Cumbria, Lancashire
307 km / 191 miles
(click to enlarge)
This walk was devised to incorporate some of the best walking in the north of England. It has been broken into manageable sections with overnight stops where good accommodation is available. Starting and finishing at mainline railway stations, this walk is designed for anyone of reasonable fitness. Based on years of experience of walking using guidebooks which are vague, misleading and sometimes simply totally wrong, the author has taken great care to give simple instructions which have been rigorously checked.
Starting in Preston the walk follows the Ribble Way on the riverside paths of the delightful Ribble Valley, through Ribchester and Hurst Green to Gisburn. Shortly after Gisburn it heads eastwards to pick up the Pennine Way at Malham with its dramatic limestone outcrops. Follow it northwards through what anyone who has completed the Pennine Way would agree is its best section. There are many scenic highlights such as the exciting scramble over Pen-y-Ghent, the formidable heights of Great Dun Fell and Cross Fell, the awesome falls of High Force, the glacial valley of High Cup Nick - which many consider to be the highlight of the walk and many more too numerous to mention. At Alston, the highest market town in England, the Pennine Way reaches one of its poorer sections. Our walk instead takes a more gentle route up the beautiful South Tyne Trail, following the line of a disused railway to Haltwhistle. The walk now links with the Hadrian's Wall National Trail and heads west towards Carlisle along an inspiring walk rich with history and over the incomparable Walltown Craggs, one of the highlights of walking in the north of England.
Update 9th November 2022:
The North West Way is diverted due a closed footbridge near Red Scar, east of Preston. The footbridge in question is on Tun Brook, at SD 5908 3247, and the diversion (reportedly well signposted) is via the upstream footbridge at SD 5922 3343. Our GPX and other format files have been amended to show the diversion.
Route hazard (reported November 2022):
The route of this long distance path along the B6245 Blackburn Road east of Ribchester is reported narrow and without pavement(s) in places between Stone Bridge (SD 6534 3544) and Ribchester Bridge (SD 6619 3565). An alternative route is suggested via the footbridge at SD 6554 3576.
Update 18th January 2024: The route of the North West Way has been amended to include the above field path diversion.
Details:
| Path Type: |
Other Paths |
| Attributes: |
Challenging
Moorland
Mountain
National Park
|
| Start: |
SD535291 -
Preston, Lancashire
|
| Finish: |
NY402560 -
Carlisle, Cumbria
|
| Web Sites: |
North West Way
|
