Self-guided · Yorkshire Dales & Lake District
66 kilometres along the northern Dales Way — Ribblehead to Bowness-on-Windermere, from the 24-arch viaduct on the Settle–Carlisle line, over moorland into cobbled Dent, past the Howgills at Sedbergh, and down through Kendal to Lake Windermere.
“An amazing and very memorable experience”Bhagyashree & Akhil · Tour du Mont Blanc
Read the reviewsThis is gentle river walking with a proper sense of arrival at the end — the top half of the Dales Way, 66 kilometres from Ribblehead to Bowness-on-Windermere, from the Yorkshire Dales into the eastern fringes of the Lake District. Moorland above Dentdale, riverside miles along the Dee and the Lune, the Howgill Fells at your shoulder through Sedbergh, and a final approach to Windermere with the central Lakeland fells laid out ahead.
It's a gentler walk than the Lakeland routes to the west — 895 m of ascent spread across three or four days, mostly on good field paths and quiet lanes. Trains at both ends, and the commemorative stone bench above Windermere for the official finish. An ideal follow-on to the Dales Way South, or a satisfying long weekend on its own.
The northern Dales Way divides naturally into three stages — the moorland crossing from Ribblehead to Sedbergh, the field-path stretch through Kendal, and the final climb to the shores of Windermere.
Blea Moor · Dentdale · Dent · Howgill Fells
The wilder first day — a moorland traverse from the great viaduct at Ribblehead, contouring high above Dentdale, then down the River Dee past cobbled Dent and along riverside pastures dotted with traditional stone barns to the Book Town of Sedbergh beneath the Howgill Fells.
Lune Viaduct · Lowgill · M6 crossing · Kendal
Field paths beneath the Howgills to the Lune Viaduct, then a gradual traverse of farmland past the Lowgill Viaduct and across the M6 to Skelsmergh on the A6. From here it's a 4 km taxi detour into Kendal for a proper Lakeland market town overnight.
Burneside · Staveley · Windermere · commemorative bench
The final riverside miles along the Kent through Burneside and Staveley — Hawkshead Brewery for a late pint if you're minded — then a steady climb through mixed farmland with panoramic views of Windermere and the central fells to the commemorative bench above the lake, and on into Bowness.
Build your trip
Pick your pace, party size and dates. The itinerary, distances, nightly stops and the price all update live — no commitment until you're happy.
Your day-by-day itinerary updates live in the Your itinerary section below.
This is the itinerary you're building. Change the pace, party size or start date in the planner above and every stage, distance and date updates here.
You are booking the itinerary above: your walking days, your overnight stays and the support that carries you between them.
Organising this trail for friends? Build a group trip with individual payments
We'll start planning your trip right away. Not happy with anything? We'll adjust it or refund you — no questions asked.
The Association of Bonded Travel Organisers Trust Limited (ABTOT) provides financial protection under The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 for Big Trail Adventures (member 5690). Protection is provided for non-flight packages. Full details in our booking conditions.
Your Dales Way North is planned from first step to final check-in. The stays, luggage, navigation, local knowledge and a real team behind you are all part of the same trip.
Self-guided, but properly supported. You turn up, you walk, you eat well, you sleep well. We handle the logistics.
This is not a generic guidebook. We build a private Trail Companion for your dates, your direction, your overnight stops and every day of your Dales Way North.
01
Trail Book
Your exact Dales Way North itinerary — from the place you sleep to the next front door, with the turns people miss and the stops worth making.
02
Trail Book
Follow your stage offline, see what remains and get a live estimate based on the pace you are actually walking. Your GPX is already cut into each day, ready for Garmin, Coros, Suunto, Apple Watch, Komoot or OS Maps.
03
Trail Book
Family and friends see where you are and when you last updated — no app, no account.
Where you'll stay
Stone-village B&Bs at Dent and Sedbergh, then a choice of proper hotels in Kendal or Bowness at the finish. Quiet, riverside stops the whole way.
Every trip is planned around your dates and party, so we can't promise you a specific inn — but we can promise the kind of welcome that makes a walking holiday feel like a proper holiday.
Self-guided, fully supported
Self-guided means the walking is yours and the logistics are ours. You set off on the Dales Way North when you want, walk at whatever pace suits you, and stop where you like — there is no group to keep up with and no leader setting the schedule. Everything that makes an independent long-distance walk hard work to organise is handled before you arrive.
There are no fixed departure dates. Choose your own start day, tell us how many nights you want, and the planner rebuilds the 66 km route around it.
We remove the awkward parts at both ends: quiet reassurance for a solo walker, and no unpaid-invoice chasing for the friend who gets a group moving.
Going solo
We lend solo walkers a satellite GPS tracker. It updates automatically, even away from phone signal, so you can walk freely while the people at home follow your progress.
Bringing friends
Plan a private Dales Way North with us and get one shared trip page. Every walker pays their own deposit by card and adds their own details—no bank transfers or payment spreadsheet.
Reviews from walkers
Every review here comes from someone who actually travelled with us — we only ask once the trip's over, and we don't edit what they say.
Different routes, same team doing the planning, the bookings and the hand-holding — so these say a lot about what to expect here too.
“An amazing and very memorable experience”
We had a really wonderful experience and are very happy that we went ahead with the trek. It was challenging at times, but overall it was an amazing and very memorable experience. The scenery, the trails and the whole journey were absolutely beautiful. Bhagyashree did have some issues with her knee during the trek, which made a few sections difficult. We didn't let that stop us — we completed most of the trek and, wherever necessary, adapted our plans and took a bus or train for certain stretches rather than putting too much strain on her knee. Managing the trek despite the knee issue made the achievement feel even more special.
Thank you once again for all your help and guidance in planning the trek. Will definitely recommend Big Trail Adventures to all.
“Solo or in a group, I would do this again tomorrow!”
One of the best experiences I have had. I did this solo and felt supported all the way with the BigTrailAdventures team, especially in inclement weather. The vistas were incredible and overnight accommodation was faultlessly organised. Pushing myself during the day ( I ran rather than walked the trail), and then being fed and watered in a hotel in the evening was a treat.
The planning was exceptional and all details were covered.
There is a special time every day when you are overcome with the beauty of the nature that you are seeing, the sweeping vistas and the gratitude for being able to experience this. It rejuvenates your soul.
“Awesome support from start to finish”
The hike, which challenged me in different ways each day, was great. There was so much to see in every direction. The Highlands are simply stunning, clouds and all. The stays were good for the most part, some better than others (one night my room was above the kitchen so it was quite noisy until late into the night and the haunted Inn was a bit much for me :)). The Rowardennan Hotel and Craig Nevis guesthouse were my favorites. All of them offered great breakfasts and most had dinner options with good selections as well.
The planning was amazing. No glitches, except for one minor one at the start where the luggage van changed their drop off location without my knowledge. Thankfully Craig was there in the morning and quickly figured out where they were and even dropped off my luggage for me. Everything else was planned and executed perfectly; my itinerary for each day included great detail of what to expect. The app was awesome and my friends and family loved tracking me every day with the GPS. I had read that the West Highland Way is very popular in spring (when I initially had planned to go) and late summer. It took a lot of back and forth communication about potential dates but Craig very patiently worked it all out. All communication was prompt and thorough. I very much appreciate all the support I received prior and during my adventure!! Thank you Craig!
There are so many moments I will carry with me for a long time, like my first glimpse of the Highlands, all the water everywhere, the coos, day 2 along Loch Lomond when I wished I was a mountain goat and was grateful that it did not rain, arriving at Kingshouse after 19 miles, midges (haha), and so much more.
The Dales Way North is a moderate long-distance walk. On the 3-day Hiker pace you'll walk roughly 23, 23 and 18 km — mostly on riverside and field paths, with the moorland crossing from Ribblehead into Dentdale as the wildest section. Under 900 m of total ascent across the whole route. Fine for anyone with a reasonable base fitness who walks regularly; the 4-day Explorer pace breaks the longer stages.
May to September is prime — long days, wildflowers along the Dee and the Kent, and mostly dry underfoot. Spring brings the meadows into flower; October gives clearer views to the Lakeland fells. Winter walking is possible but the moorland stretch above Dentdale takes the weather. Book well ahead for July and August, particularly in Windermere and Bowness.
Ribblehead is a station on the celebrated Settle–Carlisle line, with direct trains south from Leeds or north from Carlisle. From Windermere station (a short taxi from Bowness) trains run to Oxenholme on the West Coast Main Line, with fast connections to London, Manchester, Glasgow and Edinburgh. The Windermere branch is one of the great short train rides in England.
Yes, every day. Your main bag moves between accommodation each morning with a 20 kg allowance; you walk with a daypack containing water, lunch, waterproofs and layers. Carriers cover the whole northern Dales Way route between road-accessible villages.
A mix of Dales village B&Bs, Cumbrian inns (the Sun Inn at Dent, the Black Bull at Sedbergh) and small hotels in Kendal and Bowness. En-suite where the village allows, with breakfast and drying space. Some walkers prefer to stay in Kendal itself on the middle night rather than at Skelsmergh — we'll arrange the short taxi transfer.
The 3-day Hiker package starts at £180 per person — accommodation with breakfast, daily luggage transfer, planning, route notes and our support line while you walk. On top, budget £10–15 a day for a picnic lunch and £20–30 for a pub dinner. Most walkers spend an additional £150–250 across the trip on food, drinks and a taxi or two.
Yes. Every Dales Way North trip we run is self-guided: you walk the route on your own, at your own pace, with no group and no guide. We do the planning and the logistics — an itinerary of 2 – 4 days built around the pace you choose, accommodation booked in your name along the 66 km route, your main bag moved between stays each day, GPX files and route notes for every stage, and a real person on the end of the phone while you're out there. You choose your own start date; there are no fixed departures.
On a guided trip you walk with a leader and a group to a fixed schedule. Self-guided means the day is yours: start when you like, stop for lunch where you like, walk fast or slowly, take a rest day. The route is waymarked and you navigate with the GPX and notes we provide. Everything that makes a trip complicated — accommodation, luggage transfer, the shape of each day — is arranged for you before you arrive.
Yes — the Dales Way North is a signed long-distance route and thousands of people walk it independently every year. What most walkers want help with isn't navigation, it's the 66 km of accommodation, the bag transfers, and getting the daily distances right. That's exactly what we take off your hands, while you still walk it under your own steam.
We do, both. We book walker-friendly B&Bs, inns and small hotels in your name at each overnight stop, with breakfast, and arrange door-to-door luggage transfer between them so you walk with a daypack. You'll get a full itinerary with every address, check-in detail and transfer time before you travel.
Most people take 2 – 4 days for the 66 km. Our planner lets you set your own pace and number of nights, so you can stretch the trip out with shorter days or compress it if you're used to back-to-back big days — the itinerary, accommodation stops and price all update as you change it.
The Dales Way North is the perfect follow-on to the southern half — or a satisfying long weekend on its own. Three days from the Ribblehead Viaduct to Lake Windermere, through some of the quietest corners of both the Yorkshire Dales and the Lake District. Trains at both ends, pubs the whole way, and one of the great arrivals in English walking at the commemorative bench above Windermere.
154 km, Glasgow to Fort William. Scotland's most famous long-distance walk.
127 km from Fort William along Loch Ness to Inverness. Lochside and forest walking.
127 km through the southern Highlands, following the outlaw's old country.
