Pennine Way

United Kingdom

Upcoming Dates: Coming Soon

Overview

Where rugged solitude meets wild, remarkable beauty, the Pennine Way is England’s oldest National Trail, stretching 268 miles (431 km) across the country’s northern uplands with a final dip into Scotland Borders. During our multi-day trek, we will journey together as a cohort across the backbone of Britain, tackling dramatic geological formations and vast, expansive hillsides. Pennine is known for its captivating scenery and quaint, friendly English villages, which will connect us to significant history and provide opportunities for respite. Our trek will unfold in stages, each day providing new challenges to center your focus and spirit.

Itinerary

Day 1 – Greenhead to Once Brewed
8 miles / 13 km / 4 hours

This challenging stretch of the Pennine Way begins amongst fields of sheep and passes by the ruins of Thirlwell Castle. After joining Hadrians Wall, the trail follows this ancient Roman defensive fortification and UNESCO World Heritage Site along an undulating series of crags that reaches the days highest elevation on Windshields Crag. We’ll experience sweeping views of the grassy moorlands of Northumberland National Park and the abundance of birds that inhabit them, such as curlews, meadow pipits, jackdaws, kestrel, and peregrine falcons. The day ends by dropping down from the Wall into the town of Once Brewed to our accommodation for the night.

Day 2 – Once Brewed to Bellingham
15.5 miles / 25 km / 7 hours

Walking north from Once Brewed, we rejoin the Pennine Way as it continues east following Hadrians Wall for a brief while longer this morning. At Rapishaw Gap, the Way turns north and crosses vast expanses of rolling farmland dotted with sheep and cattle, tracts of forest (much of it now felled for logging), and portions of moor. The final stretch of the day’s walk crosses pastures and farm tracks, and follows along the River Tyne into the picturesque village of Bellingham.

Day 3 – Bellingham to Byrness
15.4 miles / 24.8 km / 7.5 hours

Today we traverse a patchwork of landscapes and habitats, including rugged heather moorlands, forests, (again, much of which has now been logged), and ultimately a riverside path into Byrness. Time to make sure you’re wearing your waterproofed boots, given the likelihood of sinking into the squishy, squelchy bogs. At the path’s high point of the day, Deer Play, we’ll be able to look north to see the stunning The Cheviot Hills, over which we’ll travel during the next two days. We arrive late this afternoon into Byrness where we’ll stay the next two nights at a lovely family run inn.

Day 4 – Byrness to Windy Gyle and Trows Farm
15.5 miles / 24.5 km / 7.5 hours

We split the 25 mile stretch in the remote Cheviot Hills between Byrness and our destination at Kirk Yetholm into two days. At the end of the first leg, we will drop down several miles from the Pennine Way to a vehicle access point, where our hosts will pick us up and drive us back to the inn for a second night.

We are walking another roller coaster route today with a sharp climb right out of the gate this morning through the low-lying forested area surrounding Byrness and up, up, up into the steep and rolling, barren Cheviots. For much of the day, our path rises and falls as it roughly follows the fence line marking the border between England and Scotland. The valleys in between the high points offer some reprieve from the strong winds that continuously blow. We’ll pass mile after lonely mile through grass and heather moorland and atop flagstone walkways placed through the endless peat bogs, with fences and an emergency shelter as the only man-made structures. Wildlife is abundant, however, with herds of feral Cheviot goats, sheep, and birds of all kinds. Skylarks abound! After the climb to Russell’s Cairn on Windy Gyle, we descend several miles down to Trow Farm, then along a picturesque burn to our pick-up point. A 45 minute ride returns us to our accommodation for the second night.

Day 5 – Trows Farm to Windy Gyle to Kirk Yetholm
14.5 miles / 23.4 km / 7.5 hours

We resume our two-part route across the Cheviot Hills to the end of the Pennine Way in Kirk Yetholm, Scotland. The day begins with our Inn hosts transporting us back to Trows Farm by vehicle. From there, we ascend to the summit of Windy Gyle to pick up the route where we left off yesterday. We continue to travel along the border between England and Scotland, traversing ever more undulating and exposed hills and valleys of grassland and peaty bogs. Depending on conditions and interest, there is an option to take the 90-minute detour to the summit of The Cheviot, as well as the choice to finish our trek on the High or Low Route. Our final leg of the trail descends into the picturesque village green of Kirk Yetholm, where The Border Hotel awaits us with refreshments and our final lodging.