Coast to Coast: Walk Kirkby Stephen to Robin Hood's Bay - 11 Days

Make your own way to Kirkby Stephen on the edge of the Pennine Hills. You should have time to explore this pretty old market town with St. Stephen’s Church containing the 8th Century Loki stone relating to Norse Mythology. Or we recommend adding an extra night if you like to enjoy this town more. | Accommodation: This is a fine looking guesthouse and the interior retains many of the delightful and original features. It has a friendly relaxed atmosphere.

It's your first day of this second half of Wainwright's Coast to Coast! Climb out of town to the cairns of Nine Standards Rigg (661m / 2170 feet) with its array of obelisks. This is an ancient, possibly, boundary feature that no one has any real knowledge of. It marks the Watershed of England. Next you cross squelchy moors down to Keld in Swaledale. The trail from the Nine Standards, once the most notorious of the Coast to Coast, has been much improved once again with the placement of hundreds of flagstones. Passing the farm at Ravenseat, where they breed prime rams, the moors then become increasingly gentler as you walk into Keld with its many waterfalls and old stone barns. /// The day’s total ascent 780m / descent 575m. | Accommodation: Keld - A medium-sized guesthouse with traditional Yorkshire fayre served in an attractively decorated dining room, and there are tea & coffee making facilities in all rooms. Thwaite - traditional stone hotel with 12 en-suite rooms.

There are two options today. >> The first is the slightly longer & higher alternative over wild moorland with long-abandoned lead mines, a magnet for the industrial archaeologist. >> The second option is the pretty route via Swaledale, which is a lovely option if you have unfavourable weather or you just prefer a lower level walk. There is a really nice pub in Gunnerside on this second route. Your day finishes in Reeth, an attractive green village which flourished at the height of the mining age and today does well out of tourism, hence a collection of pubs and tea shops. // The day’s total ascent 838m / descent 911m (via the higher route). | Accommodation: Your accommodation tonight is the oldest surviving Inn in Reeth, dating from 1680.

our morning walk is through pretty Swaledale up the Nun's Steps to Marrick and across farm land to the hamlet of Marske and its attractive church of Edmund the Martyr. The route continues along a valley side lined with limestone crags and through forest reaching Richmond with plenty of time for shopping (note most shops closed Sunday) & sightseeing. This extremely picturesque North Yorkshire town, with its cobbled market square and Norman castle, is an ever-popular destination for visitors. You can also follow the Swale to Town Falls, which are quite impressive when the river is in spate.// The day's total ascent 395m / descent 510m. | Accommodation: The extremely picturesque North Yorkshire town of Richmond, with its cobbled market square and Norman castle, is an ever-popular destination for visitors. We use a number of guesthouses or pub accommodation in this busy town.

A gentle rural day, walking out from Richmond beside the River Swale and across the fields to Catterick Race Course. You'll then be threading your way to Brompton on Swale, an ideal lunch stop in the churchyard. You then trundle along beside tiny streams and quiet country roads reaching the village of Danby Wiske with its village green and single pub offering great home cooked food. | Accommodation: We use the guesthouses or pub in this small village.

Today has road walking and cross country sections. Then with the North York Moors pressing ever closer you have to carefully cross the main A19 road into Ingleby Cross, which has a popular coffee shop. From here you take a steep but lovely woodland footpath up into the old Flax industry village of Osmotherley. On the way you may want to visit the restored Lady chapel in its tranquil setting. Osmotherley is a quaint hill village with three pubs to choose from plus Britain’s oldest functioning Methodist Church (1754) - John Wesley came to preach here. | Accommodation: Tonight's accommodation is set in an extremely picturesque village on the edge of the North Yorkshire Moors. All rooms are ensuite and have tea & coffee making facilities.

This is a roller coaster walk. A steep stretch from Osmotherley introduces you to the North York Moors and its sandy, heather-clad hills with areas of forest. After coming off Scarth Wood Moor, there is a long ascent up Live Moor and Carlton Bank (408m) before we descend to Lord Stones Café. It's almost hidden in an off-road embankment and comes at the right time for coffee. There then follows the succession of Cringle Moor, Broughton Bank and White Hill - all at or over 400m. You loose and then re-ascend 100-200m between each one. White Hill has an area of sandstone boulders called The Wainstones that we thread through on the way up. Great views in clear weather, incl. Roseberry Topping, Vale of Mowbray and back to the Pennines. We come off the ridge at Clay Bank Top and you will get a transfer to your accommodation (included) from the car park at Clay Bank Top to Great Broughton. | Accommodation: In Great Broughton, Wainstones Hotel - this present-day structure has developed around a former dwelling dating from early 1700. It combines quality service with the atmosphere of a Yorkshire country inn.