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 in a minimum of 12 stages from St. Bees, on the west coast Irish Sea, to Robin Hood’s Bay, on the eastern North Sea. The Coast to Coast passes through three National Parks, uses permissive paths and rights of way and is mainly unmarked. It has just become a National Trail and is due for a number of enhancements.

Probably the next most popular is The Lady Anne’s Way. This 100 mile walk is named after Lady Anne Clifford, a 17th century woman of some character and standing who repeatedly travelled between her castles of Skipton, Pendragon, Brough and Brougham which she renovated. The route is devised for six days and Kirkby Stephen is the finish point on day four. There are alternative 9 day stages. Amusingly, Lady Anne usually travelled with her bed and a window for her bedroom. www.ladyannesway.co.uk

A more recent routes is A Pennine Journey, devised by David and Heather Pitt based on Alfred Wainwright’s 1938 Pennine Journey. A guide book, with detailed route descriptions, large scale route maps and illustrations, was published by Frances Lincoln in 2010 following work by members of the Wainwright Society. The walk is a circular one from Settle to Hadrian’s Wall and back with its 247 miles being divided into 18 stages. Kirkby Stephen is on day 14 of the return journey going south. www.penninejourney.org.uk

Also by David & Heather Pitt, is a new 76-mile long-distance walk from Kirkby Stephen to Settle, the Howgills and Limestone Trail. The pictorial guide follows a route through a picturesque and in parts demanding area of Cumbria and North Yorkshire – with a short diversion into Lancashire. It can be used in conjunction with Wainwright’s Walks in Limestone Country and Walks in the Howgill Fells. The route has strong associations with railways. It passes over the spectacular Smardale Gill viaduct, and close to the Stainmore Railway, the disused Ingleton and Tebay Railway, and the Settle–Carlisle railway.

The Castles of Eden Walk was published by Mark Richards in May 2017.  This fabulous 42 mile heritage trail through the Eden, Lyvennet and Lowther valleys links these historic sites from Kirkby Stephen to Penrith. Available from local bookshops.

There are four other Long Distance Trails that pass through Kirkby Stephen, the Westmorland Heritage Walk, Yorkshire Dale Centurion Walk, Yoredale Way and The Eden Way.

Many of these trails are suitable for breaking down into smaller sections to suit the time available or for a weekend challenge. This is especially true of the Settle to Carlisle Way which follows the famous railway, and can be done on a day by day basis,

Skyware publishes a number of guidebooks on long distance routes in the north of England, including the Coast to Coast, Lady Anne’s Way, A Dales High Way and The Six Peaks Way. Information and videos from the routes are on the Skyware website.

Baggage transfer services are available for many of these trails, particularly the more popular ones. Coast to Coast Packhorse is based in Kirkby Stephen and has plenty of options.

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 for ‘Walkingworld’ (all one word). You can install the app for free and follow any of the walks on simple mapping. To access most of the walks with full OS mapping you need to pay a modest annual subscription through the website or a monthly subscription through the Apple app.

However there are some walks in the Upper Eden Valley which come with OS mapping without a subscription. These free premium walks near Kirkby Stephen are listed under free sample walks on the Walkingworld website. Look for the ones in Cumbria. One in the Upper Eden Valley is a circuit of the Smardale nature reserve including the imposing viaduct. Nearer to town there is an exploration of the Eden Viaducts near Kirkby Stephen. For a more challenging route there is a rugged hill walk to the summit of Wild Boar Fell.

Two of these routes are featured in printed ‘Upper Eden Discovery Walks’ booklets. These are available from the Visitor Centre, many guest houses and self-catering cottages and from The Old Forge micro-pub in Kirkby Stephen. The Old Forge is run by David and Chris Stewart who are also the owners of Walkingworld, so feel free to drop in for advice on anything to do with walking.

Simply join Walkingworld to access the walks.

An annual subscription of £15.50 gives you unlimited access to all the walks on Walkingworld, including a further few hundred abroad. Use the voucher code KIRKBYS to save £2.50 on the usual subscription of £18.

Dawdles and Legstretcher Walks are local guided walks to which everyone is welcome. Dawdles Walks meet at the Cloisters in the Market Square at 10.30am, usually on a Thursday. For Legstretchers, which are on a Friday once a month, meet in Christian Head car park at 9.30am.

Download the programmes below for more information (PDF files). Late Autumn programme runs through November and December.

Dawdles walks should take about an hour unless otherwise stated. We try to take winter walks on ground more suitable for winter conditions. We will, however, go whatever the weather – please wear suitable clothing and footwear for the day – and will adapt walks when essential.
Where there is a car share to reach a walk, allow extra time to reach destinations and return. We usually find optional refreshments after our walks.
Everyone welcome, suggested donation £1 per walk towards expenses.
We will substitute the walk leader if not available. A ‘back marker’ person may be added on the day as needed. We carry Public Liability Insurance.