Northern England

We’ve divided England into Northern England and Southern England to provide more manageable portions. The number of walk regions and walks in England can be almost overwhelming, so breaking it up in this way helps.

While cataloguing convenience is our main driver, there are some generalisations that can be applied to the north and the south, respectively.

Northern England, being more removed from London’s sphere of influence, has developed differently - regional cultural diversity is still very evident and past eras of material prosperity or aristocratic indulgence are not so obvious. It’s also less populous and more rugged. There are more mountains, lakes, woodlands and moorlands and somehow they seem less contained. Villages and towns are further apart and often have a distinct rural feel. So, for the walker the north provides great scope for walking in remote and isolated terrain.

There’s no “one best walking region” in Northern England, but there are regions that are best suited to different travellers. At Walk Travel Advisory, our aim is to help our clients select locations, walks and walk “products” that are most likely to appeal to them.

We’ll now describe some of the walking regions of Northern England. Further detail is then provided via the links at the bottom of this page.

In the northwest of Northern England lies the treasured Lake District. The Lake District is often referred to as the most beautiful corner of England. In 2017, UNESCO recognised this, awarding the area World Heritage Site status. It offers tranquil lakes, picturesque waterfalls and rivers, dramatic mountainscape, peaceful woodlands, historical sites and bustling Lakeland towns. The charms of the Lake District had a huge influence on some of England’s best known writers, poets and artists including William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, John Ruskin, Arthur Ransome and Beatrix Potter.

Britain’s most popular long-distance walk, the Coast to Coast walk, traverses the Lake District. If you undertake the Coast to Coast in the traditional west-to-east direction, you’ll spend your first few days in the Lake District.

East of the Lake District in central Northern England, lies the Yorkshire Dales National Park. This Park straddles the Pennine Hills, the range sometimes referred to as the backbone of Britain. It features striking limestone scenery, brooding heather moorlands, rolling hills, lush pastures, distinctive dry-stone walls and delightful villages. Each valley has its own character and stories. The Coast to Coast walk passes through the northern reaches of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, the Dales Way meanders from the south-east to the north-west and the Pennine Way runs up through the middle of the National Park.

East of the Yorkshire Dales, extending to the North Sea, is the North York Moors National Park. This Park, particularly in its extensive upland parts, features vast expanses of heather moorland. The whole area, together with its eastern neighbour, the above-mentioned Yorkshire Dales National Park, was made famous by the well-known vet and author James Herriot. He described the region’s landscape as containing “England’s finest vistas”. The Coast to Coast path makes the most of the vistas, traversing the entire width of the Park to the path’s finish at Robin Hood’s Bay, while the Cleveland Way (a National Trail) takes a horseshoe route through the Park.

In the far north of Northern England, lies the sometimes forgotten Northumberland. Northumberland boasts an array of ancient castles, forts, Roman walls and other historic sites. Alnwick Castle, the setting for many Hogwarts scenes in the Harry Potter films, is a must-visit site. The Northumberland coast is home to long, wide beaches, rocky cliffs and abundant birdlife. It’s the setting for the 220 km Northumberland Coast Path that runs from Newcastle to the Scottish border. Inland, the Northumberland National Park contains the North Pennines and the best preserved stretches of Hadrian’s Wall. The Park’s pollution-free conditions have made it an International Dark Sky Park. Hadrian’s Wall Path and the northern portion of the Pennine Way are the area’s most prominent multi-day walks.

The southern portion of Northern England contains another highly popular region for walkers - the Peak District National Park. This National Park was the UK’s first national park, receiving that protected status in 1951. The walking trails here deliver diverse scenery and panoramic views including towering limestone outcrops, rolling valleys, calm lakes, ancient woodlands and heather-clad moors. Great hospitality is on offer in Derbyshire villages such as Castleton and Bakewell. The walk from Hayfield to Kinder Scout is of historical and cultural significance to English walkers as it was the scene of the 1932 “Mass Trespass” which led to the uniquely English “right to roam” through privately owned “access land”.

North York Moors

The North York Moors National Park offers amazing landscape diversity, including both mountainous upland moors and a heritage coastline replete with smuggling coves and historic fishing villages. The area was made famous by the popular book and television series “All Creatures Great and Small”.

Peak District

The Peak District National Park is Britain's oldest national park and is one of the UK’s most popular walking destinations. It contains a fascinating mix of landscapes. In the northern sections you will find iconic mountains, gritstone formations and moorlands. The southern sections offer beautiful valleys, rivers and deep limestone gorges.