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National Trail AcornPennine Bridleway National Trail

Cumbria, Derbyshire, Gtr Manchester, Lancashire, N Yorkshire, W Yorkshire

330 km / 205 miles
Opening in stages over several years, the Pennine Bridleway National Trail has been designed specifically for horse riders and mountain bikers and will also form a major new route for walkers. Broadly parallel to but generally lower then the Pennine Way, the full route from Middleton Top in Derbyshire to The Street in Cumbria travels through some of the finest scenery in England, passing through the Peak District and Yorkshire Dales National Parks, using old tracks, quiet roads and newly created sections of bridleway.

The first section of the Pennine Bridleway was the 47-mile Mary Towneley Loop, opened in 2002. In 2008, 130 miles of waymarked route were open from Derbyshire to the top of the Mary Towneley Loop, plus the 10-mile Settle Loop in the Yorkshire Dales. The section north of the Mary Towneley Loop was opened in June 2012, with an extension to The Street, just south of Kirkby Stephen. A feeder route from West Yorkshire, the Calder-Aire Link, is open and two more are under construction from the West Pennines at Bolton and the Northern Peak District from Penistone.

Future plans are to extend the Bridleway to Byrness, but this may take some years.

The total 205 miles shown here is made up of five parts: 73.6 miles from Middleton Top to the Mary Towneley Loop, 47 miles of the Mary Towneley Loop, 33.2 miles from the Mary Towneley Loop to the Settle Loop, 10 miles of the Settle Loop, 40.8 miles from the Settle Loop to The Street. It is not possible to do the Pennine Bridleway entirely on foot (or bicycle or horseback) without repeating stretches of both the Mary Towneley Loop (minimum an additional 18 miles) and the Settle Loop (an additional 2 miles). Not included in the total are the link routes Dark Peak Link, Calder Aire Link, West Pennine Link and the Kirkby Stephen Link; nor (for the moment) Charlie's Loop.

New sections of bridleway have been created in the Yorkshire Dales National Park and elsewhere along the route. Please see the detailed route maps which are now available from the Pennine Bridleway National Trail website https://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/en_GB/trails/pennine-bridleway/

The elevation profile shows the bridleway between Middleton Top and The Street and using part the east part of the Mary Townely Loop (168 miles).

FEBRUARY 2023: Lister Well Road near Gisburn Old Road, Pendle, Lancashire.
This stretch of the Pennine Bridleway National Trail, and the footpath alongside it, is in such a poor state that it would be advisable to omit the whole unsurfaced part of Lister Well Road until it has recovered, perhaps not until summer 2023. This can be done by making use of the rights of way which run from SD 8728 4489 to SD 8614 4391 by way of Prospect House and Duck Pond Farm, exiting onto Gisburn Old Road by Star Hall. Note that this shortcut route is not a bridleway. See also Facebook Group 'The LDWA and Long-Distance Paths'.

MARCH 2023:
Closure of the path along the dam wall of Cant Clough Reservoir, Lancashire. A diversion is in place below the dam which includes a temporary horse-riders' bridge over Cant Clough Beck. The diversion is scheduled to be in place until August 2023.
See https://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/en_GB/short-routes/cant-clough-diversion/

The LDWA National Trails Register offers certificates for completers of several British National Trails.


Details:

Waymark: National Trail Acorn
Path Type: National Trails (England & Wales)
Waymark: National Trail Acorn
Attributes: National Trail (England and Wales)
Challenging
Horse Ride (Multi User)
Moorland
Start: SK274551 - Middleton Top, near Carsington Reservoir, Derbyshire View on StreetMap
Finish: NY738015 - The Street, Kirkby Stephen, Cumbria View on StreetMap
Open Date: 2002
Web Sites: Derbyshire County Council - Pennine Bridleway British Horse Society RideMaps - Pennine Bridleway National Trails - Pennine Bridleway Welcome to Yorkshire - National Trails Trailplanner - Pennine Bridleway [blog]

Publications, Badges and Certificates:

Route Description - PDF Pennine Bridleway MTL to Cumbria  (Pennine Bridleway Team  - 2011 ) Download File
Certificate Certificate for National Trails  (Long Distance Walkers Association )
General Interest Book Big walks of the north  (Summersdale Publishers  - 2010 )
Badge Badge for National Trails  (Trails Shop )
Certificate Certificate for National Trails  (Trails Shop )
Guidebook Cycling the Pennine Bridleway : the Dales stages  (Cicerone Press  - 2012 )
General Interest Book National Trails : 19 long-distance routes through England, Scotland and Wales  (Cicerone Press  - 2015 )
Other National Trail mug  (Trails Shop )
Guidebook Pennine Bridleway: From Derbyshire through the Yorkshire Dales to Cumbria  (Vertebrate Publishing  - 6th May 2021 )
General Interest Book Tales from the Big Trails  (Vertebrate Publishing  - 2021 )

Click to showhide 6 more Publications, Badges and Certificates


Maps:

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National Trails (England & Wales)
Paths Marked on OS mapping
Other Paths
Anytime Challenges

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Hostel Accommodation
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Walkers are Welcome

Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2016.
© OpenStreetMap contributors under Open Database Licence.
Rights of way data from selected Local Authorities.
Large scale digital mapping is provided by John Thorn.
At high zoom levels the route is indicative only.
Purchase Ordnance Survey Maps (path is named on OS maps):
OS Landranger 91, 98, 103, 109, 110, 119
OS Landranger Active 91, 98, 103, 109, 110, 119
OS Explorer 1, 2, 19, 21, 24, 41, 277
OS Explorer Active 1, 2, 19, 21, 24, 41, 277
Other Paper Maps:
Harvey National Trail map
Pennine Bridleway (Harvey Maps - 2021)

Walking Support Providers:

Support Providers
Support Providers
Walking, Hiking and Cycling Holidays (Brigantes Accommodation & Baggage Courier Service)
Support Providers

Accommodation within 5 km of this Path:

 
 
From
Path
Along
Path
Bunk House
2 km
< 1 km
Hostel Accommodation
5 km
16 km
Camping Barn
4 km
22 km
Bunk House
4 km
24 km
Bunk House
< 1 km
26 km
Hostel Accommodation
2 km
45 km
Bunk House
5 km
59 km
Walkers are Welcome
3 km
72 km
Group Accommodation
1 km
110 km
Walkers are Welcome
3 km
118 km
Walkers are Welcome
1 km
150 km
Hostel Accommodation
< 1 km
153 km
Walkers are Welcome
3 km
158 km
Walkers are Welcome
1 km
159 km
Hostel Accommodation
2 km
159 km
Hostel Accommodation
2 km
205 km
Bunk House
3 km
258 km
Bunk House
3 km
283 km

Click to show 17 more Accommodations


Additional Images:


Connected Paths:

National Trails (England & Wales)
Other Paths
Beacons Way Whalley to Otley Blackpool to Bridlington (Aerospace Way) Bowland-Dales Traverse Calder Woodland Way Dales Fells Horseshoe Cam High Road to Arten Gill Moss Link Dales Walk Dales Way Watershed Alternatives Derbyshire Portway Edale to Prestatyn Eden Way Fielden Trail Friends Way 1: George Fox's Journey GM Ringway Great English Walk Halifax to Littleborough Head to Head High Peak 60 Historical Walks through Lancashire and Yorkshire Howgills and Limestone Trail Inn Way ... to the Peak District Joining The Seas Kendal Limestone Way Kinder Loop Lady Anne's Way Lancashire Trail Lancashire Way - Eastern Loop Leeds and Liverpool Canal Walk Limestone Loop Manchester Horizon Walk Millennium Walk - Stockport (Beating the Bounds) New Mills Parish Boundary North of England Way North West Way Palatine Plod Paulinus Way Peak District Boundary Walk Peak Pilgrimage Peak Way Peak Way - Hayfield to Edale Alternative Pennine Journey Pennine Odyssey - Buxton to Edale Pennine Odyssey - Main route Pennine Way - Hebden Bridge Loop Rail To Trail Walk - The Bentham Line Railway Heritage Trail Ribble Valley Platinum Jubilee Trail Richmond Way Roaches to Edale Round Manchester Hiking Trail Settle To Carlisle - Hill Walk Settle to Carlisle Way Six Peaks Trail Sixty Mile Walk around Wensleydale South Pennine Ring St Alkelda's Way St Alkeldas Way - Off Road Version Stanza Stones Trail Three Ridings on Foot Three Villages Heritage Walk Tidewater Way Tops of the North (Carlisle and Cheviot to Cat and Fiddle) Tops of the North (Three Shire Heads to Carlisle) Trans Pennine Way Trespass Trail Tributaries Walk Two Roses Way Two Toms Walk Walk The Eastern Side of the Ribble Valley Way of the Roses West Craven Way West Pennine Way - Link To Pennine Way Westmorland Heritage Walk Wild Yorkshire Way Yoredale Way Yorkshire Water Way Click to show 72 more Other Paths

Downloads:

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GPX Route File
MemoryMap Route File
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Tracklogs Route File
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Route Profile:

270.1 km (167.8 miles)
6,922 m (22,710 ft) ascent
574 m (1,883 ft)  maximum height

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