Howgills & Limestone Trail
74 mile walk along the western edge of the Yorkshire Dales

The Howgills and Limestone Trail is a 74 mile long-distance walk from Kirkby Stephen to Settle through this picturesque and, in parts, demanding area of Cumbria and North Yorkshire – with a short diversion into Lancashire.

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Holiday Packages

All our Standard Itineraries include:

  • Hand-picked accommodation in B&Bs / guest houses / inns / small hotels
  • En-suite facilities where available
  • Breakfast
  • Daily baggage transfers from our own team of local drivers
  • All booking fees

We will also endeavour to include all these in any custom itinerary you wish to build for this walk.

Itin A:   7D / 8N       £865 pp *

Day 1: Kirkby Stephen to Ravenstonedale (7.1m)
Day 2: Ravenstonedale to Cautley (9.2m)
Day 3: Cautley to Sedbergh (11.4m)
Day 4: Sedbergh to Barbon (11.1m)
Day 5: Barbon to Ingleton (10.9m)
Day 6: Ingleton to Horton in Ribblesdale (11.5m)
Day 7: Horton in Ribblesdale to Settle (12.3m)

 

£1,000 solo walkers (plus single supplements)
£865 per person (based on two sharing)
£820 per person (based on group of 3)
£815 per person (based on group of 4 or more)

 

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Itin B:   4D / 5N       £555 pp *

Day 1: Kirkby Stephen to Cautley (16.3m)
Day 2: Cautley to Barbon (22.5m)
Day 3: Barbon to Chapel le Dale (16.1m)
Day 4: Chapel le Dale to Settle (18.6m)

 

£640 solo walkers (plus single supplements)
£555 per person (based on two sharing)
£525 per person (based on group of 3)
£510 per person (based on group of 4 or more)

 

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Itin C:   5D / 6N       £650 pp *

Day 1: Kirkby Stephen to Cautley (16.3m)
Day 2: Cautley to Sedbergh (11.4m)
Day 3: Sedbergh to Ireby (19.2m)
Day 4: Ireby to Horton in Ribblesdale (15m)
Day 5: Horton in Ribblesdale to Settle (12.3m)

 

£750 solo walkers (plus single supplements)
£650 per person (based on two sharing)
£620 per person (based on group of 3)
£610 per person (based on group of 4 or more)

 

Get a Personal Quote

Itin D:   8D / 9N       £965 pp *

Day 1: Kirkby Stephen to Ravenstonedale (7.1m)
Day 2: Ravenstonedale to Cautley (9.2m)
Day 3: Cautley to Sedbergh (11.4m)
Day 4: Sedbergh to Barbon (11.1m)
Day 5: Barbon to Ireby (7.9m)
Day 6: Ireby to Chapel le Dale (8.2m)
Day 7: Chapel le Dale to Horton in Ribblesdale (6.3m)
Day 8: Horton in Ribblesdale to Settle (12.3m)

 

£1,110 solo walkers (plus single supplements)
£965 per person (based on two sharing)
£915 per person (based on group of 3 or more)

 

Get a Personal Quote

* All headline holiday prices are shown per person, based on two people sharing.

Baggage Transfer

Baggage Transfer is automatically included in the price of all our Walking Holiday packages.

These prices are for anyone planning their own holiday and just need bags moving from one stop to the next.

Itin A

£270 per person (single)
£135 per person (based on two people)
£90 per person (based on group of 3)
£12 per person per day (based on group of 4 or more)

 

Max 17kg per bag

Itin B

£175per person (single)
£90 per person (based on two people)
£60 per person (based on group of 3)
£45 per person (based on group of 4 or more)

 

Max 17kg per bag

Itin C

£200 per person (single)
£100 per person (based on two people)
£70 per person (based on group of 3)
£12 per person per day (based on group of 4 or more)

 

Max 17kg per bag

Itin D

£295 per person (single)
£150 per person (based on two people)
£100 per person (based on group of 3)
£12 per person per day (based on group of 4 or more)

 

Max 17kg per bag

Note: If you are booking accommodation in an Airbnb, you must ensure that there will either be someone available to take collection/delivery of your bags or that they have appropriate, secure storage in the event that the proprietor is absent.

Walk Information

Rest Days
Rest days can be incorporated into any walking holiday package at an additional £70.00 per person per night

Solo Travellers
Solo travellers please contact us or use the booking form to send your proposed itinerary including dates, and we will price accordingly. Where possible, we take advantage of existing bookings from other clients to ensure you receive a cost effective service.

Alternative Itineraries
For alternative itineraries to those provided for this route, please contact us, or use the Booking Form to submit your proposed itinerary and number of participants and we will quote accordingly.

Walking Season Dates
Prices are based on the walk starting after 1st April and ending before 30th September.

Personal Transport
Park at our secure parking in Kirkby Malham, personal transport to Settle, train to Kirkby Stephen. On completion of walk in Settle, we will collect you and bring you back to Kirkby Malham for your car. 

£50 (1 passenger)
£25 per person
(minimum 2 passengers)
£20 per person (3 to 7 passengers)

Walk Information

The Howgills and Limestone Trail is a 76 mile long-distance walk from Kirkby Stephen to Settle through this picturesque and, in parts, demanding area of Cumbria and North Yorkshire - with a short diversion into Lancashire.

It draws its inspiration from Alfred Wainwright's Walks in Limestone Country andWalks in the Howgill Fells.

The route has strong associations with railways. It passes over the spectacular Smardale Gill viaduct, and close to the Stainmore Railway, the disused Ingleton and Tebay Railway, and the Settle–Carlisle railway.
The Trail passes through basically the same area, between Kirkby Stephen and Settle, as that of the latter stages of the Pennine Journey route . However, apart from a few hundred yards above Ingleton Falls, it takes an entirely different route but shares many of the Journey’s staging posts.

Whereas the Pennine Journey arrives in Sedbergh via the Eden and Rawthey valleys, the Trail gets there via the Howgills and the Lune valley. A short rural stretch through Ireby into Ingleton is preceded by the high ground of Middleton Fell and the pot-holing country close to Barbon.

The two routes cross on Ingleborough and again in Horton in Ribblesdale with the Trail's final day taking in an ascent of Penyghent before reaching the spectacular Catrigg Force after crossing the stepping stones of Stainforth Beck. Both routes coincide, and end, at Settle station

OS Explorer Maps
OL2 - Yorkshire Dales - Southern & Western areas
OL19 - Howgill Fells & Upper Eden Valley

Guide Books
"The Howgills and Limestone Trail pictorial guide book" by David Pitt - ISBN: 978-0711234444

Mobile Digital Mapping
Digital maps can be viewed on most modern smartphones using an appropriate app, downloaded from the app store associated with your device. Brigantes recommend that whichever app you use, it should support Ordnance Survey 1:25k or 1:50k scale maps. There are many apps to choose from, but the two main providers are Ordnance Survey and Memory Map.

Each provider’s app has its own benefits, but both provide all-important offline navigation, meaning your device does not need a mobile signal to work effectively on the trail.

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Walkers' Testimonials

Have you walked this route? Please leave a review and let others know what you think.

Use the comments form below to submit your testimonial for this walk. Rest assured, we won’t display or disclose your email address! It is only required to prevent spam – and to enable you to receive notifications of any responses to your review should you select the option to do so.

4 Replies to “Howgills & Limestone Trail”

  1. We’ve just returned home after walking the Howgills & Limestone Trail. As always, the luggage transfer service by Brigantes was first class and greatly appreciated.

    The route is exhilarating and scenic, with lots of interest along the way and plenty of great places to stay (the Cross Keys at Cautley is wonderful!). As others have pointed out, the route between Ease Gill and Ingleton is tedious and downright confusing between Ease Gill and Leck due to acres of shoulder high bracken. We wasted about an hour here, just trying to find the correct path.

    We can also recommend the pods at Broad Croft House, Horton in Ribblesdale – so well equipped and comfortable and directly on the route.

    We look forward to planning our next long distance walk and once again using the excellent service provided by Brigantes – a massive thanks to Annette and her team!

  2. The Howgills and Limestone Trail, which we walked in September 2020, is a brilliantly constructed route taking in fine tops and glorious ridge-walking, with panoramic views if there is good weather. Impressive historic railway viaducts, awesome waterfalls, riverside walking, attractive towns and villages… Staying at the Cross Keys is a must, but it has only two bedrooms and is currently not open all week. The David Pitt guidebook maps are sometimes difficult to follow in farmland. The path round Ease Gill Kirk gorge was totally overgrown with bracken and required some bushwhacking.

    As usual, Brigantes luggage transfer worked perfectly. The walk is mostly very quiet and we highly recommend it.

  3. Just a note of appreciation for ensuring the safe arrival of our baggage on the Howgills and Limestone Trail. Also, please pass on our thanks to your driver, Stuart and your other drivers.

    Route issues we found

    1) Kirkby Stephen – the Poetry Path at NY776080 is closed because of flood damage.

    2) Sedbergh – the footbridge over the River Rawthey opposite the old mill at Birks (SD651913) has been destroyed, however, there is a marked diversion in place.

    3) Barbon – the footbridge over Barbon Beck at SD656828 is damaged but crossable with care.

    Summary

    A very enjoyable walk, apart from Ease Gill to Ingleton (too much mud and too many stiles and farmyards). Altogether, a much better walk than “The Dales Highway”.

    Ray and Pat Horner 2016

    1. Thanks for the feedback Raymond – I will pass on your thanks to the team here at Brigantes.
      The information about the route is very helpful to other walkers and is much appreciated.
      We hope you will consider Brigantes for any future walking holidays.
      Best Regards
      Annette and all at Brigantes

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