Settle to Carlisle Walk

The Settle to Carlisle Walk is 171.92 km long with 6,608 m of total ascent, so it is firmly a multi-day route rather than a weekend walk. Most hikers split a route of this length and difficulty into about 8 to 12 days, depending on pace, weather, and how much time is spent around stations and viaduct viewpoints along the way.

The Settle to Carlisle Walk begins in the Settle area, with the staged route starting at Giggleswick in North Yorkshire, and it finishes in Carlisle. The walk broadly follows the corridor of the famous Settle-Carlisle railway north through the Yorkshire Dales and onward into Cumbria.

The best-known landmark on the Settle to Carlisle Walk is Ribblehead Viaduct, the dramatic 24-arch railway viaduct in the Ribblehead area. The route also follows the wider Settle-Carlisle railway corridor through classic Pennine scenery, passing places linked with stations such as Dent, Garsdale, Kirkby Stephen, Appleby, and Armathwaite before reaching Carlisle.

Yes, the Settle to Carlisle Walk is a difficult long-distance hike. Its 171.92 km length and 6,608 m of climbing make it a demanding route that suits experienced hikers who are comfortable with repeated ascent and descent over many days in exposed northern upland terrain.

Yes. One of the practical advantages of the Settle to Carlisle Walk is that it follows the Settle-Carlisle railway corridor, so rail access is available at or near places including Settle, Ribblehead, Dent, Garsdale, Kirkby Stephen, Appleby, Armathwaite, and Carlisle. That makes it realistic to hike the route in shorter sections as well as in one continuous trip.

The Settle to Carlisle Walk crosses some of northern England’s most dramatic upland country, following the railway line through the Yorkshire Dales and the North Pennines before descending toward Carlisle. Expect limestone country near Settle, big open moorland around Ribblehead and Ais Gill, major Victorian railway structures, and long valley views through places such as Ribblesdale and the Eden Valley.