Pennine Way · Stage 5
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.
Through the Aire Gap by Thornton-in-Craven and Gargrave to Malham: 27 km.
Best season: All year; mid-May to September is best. The trail can be walked all year, National Trails says, but the weather is usually best from mid-May to September. Expect snow on the northern hills in winter. The Pennines are wet, about 2.5 m of rain and snow a year, and on the tops the wind can bring the temperature near zero even in summer. Several stays open only part of the year. 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 hamlet by Cowling, with a farm campsite and a guest house close by.
OpenStreetMap lists at least 2 places to stay within about 1300 m (read 13 October 2026). TrailSplits has not checked which are open.
Winterhouse Barn · Camping spot
Season 2026: 2026 dates not published
Stage end · overnight
Town
A village below Malham Cove with YHA Malham, B&Bs, a bunk barn and campsites.
OpenStreetMap lists at least 10 places to stay within about 1300 m (read 13 October 2026). TrailSplits has not checked which are open.
YHA Malham · 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 7 h 39 of walking.
Make it your trip
Places to stay are limited in places, National Trails says, so book ahead. There is no general right to wild camp in England: ask the landowner, and mind the fire risk on the moors. Baggage-transfer services run along the trail. Several stays open only part of the year: Crowden's campsite from late March to late October, the Forest View Inn at Byrness from April, and the Friends of Nature hostel at Kirk Yetholm is closed for the 2026 season.
The National Trail's sixteen days, a night at the end of each.
Plan this journeyThe Peak District and the South Pennines into the Yorkshire Dales in six days.
Plan this journeyThe Dales, the North Pennines, Hadrian's Wall and the Cheviots in ten days.
Plan this journeyLoading the forecast for low point (110 m) and high point (385 m)…
Typical weather on this stage: at the lowest point (110 m) and the highest point (385 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 | 5°/1° | 5°/1° | 8°/1° | 10°/3° | 14°/6° | 16°/9° | 18°/10° | 18°/10° | 15°/8° | 11°/6° | 8°/3° | 5°/1° |
| Low point, day / night | 7°/2° | 7°/2° | 9°/3° | 12°/4° | 15°/7° | 18°/10° | 20°/12° | 19°/12° | 17°/10° | 13°/7° | 10°/4° | 7°/2° |
| Rain, mm | 121 | 94 | 87 | 73 | 72 | 96 | 100 | 112 | 104 | 125 | 127 | 139 |
| Snow at high point | Possible | Possible | Frost | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | Possible |
| Daylight | 7 h 56 | 9 h 45 | 11 h 45 | 13 h 58 | 15 h 55 | 17 h 05 | 16 h 39 | 14 h 57 | 12 h 48 | 10 h 40 | 8 h 37 | 7 h 26 |
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.
National Trails lists two diversions. At Bellingham, a short section is closed from 12 October 2026 to 1 January 2027 for works on the flood embankment; a diversion is signed. Dryburn Bridge between Alston and Garrigill is closed after flood damage; follow the signed diversion.
National Trails: Pennine Way trail informationDay 10, Middleton-in-Teesdale to Dufton, is 34 km and day 13, Greenhead to Bellingham, 35 km: Langdon Beck and Once Brewed split them. Day 11 crosses Cross Fell with over 1,000 m of climb. The Cheviots, days 15 and 16, have no facilities, only two emergency refuges.
National Trails: route descriptionMuch of the trail crosses open moor and bog, flagged in places, on paths that are hard to follow in mist. Carry a map and compass and know how to use them, and turn back in bad weather on the tops.
National Trails: Pennine WayGetting there
Travel around Ickornshaw to Malham.
Google Maps journey searches, not confirmed services. A mountain endpoint may need a booked transfer or an additional walk.
Edale has a station on the Hope Valley line between Manchester and Sheffield (Northern), with trains all year.
National Rail: EdaleTrains reach Hebden Bridge, 1.6 km off the route in the Calder valley, Gargrave, and Horton in Ribblesdale on the Settle to Carlisle line (Northern). Further north the buses are few: the 681 from Alston and Greenhead to Haltwhistle station, and the 680 from Bellingham to Hexham (Go North East). Tan Hill and Dufton have no public transport.
National Trails: getting to the Pennine WayBus 81 runs from Kirk Yetholm to Kelso, Monday to Saturday, with no service on 25 and 26 December or 1 and 2 January; some journeys run in school terms only. From Kelso, buses go on to Berwick-upon-Tweed and its station.
Scottish Borders Council: bus timetablesTake your trip with you
Prepare each day while you still have a connection: on the moors and in the Cheviots the signal is often weak or gone.
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 gives 268 miles (431 km), counting both sides of the Bowes Loop, the spur to the Cheviot summit and the alternative routes; its sixteen days add up to about 254 miles (409 km). National Trails publishes no stage times for its days, only distances, so the times here are measured on our line. The line here is the route on OpenStreetMap (the Pennine Way's eleven section relations, from the planet of 11 October 2026): 411 km from Edale to Kirk Yetholm by the main route, without the Bowes Loop, cut at the sixteen day ends. Much of it crosses open moor: carry a map and compass. Our climb is measured on terrain heights, so short steep banks 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: the Pennine WayMap data © OpenStreetMap contributors · Source relation