Exploring Sedbergh School

Today we visited Sedbergh school, where William and his sisters Victoria and Alex went to boarding school throughout their middle and high school years.

We started our day with coffee and breakfast at home, and then drove to Sedbergh to visit Sedbergh school. This school is a boarding school that’s been around since the 1500’s, and is the primary economic driver for the town built around it. Originally an all boys school, the school eventually allowed girls and when William and both of his sisters attended there was roughly 2 girls to every 4 boys.

The school was very unique, with massive boarding houses and a very spread out campus. Students stayed in the same “house” throughout middle and high school, forming tight bonds with their housemates, and competing with the other houses on campus(much like Harry Potter!) Sedbergh school has a massive focus on sports, with multiple rugby fields, a cricket field and cricket house, and many other athletic facilities. The campus also has a massive church, with students regularly attending mass. One somber part of campus was the World War 1 and 2 memorial, as this shrine had the name of all the students who had fought and died in those wars, and the list was very extensive.

We really enjoyed seeing where William and his sisters grew up, and decided to hike the nearby fell following the campus tour he gave us. Because Ellie’s knee was injured, she stayed behind at a pub with Ben, Nicole, Baby Billie, Bob and Mary-Ann, where they enjoyed pints and backgammon.

The rest of us proceeded to hike the fell, or moor-covered hill, going to the crest of a hill called Winder. This hike didn’t look too bad at the start, but it ended up being a bit long and steep so Matt and Carole were happy when we reached the top! At the top we were greeted by panoramic views of the countryside, as well as Sedbergh School and the surrounding town.

After hiking back down, we met back up with the group at the pub, before heading to a local candy shop that William remembered fondly from his time at school. We grabbed some delicious local ice cream here, before heading out to The Derby Arms pub in Witherslack for an authentic English dinner. At dinner we celebrated Matt’s birthday, and said goodbye to Brian and Ellie who had to catch a train out of town to get back to the US in time for a wedding.

Once we’d sent Ellie and Brian off, we headed home for the evening. We walked the promenade in town, and then called it a night.Read more