the pennine bridleway

what is it?

The Pennine Bridleway is a new National Trail in the north of England, being planned and designed specifically for horse riders, off-road cyclists and walkers to enjoy.  It will eventually run from the High Peak Trail in Derbyshire to Byrness, Northumberland, a distance of 560km (350 miles) and is due to be opened in 2010.

The idea for the Pennine Bridleway came from Mary Towneley, who, in 1986, rode from Derbyshire to Northumberland to highlight the state of the country’s bridleways. A circular route, called the Mary Towneley Loop, includes Hebden Bridge and Todmorden and forms part of the 200km (120 miles) of the route already open to the public.

The National Trail enters the Yorkshire Dales National Park at Long Preston and weaves through the Dales via Settle, Malham Moor, Feizor, Austwick, Selside, Newby Head and exits the park at the Cumbria County Boundary above Garsdale, a total length of approximately 52 miles. The route runs through some of the most outstanding scenery and wildlife habitats in the Yorkshire Dales National Park including the Ingleborough Special Area for Conservation and National Nature Reserve. 

when is it coming?

So far, about £1.5million has been spent creating the Yorkshire Dales National Park section including money for repairs to the route to bring it up to a nationally-recognised standard. The money has come mainly from Natural England (formerly Countryside Agency) with additional funding from the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust.

The only section open through the Yorkshire Dales National Park is the Settle Loop.  The 16kms Loop, which starts and finishes in Settle, stretches east towards Malham and opened in August 2005 to provide a day trip excursion off the main route of the Pennine Bridleway for horse riders, mountain bikers and walkers.

Pennine Bridleway work carried out by the Park Authority so far includes:

• Work on Ling Ghyll Bridge in Cam Road in Horton-in-Ribblesdale. The historic bridge, which crosses Cam Beck, was last repaired in 1765.  In addition a 4.7km section of existing badly damaged track has been repaired from Ling Ghyll Bridge to Cam Houses.
  
• 2007 saw the creation of a new 4km section of Bridleway linking Cam High Road to the B6255 Ingleton to Hawes road.
  
• Repair work on an isolated, 3.7kms stretch of the Lady Anne Byway near Garsdale. All the equipment had to be flown in as well as 1,700 tonnes of aggregate.
  
• Austwick bridleways and Bark House restoration.  Sympathetic restoration work to the labyrinth of historic narrow walled lanes between Helwith Bridge and Austwick.

how do i find out more?

For more information on the Pennine Bridleway in the Yorkshire Dales, please contact the Pennine Bridleway Officer on 0870 1 666 333 or at pennine.bridleway@yorkshiredales.org.uk.

For further information on the development of the new National Trail visit the website at www.nationaltrails.co.uk/penninebridleway