100 miles on foot through Yorkshire and Cumbria

In 1643, the 60 year old Lady Anne Clifford inherited the lands which should have been hers at the death of her father 38 years earlier – but instead were grabbed by her uncle. But even 38 years late, her inheritance was one worth waiting for. As well as vast estates stretching across Westmorland and West Yorkshire, there were five castles: Brough, Brougham, Appleby, Skipton and…

… the best named castle in England – Pendragon.

She also owned Barden Tower – a hunting lodge in name but, let’s face it, pretty damn castle-y. Let’s call it six castles.

For the next 30 years, Anne spent the rest of her life criss-crossing her lands: rebuilding, embellishing and maintaining her castles and homes and estates. There are worse lives.

I came across Sheila Gordon’s guidebook to the Lady Anne’s Way several years ago and thought the path … intriguing. For a start how many long distance paths are named after a woman? Can you think of another? And for a second start, it describes a fresh – for me – route across the Yorkshire Dales. Also, I love a castle and visiting a new one will always be a draw. The Lady Anne’s Way long distance footpath links all five/six of Anne’s castles beginning at her birthplace in Skipton and ending at Brougham Castle where – spoiler alert – she died in 1676 aged 86. 

The Lady Anne’s Way peeked my interest; I marked it down as a do-er and squirrelled the guidebook away amongst dusty maps, crumpled papers, biscuit wrappers and well-thumbed walking guide books until the day when walking from Skipton to Penrith seemed like the right thing to do.

That day turned out to be in September 2024. And it was fortuitous, for the weather was kind and generous, the ‘Way exhilarating, the sky enormous, the scenery glorious.

My partner Jim and I had few problems following the route; which as our copy of the guidebook was 11 years old was not a given. We had only a couple of downpours to endure (though actually I don’t mind a downpour so very much – so long as I’m suitably Goretexed) and suffered no injury or calamity; not even a no-speaky day. So that’s nice.

Following in the steps of Lady Anne’s usual procession between estates, we walked for six days across pasture and high remote fells, through forests, along rivers and streams. And mostly the two of us were alone. The Lady Anne’s Way is not a busy path – except for where it shares the route with the Dales Way along the Wharfe. There it was (comparatively) heaving.

As we traipsed slowly across country, we tried to imagine how much, how little the landscape has changed in the 250 years since Anne travelled the same paths by horse-litter.

But hers wasn’t the only history we uncovered. There was a more recent, poignant story too.

I had booked our accommodation far in advance to ensure we could overnight where Sheila Gordon suggests. And, as I am increasingly prone to lower back pain and an arthritic neck, I arranged for Sherpa Van to move our luggage from one night’s stop to the next, allowing us to enjoy each day’s walk carrying only a day sack.

Here is a day by day account of our walk along the Lady Anne’s Way in September 2024.

Day 1 – Skipton to Grassington – 15½ miles

Day 2 – Grassington to Buckden – 12½ miles

Day 3 – Buckden to Hawes – 18 miles (coming soon)

Day 4 – Hawes to Kirkby Stephen – 17¼ miles (coming soonish)

Day 5 – Kirkby Stephen to Appleby – 16½ miles (coming quite soon)

Day 6 – Appleby to Penrith – 19¾ miles (coming a little after soon)