North Pennines

OVERVIEW

The North Pennines is an often overlooked region in England - but not for very good reason, as whilst the North Pennines are a very wild part of the world, they are also very beautiful.

This area sits to the north of the Yorkshire Dales, and runs up to just shy of the southern end of the Tyne (before it drops to the south near it's source).

This countryside is very boggy peatland - and very wet - and the source of the southern Tyne, the Wear and the Tees all sit within this area.

Of these the Tees offers up arguably the best section of walking - and the Pennine Way or Teesdale Way route (the route is the same for both) through Teesdale is truly exceptional.

Map of the North Pennines: Source: North Pennines National Landscape

The big challenge is finding walking routes and places to walk, because this is often very empty countryside - but there are trails that do run through this landscape (see below).

GETTING ABOUT

Appleby-in-Westmorland is a useful access point - and this in particular provides access to High Cup Nick, which is an incredible spot to visit. 

Alternatively Middleton-in-Teesdale or can be reached by bus from Barnard Castle (which in turn can be reached by bus from Darlington), but these bus services are infrequent. An even more infrequent bus service goes up towards High Force and Low Force waterfalls.

Bus services do run from Bishop Auckland up into Weardale (again a fairly infrequent service, but a usable one), while Alston can be reached by bus from Haltwhistle.

Overall though, this is a very tricky area of country to access - and more suited to long distance walkers than day walkers (away from High Force and Low Force waterfalls).

NOTABLE WALKING ROUTES

The most notable trail is the Pennine Way, but this is not the only walking to be done in this landscape. That said, I haven't done a lot of walking here as it is challenging logistically (both in terms of starting/ending a walk, and in terms of finding somewhere to stay). The notable walks are detailed below:

A Pennine Journey - Named Trail

Currently I have no plans to walk this section - but whilst the western section of A Pennine Journey through the North Pennines runs on the same route as the Pennine Way, the eastern route provides a link from the River Tees up to the River Wear, and then on up to the Tyne at Hexham.

It might be that I come back and pick up this section of walking, but for now I have put it on the too difficult without camping pile.

Isaac's Tea Trail - Named Trail

I would usually ignore a trail with a name like Isaac's Tea Trail, but it does provide one of the new named walks through this section of countryside.

Although it isn't very easy to see where you would stop over, it could be extended into two walks between Alston and Bardon Mill (with Alston reached by bus from Haltwhistle).

Pennine Way - National Trail

The Pennine Way is the main trail through this countryside - and heading up from the Tan Hill Inn, this trail initially crosses some boggy ground, before making it's way round towards Bowes. 

From here it cuts up to Middleton-in-Teesdale via some pretty reservoirs - before taking on the absolute highlight of this area, on a route up past High Force and Low Force waterfalls, and on up through Teesdale to High Cup Nick. That section of walking remains one of my all time favourite walks.

Next the Pennine Way heads up over Cross Fell to Alston, and up the South Tyne valley towards Hadrian's Wall.

River Tyne Trail South - Named Trail

The River Tyne Trail South takes a similar route through the North Pennines as the Pennine Way, but via a very slightly different route. 

Once I walk the section of the Pennine Way I may become tempted to walk this section of trail, but for now I have no plans to do so.

Roof of England

The Roof of England is not a trail that appears on OS Maps, but has been specifically designed to complete a loop around the North Pennines. On the western side this follows a similar route as the Pennine Way, but cuts down through Kirkby Stephen to Keld (in the Yorkshire Dales).

Then it is back to tracking the Pennine Way until Cow Green Reservoir, after which it cuts up to Weardale, and then on up the north eastern side of the North Pennines to meet up with the train line between Carlisle and Newcastle.

It looks to be an interesting trail, but looks to also be a bit of a logistical nightmare. Information can be found here: Walk the Roof of England – North Pennines National Landscape

Teesdale Way - Named Trail

The Teesdale Way follows the same route as the Pennine Way from Middleton-in-Teesdale up into the North Pennines - with lower sections of this trail no longer being part of the North Pennines. As a result this from a North Pennines perspective has complete overlap with the Pennine Way. 

Weardale Way - Named Trail

As with the Teesdale Way, only the upper sections of the Weardale Way are part of the North Pennines. This is once again a somewhat challenging area of countryside to explore - and so far I have only made it so far up the River Wear. 

There is, however, a bus service that runs up into Weardale, and I plan to use this to explore this trail at a later date. Having done this I will update this section to provide more information on this section of the trail.