15-day Pennine Way itinerary

1. Day 1

   Edale to Crowden

   8–9 h 17.0 mi (27.4 km) ↑ 890 m (2,900 ft) ↓ 880 m (2,900 ft)

   The Way starts hard on purpose: Jacob's Ladder onto Kinder, the peat groughs of the plateau, then Bleaklow Head, notorious for walkers losing the path in mist. Navigation matters from the first hour. There is no food on the way and next to none at Crowden, so buy two days of lunches in Edale. Our only bed at Crowden is the campsite; if you are not camping, operators bed walkers in Glossop or Padfield and drive them back.

   Example stay Crowden Camping and Caravanning Club Site (opens in a new tab)

2. Day 2

   Crowden to Standedge

   6–7 h 12.5 mi (20.2 km) ↑ 770 m (2,550 ft) ↓ 580 m (1,900 ft)

   A short day by design, after Kinder and Bleaklow. Black Hill, the bog Wainwright dreaded, is mostly flagstones now, then Wessenden Moor and a chain of reservoirs to the A62. Standedge has little: Standedge Foot Farm is the one bed on the line, and operators send walkers to Diggle, Delph or Marsden. There is almost nowhere to buy food today, so carry lunch from Edale.

   Example stay Standedge Foot Farm

3. Day 3

   Standedge to Blackshaw Head

   7–8 h 15.3 mi (24.6 km) ↑ 540 m (1,750 ft) ↓ 680 m (2,250 ft)

   Wainwright said the worst was behind you here. Blackstone Edge's gritstone, a pub at the A58, reservoir drains as flat as a pavement, then Stoodley Pike's monument above the Calder Valley. Only Blackstone Edge is tricky in cloud, and cairns and poles guide you. Blackshaw Head sits up the far side of the valley: the cruel climb out of the Calder is done today, not first thing tomorrow.

   Example stay Badger Fields

4. Day 4

   Blackshaw Head to Ickornshaw

   7–8 h 14.7 mi (23.6 km) ↑ 700 m (2,300 ft) ↓ 780 m (2,550 ft)

   From the top of the Calder climb, Heptonstall Moor and the Brontë moors past Top Withins, the ruin thought to have inspired Wuthering Heights, then Ponden and the bleaker Ickornshaw Moor. Both moors can test your route-finding in cloud. Haworth is a little off route if you want a café. Ickornshaw has few beds and ours is self-catering: carry supper in and check your bag firm can leave the bag.

   Example stay Little Grans Self Catering Holiday Cottage (opens in a new tab)

5. Day 5

   Ickornshaw to Malham

   8–9 h 17.5 mi (28.2 km) ↑ 750 m (2,450 ft) ↓ 760 m (2,500 ft)

   "Mostly muck and manure," said Wainwright of the start: fields, the views from Pinhaw Beacon, Thornton-in-Craven and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal through the Aire Gap. Villages and cafés all day, so the pack can be light, but the field paths are vague and fiddly. Gargrave's cafés make the lunch stop. Malham is where the limestone begins; an evening walk to the Cove is worth the legs.

   Example stay The Buck Inn (opens in a new tab)

6. Day 6

   Malham to Horton-in-Ribblesdale

   7–8 h 14.6 mi (23.5 km) ↑ 870 m (2,850 ft) ↓ 830 m (2,700 ft)

   The first big Dales day. Malham Cove and Malham Tarn come first, then two sustained climbs: Fountains Fell, which few remember fondly, and Pen-y-ghent, the highest point yet and worth it for the view. Nothing to buy on the way. Horton is busy and short of beds on Saturdays when the Three Peaks walkers are in, so book it first. Tomorrow is an easy day.

   Example stay The Crown Hotel (opens in a new tab)

7. Day 7

   Horton-in-Ribblesdale to Hawes

   6–7 h 13.8 mi (22.2 km) ↑ 510 m (1,650 ft) ↓ 510 m (1,650 ft)

   The easy day that makes fifteen work. Packhorse tracks and the Cam High Road climb so gently you barely notice, with big empty views after the Three Peaks crowds. The only awkward bit is the vague path down into Hawes. The 14-day plan walks on to Keld today; on this one Hawes is a night, a market town with shops, pubs and everything else, and the place for a rest day if you want one.

   Example stay The White Hart Inn, Hawes (opens in a new tab)

8. Day 8

   Hawes to Keld

   6–7 h 12.6 mi (20.3 km) ↑ 780 m (2,550 ft) ↓ 680 m (2,250 ft)

   A Pennine Way classic. Hardraw's waterfall, the long, gradual climb over Great Shunner Fell, exposed in rough weather, then Thwaite and the waterfalls of Swaledale. Watch for the wrong turn between Thwaite and Keld. The official text ends the day at Tan Hill Inn, a few kilometres further and one inn that books out; this plan stops at Keld, which has more beds and puts the inn at tomorrow's start.

   Example stay Keld Lodge

9. Day 9

   Keld to Middleton-in-Teesdale

   9–10 h 20.4 mi (32.8 km) ↑ 730 m (2,400 ft) ↓ 850 m (2,800 ft)

   Tan Hill Inn early, then the long squelch over Sleightholme Moor, the Stainmore Gap and the halfway point, with walls to guide you and the climb over Lunedale left to the end. Expect wet feet. There is no lunch after Tan Hill, so carry it. Longer plans break this day at Baldersdale or Bowes; on fifteen days the beds between are single places, and Middleton is the next town.

   Example stay The Teesdale Hotel (opens in a new tab)

10. Day 10

    Middleton-in-Teesdale to Dufton

    9–10 h 20.5 mi (33.0 km) ↑ 720 m (2,350 ft) ↓ 760 m (2,500 ft)

    Pennine Way gold, and a long day. Meadows by the Tees, Low Force, High Force, the rocky, slippery scramble beside Cauldron Snout, then the moor to High Cup, the best sight on the Way and the day's only tricky navigation. More descent than ascent. Lunch at the Langdon Beck Hotel, just off the path. The 16-day plan splits the day there; on this one, start early so High Cup is not rushed.

    Example stay Brow Farm (opens in a new tab)

11. Day 11

    Dufton to Alston

    9–10 h 18.9 mi (30.5 km) ↑ 1,030 m (3,400 ft) ↓ 930 m (3,050 ft)

    The toughest day: Knock Fell, Great Dun Fell and Cross Fell, the highest point, where England's coldest temperature and strongest gust were recorded. Greg's Hut bothy is the only shelter and there is nothing to buy before Garrigill. In foul weather wait a day in Dufton. The South Tyne footbridge between Garrigill and Alston is flood-damaged and the Way diverted (National Trails, October 2026): check the notice before you go.

    Example stay Alston Youth Hostel (opens in a new tab)

12. Day 12

    Alston to Greenhead

    7–8 h 16.6 mi (26.7 km) ↑ 590 m (1,950 ft) ↓ 720 m (2,350 ft)

    The day few walkers rank, and after Cross Fell a fair recovery. The old railway out of Alston, the Roman Maiden Way and Hartley Burn, then the bog of Blenkinsopp Common, where the Pennines end at Round Hill and Wain Rigg. Wainwright called it tedious. The paths through fields and walls are fiddly and dry feet in Greenhead are rare, but the day ends at Hadrian's Wall.

    Example stay Holmhead Guest House (opens in a new tab)

13. Day 13

    Greenhead to Bellingham

    10–11 h 22.2 mi (35.7 km) ↑ 920 m (3,000 ft) ↓ 950 m (3,100 ft)

    A long day and it feels it. Hadrian's Wall for 8 miles (12.8 km) of its finest crags, all steep ups and downs among Wall walkers, then the silent Wark Forest, farmland and a dreary road into Bellingham. Food means a detour to Once Brewed. Longer plans sleep there; on fifteen days, start early. From 16 November 2026 to 26 March 2027 the Way is diverted on the road through Bellingham.

    Example stay Lyndale Guest House (opens in a new tab)

14. Day 14

    Bellingham to Byrness

    7–8 h 15.2 mi (24.5 km) ↑ 640 m (2,100 ft) ↓ 530 m (1,750 ft)

    A shorter day before the Cheviots, in two halves: heather moor over Whitley Pike and Brownrigg Head, purple in September and boggy all year, then stony forest tracks into Byrness. Nowhere to buy lunch. Byrness is barely a village and Forest View has seven rooms, so book it before anything else, and ask for supper, an early breakfast and a packed lunch for the ridge.

    Example stay Forest View Walkers Inn (opens in a new tab)

15. Day 15 Longest

    Byrness to Kirk Yetholm

    12–13 h 24.9 mi (40.1 km) ↑ 1,320 m (4,350 ft) ↓ 1,440 m (4,700 ft)

    The last day is the longest: the Cheviot ridge along the border fence, the loneliest hills in England, with no bed, shop or road. Leave Byrness at dawn. Expect deep bog, exposed tops and a military range (blank firing only); the refuge huts at Yearning Saddle and Auchope are shelters, not beds. The Cheviot summit is a detour there and back: skip it if the day is slow. Finish at the Border Hotel.

    Finish Pennine Way Finish

Cross-check: National Trails' 16-day route description . Their sixteen days stop at Tan Hill and spend a night on the Cheviot ridge; ours stops at Keld and walks the ridge in one day. Distances on this page are from our line, not their figures.

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