Coast to Coast Path · Stage 6
Walking time measured on the mapped line (TrailSplits time model, moving time; within 22 % on four in five test legs). Outside Switzerland our walking times often run short of the times route operators publish; treat them as optimistic. Climb measured on the mapped line, on terrain heights.
Over Nine Standards Rigg, then down Whitsundale into upper Swaledale to Keld: 18.5 km on the route file, 18.4 km on our line.
Best season: All year; best from spring to autumn. The Coast to Coast can be walked all year, National Trails says, but it is best from spring to autumn. The western section through the Lake District is the most demanding, and several sections are hilly, steep and remote. Some stays are seasonal: the Bank House Farm bunkhouse near Glaisdale is open April to October. Before you go
Facts read from the guide's sources and OpenStreetMap on 13 October 2026. A page can change after we read it, so confirm with your accommodation before you rely on a date or a bed.
Stage start
Town
A market town. Its station on the Settle-Carlisle line is outside the town.
A town or village: find accommodation yourself. TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Kirkby Stephen Hostel · Hostel or bunkhouse
Season 2026: 2026 dates not published
Pennine View Park · Camping spot
Season 2026: 2026 dates not published
Stage end · overnight
Town
A tiny hamlet at the head of Swaledale. The trail map lists eight places within 3 km; book early.
A town or village: find accommodation yourself. TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Keld Bunkhouse and Park House Campsite · Hostel or bunkhouse
Season 2026: 2026 dates not published
No walking time is published for this leg. Measured on the mapped line, the stage takes about 4 h 44 of walking.
Make it your trip
There is no booking for the whole trail: each stay is booked with its owner. The trail is popular and beds book up quickly in peak season, National Trails says: book well in advance, and if you walk the whole trail consider starting on a Monday or Tuesday, out of step with the crowds. Its accommodation map lists only about 80 places, none within 3 km of Richmond and one each at Ennerdale Bridge and Patterdale: there are more beds than it shows. Clay Bank Top has no village: its huts are 1.3 km off the route, or go down to Great Broughton or Chop Gate.
The National Trail's twelve stages, a night at the end of each.
Plan this journeyThe Lake District and the limestone country in five stages, to the Settle-Carlisle line.
Plan this journeyThe Dales, the Vale of Mowbray and the North York Moors in seven stages, from the Settle-Carlisle line.
Plan this journeyLoading the forecast for low point (166 m) and high point (660 m)…
Typical weather on this stage: at the lowest point (166 m) and the highest point (660 m). Select a month to see why it is rated as it is.
| Month | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weather | Mixed | Mixed | Mixed | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Mixed | Mixed |
| High point, day / night | 4°/-1° | 4°/-1° | 6°/0° | 9°/1° | 12°/4° | 15°/7° | 17°/9° | 16°/9° | 13°/7° | 10°/4° | 6°/2° | 4°/-1° |
| Low point, day / night | 6°/1° | 7°/1° | 9°/2° | 12°/4° | 15°/6° | 17°/9° | 19°/11° | 19°/11° | 16°/9° | 13°/6° | 9°/4° | 7°/1° |
| Rain, mm | 197 | 158 | 136 | 103 | 107 | 115 | 142 | 153 | 152 | 189 | 195 | 213 |
| Snow at high point | Possible | Possible | Possible | Frost | – | – | – | – | – | – | Frost | Possible |
| Daylight | 7 h 50 | 9 h 42 | 11 h 44 | 14 h | 16 h | 17 h 12 | 16 h 45 | 15 h | 12 h 49 | 10 h 38 | 8 h 33 | 7 h 20 |
Source: TerraClimate 1991–2020 monthly averages. Averages for the area at each point’s elevation (4 km grid, corrected for height). Not a forecast or a report of current trail conditions. Snow at the high point is estimated with a simple snowpack model from these temperatures and precipitation, not observed; steep islands and high summits can hold more snow than it shows. Daylight is for the 15th of each month. Hut, transport and park seasons are separate: check them for your dates.
Before you go
Arrange your stays, food and travel first, then check conditions again near departure.
A 3 km stretch of the cliff path over St Bees Head, between St Bees and Fleswick Bay, is closed after landslips, National Trails says (notice updated 25 March 2026, read 13 October 2026). No reopening date is given. Our line still crosses it: follow the signed diversion, the Temporary Route signs to and from St Bees; the notice has a map of it.
National Trails: temporary route at St BeesThe approved route does not cross the A19 at Ingleby Arncliffe, at the end of stage 9. A signed alternative goes north to cross by the Black Swan bridge, then back south into Ingleby Arncliffe and Ingleby Cross. Our line does not draw it: follow the signs (route description, read 13 October 2026).
National Trails: route descriptionOn 13 October 2026 the National Trails map listed one notice, the temporary route at St Bees, and the trail information named the St Bees diversion and the A19 alternative. Check both before you set off.
National Trails: trail information and mapThe western section through the Lake District is the most demanding, National Trails says, and several sections are hilly, steep and remote: carry a map and compass on the high fells. Patterdale to Shap is one of its most challenging days. Richmond to Ingleby Cross is 45 km on flat ground, with no stay on the trail map on the way (trail information, read 13 October 2026).
National Trails: trail informationFrom Keld, the route crosses the high moors past old lead-mining remains; National Trails also gives an optional low-level route by the river. Our line and its GPX follow the high route only.
National Trails: route descriptionGetting there
Travel around Kirkby Stephen to Keld.
Google Maps journey searches, not confirmed services. A mountain endpoint may need a booked transfer or an additional walk.
Trains run to St Bees from Carlisle or Lancaster, National Trails says. Northern manages St Bees station; Carlisle is managed by Avanti West Coast.
National Rail: St Bees stationTwo stations on the route let you leave or join the walk: Kirkby Stephen on the Settle-Carlisle line, outside the town, and Glaisdale on the Esk Valley line. Northern manages both.
National Rail: Glaisdale stationAt the end, catch a bus to Whitby station, National Trails says; it names no operator, so check the times before you go. Northern manages Whitby station.
National Rail: Whitby stationTake your trip with you
Prepare each stage while you still have a connection: on the fells and the moors the signal can be weak.
Keep your route and maps on your phone for places without a signal. For multi-day trips, prepare them in the installed TrailSplits app.
Saving a bookmark is not a map download. Storage can be cleared by your device; keep a backup map for remote trips.
Route & sources
National Trails publishes the Coast to Coast Path, a National Trail since 26 March 2026, as twelve stages from St Bees to Robin Hood's Bay, 190 miles (306 km); most people take 12 to 15 days, it says. It publishes no stage times and no stage distances, so the official distances shown are measured on its route file (GPX, 302.4 km for the main route) between the stage ends, and the times are ours. The line here is the route on OpenStreetMap (superroute 12145 and its three section relations, from the planet of 11 October 2026): 302.9 km, cut at the twelve stage ends, every stage within 0.3 km of the route file's. Our line still crosses the closed cliff path on St Bees Head on stage 1: follow the signed diversion. It does not draw the signed A19 alternative at Ingleby Arncliffe on stage 9, and it leaves out the optional low-level route from Keld to Reeth. Our climb is measured on terrain heights, so short steep steps are smoothed out.
Official guidance and mapped-source comparison checked 13 October 2026. Map data is a route reference, not confirmation of today's path, weather or accommodation availability.
National Trails: Coast to Coast PathMap data © OpenStreetMap contributors · Source relation