Across the North of England
Definition
North of the Trent, 'cranking in' as in Shakespeare. And Cheshire, to get across to the Welsh border.
Why walk here
The north of England has a special place in the history of British walking.
The Peak district moors between Manchester and Sheffield saw the first struggles for the walker's rights of access
that eventually led to the Countryside and Rights of Way Act in 2003.
Fittingly, our first long-distance trail, the Pennine Way, sets off from here on its tough but rewarding line
from the south to the north of my country.
My first ever fell walks, when a student at the University of York, were on the North York Moors,
one of five National Parks in northern England.
My favourite countryside though is in the northern Pennines around Alston,
which has only the lesser designation of AONB (area of outstanding natural beauty)
but in upper Teesdale has England's closest thing to wilderness.
It's not all height and emptiness, for there is plenty of gentler walking in places like Delamere Forest and the Yorkshire Wolds,
and scope to explore regenerating cities like Leeds;
and I've reached the end of this introduction before mentioning the Lake District,
a contender for the most beautiful place on the planet.
To me, the only problem is the north's distance from London. It's not a place I can get to every day.
Over the years though I have completed all but the last stage of the Pennine Way.
Below, this joins a pair of short multi-day trips.
Trails available
Hadrian's Wall Path
The record of a family walk along the finest, central section of this linear World Heritage site.
Pateley Bridge to Grassington
Two days from Nidderdale to Wharfedale.
Horton-in-Ribblesdale to Grassington
Three days from Ribblesdale to Wharfedale.
Pennine Way
Four encounters spread across the years.
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