Pennine Bridleway

The Pennine Bridleway will be a new 350 mile (560km) long National Trail in the north of England. Funded by Natural England and with the support of a £1.8 million Sport England award, the Bridleway will enter the Yorkshire Dales National Park at Long Preston and weave through the Dales via Settle, Malham Moor, Feizor, Austwick, Selside, and Newby Head, leaving the National Park at the Cumbria County Council boundary above Garsdale - a total length of 52 miles (84 km).

One of a family of 15 National Trails in England and Wales and the first to be designed specifically for horse-riders, off-road cyclists and walkers to enjoy, the entire Pennine Bridleway will eventually run from the High Peak Trail in Derbyshire to Byrness, Northumberland.

It follows an interesting mix of old pack horse routes and drove roads (often sensitively refurbished and upgraded), linked with newly created stretches of bridleway. The trail takes in some of the best scenery of the North of England and passes through the Peak District, Yorkshire Dales and Northumberland National Parks.

The Bridleway is a massive project and the route is opening in stages. The first 120 miles from Derbyshire to the Mary Townley Loop in the South Pennines is already open, whilst the first major section in the Yorkshire Dales – the Settle Loop – opened in August 2005.

The Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority is responsible for implementing the section of the Pennine Bridleway that runs through the National Park. This section of our website provides an update on progress to date.

For information about the whole of the Pennine Bridleway visit the Pennine Bridleway website.