The Westmorland and Furness Way is a 120-mile (193 km) walking trail across Cumbria, from Alston in the North Pennines to Furness Abbey near Barrow-in-Furness. It opened on 15 September 2026 and is split into six stages. Most people take 8 to 17 days, walk it north to south, and split the two longest stages. The best months are usually May, June and September.
The Trail at a Glance
- Distance: 120 miles / 193 km, in 6 stages
- Typical time: 8 to 17 days end to end, or walk it in sections
- Start and finish: Alston to Furness Abbey (either direction works)
- Grade: moderate overall; Stage 1 is the hardest day, Stage 6 the easiest
- Highest point: about 784 m, near Greg's Hut on Stage 1
- Best months: May, June and September
- Navigation: waymarked, but carry the GPX plus a paper map and compass
What Is the Westmorland and Furness Way?
It's England's newest long-distance walk, created by Westmorland and Furness Council from an original idea by local walker and guidebook writer David Pitt. The council's countryside access team carried out path repairs and maintenance with local volunteers before the trail opened on 15 September 2026, with a launch at the Black Bull Inn in Sedbergh during the Walking & Wellbeing Festival.
The appeal is variety. In one walk you cross the open moorland of the North Pennines, the red-sandstone farmland of the Eden Valley, the smooth Howgill Fells in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, the southern Lake District and finally the Morecambe Bay coast. It suits walkers who have done a shorter trail such as the Cumbria Way and want something longer but less remote than the Pennine Way. The council also issues a Westmorland and Furness Way passport that you can stamp at stops along the route. For the full background, see what is the Westmorland and Furness Way?
10 Practical Tips for Walking the Trail
- Walk north to south. Starting in Alston saves the ruins of Furness Abbey for the finish, and puts the prevailing south-westerly weather more often beside or behind you than in your face on the high ground.
- Arrive in Alston the night before. Alston has no railway. The most frequent bus is from Haltwhistle station on the Tyne Valley line, Monday to Saturday, and evening and Sunday services are thin.
- Treat Stage 1 as a mountain day. It climbs to about 784 m on open moorland, and there's nowhere to buy food after Garrigill, about 4 miles in. Carry the whole day's food and water, and don't set off in a poor forecast.
- Sort out Milburn in advance. The only bus is the Fellrunner community bus to Penrith, on Tuesdays. Book a taxi, or stay at Dufton or Appleby, which are both a short way into Stage 2.
- Split the two long stages. Stage 2 is nearly 25 miles; Appleby, about 9 miles in, has shops, beds and a station. Stage 4 is 27 miles; Burneside and Staveley are on the Lakes Line railway, so you can stop for the night and pick up where you left off.
- Choose your Stage 3 route at Ravenstonedale. The high route over The Calf is about 18.4 miles and exposed; the low route is about 15.7 miles and much safer in cloud or wind. The two divide at Ravenstonedale, so decide there.
- Check the Windermere Ferry. Stage 5 crosses the lake on the council ferry from Ferry Nab: £1.50 for foot passengers, card only, with no fixed timetable. Check the council's service updates in case it's suspended.
- Book the busy towns early. Bowness fills from Easter to October, and Appleby is booked solid during the Horse Fair in early June.
- Load the GPX, but carry a map. Download the free stage GPX files before you lose signal, and take a paper map and compass for Stage 1 and the Howgills.
- Check tide times for Stage 6. The route stays on paths along Morecambe Bay, but some shore-edge stretches can be affected by big tides. Never try to cross the open sands.
Planning Your Itinerary
The six official stages are uneven, from about 16 to 27 miles, so few people walk one stage a day. A 12 to 14-day plan of around 9 to 11 miles a day gives you time for the towns and a spare day for weather. Fit, experienced walkers can finish in 8 or 9 days at 15 to 20 miles a day. Our itineraries page has day-by-day plans with split points measured from the GPX.
| Stage | Route | Distance | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stage 1 | Alston → Milburn | 16.5 mi | High |
| Stage 2 | Milburn → Kirkby Stephen | 24.8 mi | Moderate |
| Stage 3 | Kirkby Stephen → Sedbergh | 15.7 mi (low) / 18.4 mi (high) | Moderate |
| Stage 4 | Sedbergh → Bowness-on-Windermere | 27 mi | Challenging |
| Stage 5 | Bowness-on-Windermere → Ulverston | 20.9 mi | Moderate |
| Stage 6 | Ulverston → Furness Abbey | 17.7 mi | Easy |
If you can't take two weeks off, walk it in sections. Most stage points have a station or a bus, and the trail divides naturally into long weekends: the North Pennines and Eden Valley, the Howgills, and the Lakes and coast. See walking the trail in sections.
Getting There and Away
To the start: take the train to Haltwhistle on the Newcastle to Carlisle line, then the bus to Alston. A few other buses link Alston with Carlisle, Penrith and Hexham on certain days or in summer.
From the finish: Furness Abbey is on the edge of Barrow-in-Furness. Walk, or take a short bus or taxi ride, into Barrow, where trains run to Lancaster for the West Coast Main Line.
Luggage: because the trail is new, dedicated baggage transfer is still limited. Some local taxi firms and walking-holiday companies will move bags if you arrange it ahead, and your hosts can often recommend someone. Full details are in our accommodation and transport guide.
What to Pack
Pack for the hardest day, not the average one. Cumbria is wet and the tops are colder and windier than the valleys, even in summer. The essentials are:
- a genuinely waterproof jacket and overtrousers, a warm layer, hat and gloves
- broken-in walking boots: the moorland and fell paths are boggy after rain
- the stage GPX on your phone, a power bank, and a paper map and compass
- food and water for a full day, a small first-aid kit and a blister kit
Keep your pack light, ideally under 10 kg, if you're staying indoors. For the full list, weather advice and what to do in an emergency, read our kit and safety guide.
Accommodation and Resupply
The stage towns are the natural overnight stops. Alston, Kirkby Stephen, Sedbergh, Bowness, Ulverston and Barrow all have a choice of B&Bs, inns and self-catering, plus shops for supplies. The gaps are Milburn, which is a small village with very few beds, and the long middle of Stage 4, which has almost nowhere to buy food until Burneside. Appleby and Dufton are useful extra stops on Stage 2, and Staveley on Stage 4. Book as soon as your dates are fixed; see where to stay, stage by stage.
Walking Tips FAQs
The Westmorland and Furness Way is 120 miles (193 km) long, from Alston in the North Pennines to Furness Abbey near Barrow-in-Furness. It is split into six stages of roughly 16 to 27 miles, and Westmorland and Furness Council suggests allowing 8 to 17 days for the whole route.
Overall it's a moderate long-distance walk, but the difficulty varies a lot by stage. Stage 1 over the North Pennines is high, remote moorland and the hardest day; the Stage 3 high route over the Howgill Fells is similar in bad weather. Stages 2 and 4 are long rather than steep, and Stage 6 along the Morecambe Bay coast is easy. Fit walkers with some hill experience will manage it, especially if they split the longest stages.
The trail officially opened on 15 September 2026. It was developed by Westmorland and Furness Council from an original idea by local walker and guidebook writer David Pitt, and was launched at the Black Bull Inn in Sedbergh during the town's Walking & Wellbeing Festival.
They are different walks. The Westmorland Way is Paul Hannon's older route of about 90 miles from Appleby-in-Westmorland to Arnside, published as a guidebook. The Westmorland and Furness Way is the new 120-mile official trail from Alston to Furness Abbey, opened by Westmorland and Furness Council in 2026. There is also a separate, older Furness Way from Arnside to Ravenglass.
Yes, and many people do. Every stage starts and ends somewhere you can reach by public transport, and most stage towns have a railway station or bus link, so the trail works well as a series of weekends or day walks. Milburn, at the end of Stage 1, is the exception: its only bus runs on Tuesdays, so plan a taxi there. See walking the trail in sections.
Keep Planning
Every stage has its own route guide, map, elevation profile and free GPX: start with Stage 1: Alston to Milburn, or see the whole route on the route overview. This is an independent guide; the official route information is on the council's Westmorland and Furness Way website.