswick on this bus, covering around 45 miles. Even longer to walk it! What a long journey!

Bus 555 passes the Kings Arms in Burton in Kendal

Lots to do for kids in Burton in Kendal

Burton in Kendal is full of attractions for kids. You can use the school playground and field on any occasion. There is also a good park with many different things to do including a zip-wire and swings. You can go up to Humpty Dumpty hill and go sledging when it is snowy. Or you can just walk up to the top of the village for great views of the countryside. Although if the wind is blowing in the right direction you do feel like you are on the M6 sometimes with the traffic noise.

View of Burton in Kendal Recreation Area

Places for everyone in Burton in Kendal

We have two shops: the Village Post Office and shop and a butcher. We have a Memorial Hall for many uses; parties, brownies, clubs and concerts.  There is also an all-in-one pub, restaurant and hotel where you can go if you are hungry, thirsty or travelling and in need of a rest. This pub is always decorated on the outside; sometimes with flowers and colourful signs but there can also be scarecrows to welcome you!

Scarecrows outside the Kings Arms pub in Burton In Kendal

A place that welcomes visitors

Some people might think that Burton in Kendal is a small village with a couple of people in but it is actually quite a big village. There are many lanes that visitors might not know about that lead off to different parts of Burton. Burton in Kendal is one of those places where everyone knows everyone who lives here and that is one of the features villagers like most about Burton. Sandra is from Switzerland and came to visit our village; she said that everyone here was very friendly and wanted a chat. Watch our video to see what Sandra and others thought of the place we live.

A village with history

There’s lots of history to explore here. The church in Burton dates back to the 12th century when the lower part of the tower was first built. In the 13th century the north chapel was constructed. The following century was when the south aisle was placed in the church but it was only in the late 15th or early 16th century when the north aisle and the south chapel was built. Building work done lately has made it change colour and now half of it is orange which looks a bit odd. The graveyard doesn’t always look this spooky!

Graveyard Burton in Kendal Parish Church

Getting sporty in Burton in Kendal

There are many different places for sporty people. For example: the tennis courts have recently been refurbished – you can play tennis, football, basketball and netball, they have all the nets for different sports! Lots of kids go to the school field, and in the school playground there’s a netball court. We also get The Hunt passing through our village on occasions.

The Hunt Passes through Burton In Kendal

Houses on stilts

Some of the houses in Burton in Kendal are very old, and some come from the Georgian time period. Dotted around the village you can even find houses on stilts. Did it rain all the time in the olden days or something? You don’t find these in many places anymore. There are also lots of old yards with old stone cottages like this one.

The colourful old yards of Burton in Kendal

What we and our visitors like best about Burton in Kendal

We like being able to walk around Burton and play with our friends. It’s very peaceful; not too many cars. The shop is full of sweets. And toothpaste. Other people we chatted to said it’s a beautiful village and there’s loads of walks. They liked the little lanes leading off to pathways and blackberry picking and sheep! There are lots of sheep and cows and people liked how green it is. Cumbria is known for its countryside; check out the time we went camping on Skiddaw for super greeness! It But we do need to warn you about the owl that goes twit twoo at 7am. It is very annoying when we are trying to have a lie in.

Snow on Humpty Dumpty Hill in Burton in Kendal

Come and see us soon

That’s it! Our village. If you know it then do leave a comment and tell us what you like about it. And if you don’t know it then come and visit soon.