The Pennine way July 2022
- katiejacobrocks
- Sep 26, 2025
- 6 min read
Updated: Oct 3, 2025
My first solo major adventure was running the Pennine way alone over 9 days. The tips and tricks i picked up are here along with links to where i stayed. i DO NOT get any pay out for this!!!
Overview of the Pennine Way
The Pennine Way is a 268-mile National Trail running the length of the "backbone of England". It begins in the Peak District and traverses north through the Yorkshire Dales, North Pennines, and ends just across the border in Scotland.
Major towns (starting south to north)
· Edale: The official start of the Pennine Way, located in the Peak District.
· Hebden Bridge: A town in the Calderdale region of West Yorkshire.
· Malham: A village in the Yorkshire Dales National Park.
· Horton-in-Ribblesdale; A village in the Yorkshire Dales, a common stop for walkers.
· Hawes: A market town in the Yorkshire Dales.
· Middleton-in-Teesdale; A small town in County Durham. Gorgeous place - independent shops, great fish and chips and nice cafes
· Alston: England's highest market town, situated in the North Pennines.
· Kirk Yetholm; The trail's northern terminus, located in the Scottish Borders.
Hills
· Kinder Scout; : A moorland plateau and the highest point in the Peak District, located near the start of the trail. The site of the mass protest which gave us rites to roam
· Pen-y-Ghent; One of the famous "Yorkshire Three Peaks" in the Yorkshire Dales.
· Cross Fell; The highest point on the entire Pennine Way, located in the North Pennines
· The Cheviot; The final major hill on the trail before the Scottish border.
Beauty spots
· Cauldron snout https://share.google/3VfIzZvoxIkquFN2z This is a slow burn up the tees to get to this stunning waterfall which you then climb up the side of. My stand out favourite.
· Malham Cove: A dramatic, curved limestone cliff face formed during the Ice Age.
· High Cup Nick; A spectacular, U-shaped glacial valley in the North Pennines. This was especially stunning after the steep climb up
· High Force & Low Force; Impressive waterfalls along the River Tees in the North Pennines.
· Hadrian's Wall; The trail runs alongside a well-preserved section of the Roman wall for several miles.
Hotels
Edale, stayed in nearby Castleton, more options and you have to get a bag pick up cab anyway which can then take you to the start.
If you are using a Sherpa service (and therefore don’t have the luxury of a cab to take you to the start in Edale), the Ramblers in Edale is nice but given the popularity is quite expensive and the Old Nags head has a couple of cottages which are cheaper but no brekky so depends what time you leave (I’m always early so breakfast is redundant anyway).
For the old Nags head, give them a call – they are on booking.com but this adds a 15% premium. Phone: 01433 670291
For the next two nights I stayed at my lovely Ma’s house, my sister also came and then picked me up at the end and dropped me back at the start for two days. This was fabulous until they decided in Haworth (which is a gorgeous little town) to go in each shop on the beautiful high street, leaving me cold and grumpy to trudge after them!!
In Malham, I stayed at the gorgeous Lister arms.
The food here is ginormous and delicious and I often come here to run and stay when not on such an epic adventure. The limestone pavement is beautiful and the run up out of the village is a really short one but with a hugely challenging gradient – for training just run up three times and then go back for breakfast
The rooms above the pub are smaller and the rooms in the barn are brand new and really lovely. As with most places mentioned - they love dogs and my Mum’s dog Bronte stayed with us here.
They have a fire and the tables next to it are toasty if you feel the chill post run like I do.
Hawes. Is a pretty little town - when I stayed it was Rishi Sunak’s constituency and the mass walk out of the summer has just happened when everyone resigned to protest Boris. We stayed at the white heart in where the staff were incredibly kind and let me arrive a little early and shower. No getting lost that day. Welcome - The White Hart Inn, Hawes
What I remember most about Hawes however was the lack of open places to eat outside of the 12-2 and 5-10 meal times. Be aware and plan ahead!!
After Hawes I stayed in Barnard Castle. Yes the optician is still there!! I stayed at the lovely The Three Horseshoes Hotel - Guest Reservations Horseshoes hotel. There is a Morrisons which sells hot and cold food just behind and it was a nice chance to not have to wait for service etc and just eat huge amounts.
Next up was Appleby in Westmoreland. Ive stayed in both of the Royal Oak and the Crown and Cushion.
The Royal Oak is a slightly nicer bedroom experience but the hotel is away from the main village area (not too far but you count every extra step by now) however the food in the restaurant is really good so if you don’t need anything apart from food and sleep it ticks all the boxes. Home | Royal Oak Appleby
In Brampton, we stayed in the greenhead hotel. I remember the food being delicious in the evening and my room being huge!! My this point however I was soo upset to get up the next day and I actually had to walk most of that day as I was shattered.
In Bellingham we stayed in the Fountain café B&B, this was a lovely place and when my poor battered body couldn’t decide what it needed to eat and saw the big piles of vegetables with salty butter, they let me have a gigantic bowl and we sat outside and watched the passers by. Very pleasant. Fountain Cottage Cafe and B&B
Finally in Kirk Yeltholm it would be rude not to stay at the border hotel. It’s the end marker for the walk and they give you a lovely certificate to say you have completed it.
The Border Hotel | Rooms, Bar and Restaurant Yetholm My lovely team mates had left £100 behind the bar and despite two friends being with me – we really struggled to spend the lot and ended up getting most of a bottle of Macallan to finish off the money (which also finished me off) Mark my friend proudly shows pictures of the before and after. See photos. The chips were also very good.
Maps
(I do not get a concession I just don’t want to give more money to Amazon)
Also get mapsme. Available to download on your mobile. Gives you offline maps that track you even when no signal and that happens A LOT
Learnings
1. There is no phone signal for large portions of the route. Get Maps me – it’s a lot of off road and you don’t see people, toilets etc so you need to be able to rely on your own guile. And learn how to read a map. After being lost and doing an extra 10 miles that was my mums greeting when I finally appeared.
2. There are no toilets. You might need to take wet wipes, poo bags etc (for the wet wipes rather than the poo) so you don’t leave rubbish behind.
3. There are no shops or only sporadically. One of the days despite carrying two and a half liters I was very dehydrated by the end of the day so just worth knowing in advance.
4. There is grass pollen in the ground often and where its boggy and your feet get wet – you might need an antihistamine if you have hay fever like and you don’t want big red itchy feet
5. The cabbie who takes your bag from place to place is the most important person. You will need the sanity of knowing someone reliable has your stuff and will ensure its there when you arrive. I don’t have a list of the cab firms I used anymore but make sure you advance tip or whatever you need to do to ensure your PJs and jumper are waiting.
6. There is a big Sainsbury just near to Kirk yeltholm. I had run out of clean clothes and this one has an F and F. One of my friends had also declared my socks and shoes unfit to return in the car.. On later trips I stayed some nights in Airbnbs so I could do some washing. Phew!!
7. I carried bin bags to wear when it rained. Lighter, smaller and more waterproof than most fancy ass coats and outer layers. More room for water and other essentials.
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