Buildings and bridges, exploring how we have designed and built the world around us. Join us on these free walks. Saturday 13th September Smardale Circular which takes in County Bridge and Smardale Gill Viaduct.4.7miles/7.5km, 500ft/150mMeet Smardale Nature Reserve car park CA17 4HG 09:30Booking recommended waw@uppereden.org.uk Smardale is an old parish now part of Waitby. TheContinue reading “Heritage Open Days 2025”
Category Archives: Walking
Westmorland Dales Festival 2025
The Westmorland Dales Festival 2025 takes place over the weekend of 26th and 27th July. The festival celebrates the landscape, heritage and people of the wonderful Westmorland Dales with a packed programme of events, activities and entertainment for all the family. There are three free guided walks. Saturday 26th July 2025 Walk 1 – WildContinue reading “Westmorland Dales Festival 2025”
Geocaching
Geocaching is an outdoor recreational activity using a GPS or a GPS enabled phone or tablet which is very like a real-world Treasure Hunt. It’s perfect for encouraging children and young people to explore the countryside and will take you to many new and often secretive destinations to explore. The hiding place is often registeredContinue reading “Geocaching”
Outdoor sculptures
There are many outdoor sculptures to be visited in the area around Kirkby Stephen, set in evocative landscapes. Eden Benchmarks is a series of ten contemporary stone sculptures set along the length of the River Eden, with the first near the source in the Mallerstang valley. To find out more about this and other sculpture projectsContinue reading “Outdoor sculptures”
Macaws
Kirkby Stephen is ‘where screeching, scarlet macaws enjoy celebrity status’, wrote Phil Gates in The Guardian Country Diary column. “As we crossed the road, a pair peered down at us from the parapet, technicolor adornments on a grey day”. Visitors are often amazed to see these colourful birds flying around the area. They are regularlyContinue reading “Macaws”
Red Squirrels
If you keep your eyes peeled you may well see one of our red squirrels. They are quite often seen on the Viaduct Walk which circuits Kirkby Stephen to the south east and on the footpath from Kirkby Stephen to Nateby. You are most likely to spy a red squirrel in the wooded areas nearContinue reading “Red Squirrels”
Accessible routes
There are various walks in and around Kirkby Stephen suitable for wheelchairs, pushchairs and those who require a reasonably flat, firm surface to walk on. The Northern Viaduct Trust walk along the old railway line to the east of the town is designated a ‘Miles without Stiles’ route. There is free leaflet to download (PDF) describing theContinue reading “Accessible routes”
Railway walks
The area around Kirkby Stephen offers some fine walks along old railway lines, with some truly impressive viaducts to cross, reflecting the fact that the town was something of a transport hub in the Victorian era. Kirkby Stephen sat at the centre of an ambitious line that crossed the Pennines, connecting the coal fields ofContinue reading “Railway walks”
Long distance paths
Many walkers find Kirkby Stephen and the Upper Eden Valley for the first time on a Long Distance Trail and return once they have discovered this peaceful countryside with so much to offer the walker. Our most popular trail is the Coast to Coast. Devised by Alfred Wainwright, this is around 200 miles long, usually inContinue reading “Long distance paths”
Walkingworld
Walkingworld is a national database of over 7500 walks all around Britain, each with OS mapping and step-by-step instructions with pictures. You can download the walks to the Walkingworld app or use the website to print them out on standard A4 paper. Find the app on the Android and Apple app stores by searching forContinue reading “Walkingworld”
Kirkby Stephen & District Walkers are Welcome 