WAGFINDER
Walk · Cumbria

The Pennine Way north from Alston to Whitley Castle

Alston · CA9 3JB
A689 A686 River South Tyne River South Tyne Coppice Wood N 880 YD © OpenStreetMap contributors
5MILES
2h 40mON FOOT
200mCLIMB
Out & backSHAPE
The route A-road B-road Lane Track Path Water Woodland
Off-road 90% 10% shares tarmac with cars
Field & moor path 74%Lane & track 16%Road with traffic 10%

Our drawing of the route, over road and path data from OpenStreetMap. It shows where the walk goes and what it goes through. It is not a survey and not a navigation aid — carry OS Explorer on the hill. Off-lead information here is what walkers reported or what signage allows — never our advice. Whether and when a dog is off the lead is the owner’s decision and legal responsibility; keep dogs under control near livestock and follow signs on the day.

Starts at
Alston Station car park, at the north end of the town CA9 3JB
Parking
Free car park at Alston Station, or the free Town Hall car park five minutes' walk up the hill.
Directions to the start →

Two and a half miles north out of Alston on the Pennine Way to the grass ramparts of Whitley Castle, the Roman fort of Epiacum on the Maiden Way, and back the same line. The path climbs steadily out of the town past Harbut Lodge, drops to cross the Gilderdale Burn and then contours up the hillside with the whole South Tyne valley opening behind you. It is walled pasture the whole way with stock in most fields and a fair number of gates. The fort itself is on working farmland, so the lead stays on.

THE SMALL PRINTClose control on rights of way, preferably a fixed short lead, and a short lead near livestock and nesting birds, per the North Pennines National Landscape. Cattle may approach a dog - if you feel threatened, let the dog go and retreat.

House rules, decoded

Livestock — leads on
REGION · CUMBRIA
GRID · 54.8148, -2.4457
SOURCE · HTTPS://NORTHPENNINES.ORG.UK/VISIT-EXPLORE/WALKING/DOGS-IN-THE-NORTH-PENNINES/
Also in Alston
WAGFINDER No photo yet
Stay NOT CHECKED YET

Alston House Hotel

CA9 3RN
No reviews yet

Alston House Hotel is a place to stay on Townfoot, Alston. It is listed here so you know it is there, but we have not yet established whether dogs are welcome — so there is no verdict on this page and no stamp. If it is your business, claim the page and tell us, and we will stamp it.

NOT CHECKED YET · IS THIS YOURS? VIEW ›
WAGFINDER No photo yet
1 MILE © OpenStreetMap contributors 5.4 MI · OUT & BACK
DOGS WELCOME

Alston to Garrigill on the South Tyne Trail

Alston
No reviews yet
5.4MILES
2:35TIME
130mCLIMB
90%OFF-ROAD
Off-lead allowed Livestock — leads on

Five and a half miles there and back in around two and a half hours, upstream from England’s highest market town on riverside path and old trackbed to the green at Garrigill. Start from the station car park at Alston, beside the South Tynedale Railway, which is free and the largest parking in the town; the cobbled market place has only a handful of spaces. The South Tyne is alongside almost the whole way with plenty of places for a dog to get in, and much of it is safely off the lead, but riverside meadows are grazed by sheep and there are stiles and gates to negotiate at the field boundaries.

VERIFIED 29 JUL 2026 VIEW WALK ›
WAGFINDER No photo yet
1 MILE © OpenStreetMap contributors 5 MI · LINEAR — PLAN THE RETURN
SOME LIMITS

Alston to Slaggyford on the South Tyne Trail

Alston
No reviews yet
5MILES
2:30TIME
90mCLIMB
94%OFF-ROAD
Off-lead allowed Livestock — leads on

Five miles of nearly level linear walking in two and a half hours, north down the South Tyne valley on the old Haltwhistle branch railway past Kirkhaugh and Lintley to Slaggyford. Start at Alston station car park, which is free and the largest in the town, and take the narrow-gauge South Tynedale Railway back from Slaggyford rather than walking it twice, since the trail and the line run side by side. Traffic-free trackbed makes this the safest long off-lead walk in the North Pennines, with the South Tyne close by for a drink, but the viaducts have open parapets, sheep graze the adjoining fields, and dogs must be on a lead on the train.

VERIFIED 29 JUL 2026 VIEW WALK ›
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