North of England
England 's North Country is famous for the beauty of its scenery. Here you will find the stunning lake and mountain scenery of the Lake District, the rich green valleys and dry-stone walls of the Yorkshire Dales, the rolling heather moorland of the North York Moors, the craggy limestone dales and gritstone moors of the Peak District, the old Roman frontier of Hadrian's Wall and the golden beaches and imposing castles of Northumberland's unspoilt coastline.
We offer the largest selection of walking holidays in the north of England. These range from classic trails like Hadrian's Wall Path, Wainwright's Coast to Coast Walk, Cumbria Way, Dales Way, Cleveland Way and Herriot Way to little-known gems like the Northumberland Coastal Path, Westmorland Way, Swale Way, White Peak Way, Yorkshire Wolds Way and Lady Anne's Way.
Here are our favourite walking holidays in the North of England:
Hadrian’s Wall Path - East to West / West to East
In AD 122 Emperor Hadrian ordered the construction of a wall across northern England to hold back the advancing Barbarians. Despite the depredations of the centuries, Hadrian’s Wall remains the largest ancient monument in northern Europe and the best way to appreciate it, and the ruggedly beautiful countryside around it, is to walk it, following in the footsteps of the Legionnaires.
Created by Alfred Wainwright, the Coast to Coast Walk crosses the North of England from the Irish Sea at St Bees to the North Sea at Robin Hoods Bay. The route passes through some of the most beautiful and varied scenery in the country: the rugged mountains and beautiful lakes of the Lake District, the rolling hills and pretty valleys of the Yorkshire Dales and the expansive heather moorland of the North York Moors, with some dramatic coastal scenery at each end.
Beginning at the little stone town of Ilkley, the Dales Way follows the River Wharfe, past the romantic ruin of Bolton Priory and the pretty villages of Burnsall, Grassington, Kettlewell and Buckden. Beyond Cam Fell, the trail follows the River Dee through Dent and on to the old market town of Sedbergh. From here the Dales Way leaves the Yorkshire Dales and with the mountains of the Lake District crowning the horizon, heads for Windermere across rolling farmland.
The Cumbria Way runs through the heart of the Lake District from the attractive market town of Ulverston to the historic city of Carlisle close to the Scottish Border. Along the way it passes through some of the finest scenery of this much loved area. The Cumbria Way is essentially a low-level walk through the Lake District. It follows old packhorse tracks along valleys and over passes and provides breathtaking mountain views without actually going to any of the summits.
Northumberland's coast is famous for its wild, unspoilt beauty with long beaches of golden sand, quaint little fishing villages, spectacular castles perched on rocky headlands and abundant birdlife. From Berwick-upon-Tweed the trail meanders along beaches of golden sand to the tidal causeway linking Holy Island with the mainland. After visiting the island it continuse past St Cuthbert’s Cave, Dunstanburgh Castle, Craster and Alnmouth to finish to the historic town of Warkworth.
The Cleveland Way is a horseshoe-shaped route around the edge of the North York Moors National Park. Beginning in the old market town of Helmsley, the trail follows the western escarpment of the North York Moors to meet the coast at Saltburn-by-the-Sea, and then takes in the whole of the North Yorkshire and Cleveland Heritage Coast to finish at the Victorian seaside town of Filey.
The Herriot Way is a delightful walk around the northern Yorkshire Dales of Wensleydale and Swaledale. Starting and finishing in the bustling little market town of Hawes, it is based on a holiday taken by James Herriot with his son, which he described in his book ‘James Herriot's Yorkshire'.
Anne Clifford was the third and only surviving child of the 3rd Earl of Cumberland, Queen Elizabeth I's Champion, who owned vast estates in the Yorkshire Dales and Westmorland. Lady Anne's Way retraces the routes she took between her castles, visiting all of the important buildings associated with her story. The trail runs from Skipton Castle, where she was born in 1590, to Brougham Castle on the outskirts of Penrith, where she died in 1676, aged 86.
In 1974, the ancient Lakeland counties of Cumberland and Westmorland were amalgamated into the larger county of Cumbria. Keeping entirely within the old county of Cumberland, this delightful trail meanders across the Lake District from the Irish Sea at Ravenglass to Eamont Bridge on the eastern edge of the National Park.
This scenic walk through the historic county of Westmorland and the Lake District National Park begins at Appleby in the shadow of the Pennines and ends at Arnside on the shores of Morecambe Bay.
The Dales High Way is a challenging walk over stunning high-level countryside in the Yorkshire Dales. The landscape is rich with mystery and intrigue. Stone Age rock carvings and traditional Yorkshire villages combine perfectly with dramatic geology and endless rolling fields as it passes through miles of glorious countryside.
