17-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, where walkers lose the path in mist. 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)

   Short by design. Black Hill, once a bog Wainwright dreaded, is mostly flagstones now; then Wessenden Moor and a chain of reservoirs to the A62. Standedge Foot Farm is the one bed on the line, and operators send walkers to Diggle, Delph or Marsden. Carry lunch from Edale: there is almost nothing to buy today.

   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)

   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. Wainwright said the worst was behind you here. Blackstone Edge is the only tricky bit in cloud. Blackshaw Head is up the far side of the valley, so the morning starts at the top of the steep climb out of the Calder.

   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)

   Heptonstall Moor and the Brontë moors past Top Withins, the ruin thought to have inspired Wuthering Heights, then Ponden and Ickornshaw Moor. Route-finding on both moors needs care in cloud. Haworth, a little off route, has cafés. Ickornshaw's stays are self-catering, so carry supper in and check your bag can be left.

   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)

   Fields, Pinhaw Beacon, Thornton-in-Craven and the canal through the Aire Gap: "mostly muck and manure", said Wainwright. Lots of villages and cafés, so carry little, but the field paths are vague and slow. Gargrave is the lunch stop; the 18-day plan sleeps there. Malham is where the limestone starts.

   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)

   Malham Cove and Tarn, then two sustained climbs: Fountains Fell, tougher than it looks, and Pen-y-ghent, the highest point so far. Nothing to buy on the way. Horton is 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)

   Old packhorse tracks and the Cam High Road over Cam Fell and Dodd Fell, a long, gentle climb with big views and few people. The path down into Hawes is the only vague bit. Hawes is a market town with shops and pubs, the last big one for a while: restock here for the moors ahead.

   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)

   Hardraw's waterfall, then the long, gradual climb over Great Shunner Fell, exposed in rough weather, down to Thwaite and Swaledale's waterfalls into Keld, where the Coast to Coast crosses. Watch for the wrong turn between Thwaite and Keld. Keld has a handful of beds; book them early.

   Example stay Keld Lodge

9. Day 9

   Keld to Baldersdale

   7–8 h 16.2 mi (26.1 km) ↑ 560 m (1,850 ft) ↓ 590 m (1,950 ft)

   Tan Hill Inn for a morning stop, then Sleightholme Moor, the Stainmore Gap and God's Bridge, a natural limestone arch on the River Greta, to Baldersdale near halfway. Shorter than going on to Middleton, and wet underfoot. Hunter House Farm is the only bed, a few yards from the path; book it before anything else on this plan.

   Example stay Hunter House Farm (opens in a new tab)

10. Day 10

    Baldersdale to Langdon Beck

    5–6 h 11.7 mi (18.8 km) ↑ 430 m (1,400 ft) ↓ 380 m (1,250 ft)

    Over Lunedale and down into Middleton for lunch and supplies, the last proper shops before Dufton. Then the Tees through hay meadows, past Low Force and High Force, among the highest waterfalls in England, to Langdon Beck. Wainwright called the riverside "a walk of near perfection". Langdon Beck has very few beds: book the YHA early.

    Example stay YHA Langdon Beck (opens in a new tab)

11. Day 11

    Langdon Beck to Dufton

    5–6 h 13.0 mi (20.9 km) ↑ 460 m (1,500 ft) ↓ 650 m (2,150 ft)

    Cauldron Snout and High Cup Nick on a short day. Rocky, slippery riverside, a scramble beside Cauldron Snout, England's longest waterfall, then the moor to the rim of High Cup, the best sight on the Way, where the only tricky navigation is. Down to Dufton, the last village before Cross Fell. Carry the day's food.

    Example stay Brow Farm (opens in a new tab)

12. Day 12

    Dufton to Garrigill

    7–8 h 14.8 mi (23.9 km) ↑ 970 m (3,200 ft) ↓ 800 m (2,600 ft)

    Over Knock Fell, Great Dun Fell and Cross Fell, the highest point, where England's coldest temperature and strongest gust were recorded, then down the long Corpse Road to Garrigill. Stopping here keeps the hardest day to the fell itself. Greg's Hut is the only shelter, and there is nothing before Garrigill. In foul weather, wait a day in Dufton.

    Example stay The George & Dragon Inn

13. Day 13

    Garrigill to Greenhead

    9–10 h 20.7 mi (33.4 km) ↑ 650 m (2,150 ft) ↓ 850 m (2,800 ft)

    The longest day before the Cheviots, but low and easy underfoot. The South Tyne to Alston for lunch and shops, then the old railway, the Maiden Way and the bog of Blenkinsopp Common, where the Pennines end. 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 Holmhead Guest House (opens in a new tab)

14. Day 14

    Greenhead to Once Brewed

    3–4 h 6.9 mi (11.1 km) ↑ 380 m (1,250 ft) ↓ 220 m (700 ft)

    The short day this plan adds: the best of Hadrian's Wall from Greenhead, crag after crag, slow enough to enjoy the Roman stones. Once Brewed is a pub and a youth hostel. With the afternoon free, the Cuddy's Crags view and Housesteads fort are about 1 mi (1.6 km) beyond where the Way leaves the Wall.

    Example stay YHA The Sill at Hadrian's Wall (opens in a new tab)

15. Day 15

    Once Brewed to Bellingham

    7–8 h 15.3 mi (24.6 km) ↑ 540 m (1,750 ft) ↓ 720 m (2,350 ft)

    A last stretch of Wall to Rapishaw Gap, then the silent Wark Forest, fields and a little moor. The fields are fiddly to follow and the road into Bellingham drags. From 16 November 2026 to 26 March 2027 the Way is diverted on the road through Bellingham. Stock up there: Byrness has beds and little else.

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

16. Day 16

    Bellingham to Byrness

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

    Heather moor over Whitley Pike and Brownrigg Head, 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 early, 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)

17. Day 17 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 one long day on this plan, and it is the last: the Cheviot ridge along the border fence, no bed, shop or road. Leave Byrness at dawn. Deep bog, exposed tops and a military range (blank firing only); the huts at Yearning Saddle and Auchope are shelters, not beds. Skip the Cheviot summit detour if the day is slow. Then the Border Hotel.

    Finish Pennine Way Finish

Cross-check: National Trails' Pennine Way trail information . The trail body says most walkers allow 16 to 19 days. This plan sits in that range and walks the Cheviot ridge in one day. Distances on this page are from our line.

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