Coast to Coast Path: Nine Standards Rigg

Saturday 29th August 2026

My seventh day on the Coast to Coast Path started in the market town of Kirkby Stephen and I was keen to get going as quickly as possible because rain was forecast in the afternoon. This is a significant stage on the Coast to Coast because at the top of Nine Standards Rigg I crossed the national watershed, which means that up to that point the water in the rivers had all flown towards me, finally ending in the Irish Sea, and from that point they all flowed away from me into the North Sea, though the halfway point on the whole trail would not come until the end of this section of the Coast to Coast Path. Before then I needed to climb over Nine Standards Rigg, which I have climbed several times before, first in 2004, and then in 2010, while on the Coast to Coast Walk, though I actually went around it, and finally in 2014 I went in the opposite direction. The second edition of Wainwright’s Coast to Coast Walk introduced an alternative route from Kirkby Stephen towards Nine Standards Rigg via Ladthwaite Beck and I am very keen to take it, but a quiet road has always been the preferred route of the Coast to Coast Walk and in view of the impending rain I reluctantly decided to take that way again this time. The Ladthwaite Beck alternative will just have to wait. Despite the poor weather forecast, the sun was still shining as I left Kirkby Stephen, crossed the River Eden and passed through the quaint village of Hartley before climbing steeply up the road. 

Wainwright’s route of the Coast to Coast Walk continued along the public right-of-way beyond the end of the road up the western slopes of Nine Standards Rigg to old coal pits at Robinson Haggs and then climbed pathless, avoiding peat hags, up to the summit. By the nineties the erosion to the peat was so severe the trail was moved to Faraday Gill and seasonal alternatives were devised with the December to April route bypassing the top, which is the route I took in April 2010. National trail status has finally provided the funding to make that all unnecessary and soon I discovered flagstones lining the path beside Faraday Gill and these led me up to the nine magnificently constructed cairns that are the eponymous standards. I didn’t stay long and soon I made my way along the flagstone path past a viewpoint and up to the trig point that marks the summit of Nine Standards Rigg. The flagstones continued over a dip, at the head of Whitsundale Beck, to the junction where the August to November route previously took unlucky Coast to Coast walkers down into the valley. When I was here in September 2004, those on the Coast to Coast struggled over the muddy peat at this point while I returned to Kirkby Stephen. Now, the flagstones continue along the original route of the Coast to Coast Walk heading south over White Mossy Hill and Lady Dike Head.

The flagstones cover a long distance over the mountain and is an impressive sight marching across the peat. I had an enjoyable walk briskly crossing the top of the mountain, slowly descending until eventually the flagstones led me onto a track where I turned left and followed it to a shooting hut. Beyond, a slender path through the grass made me think I had lost the trail because it was so faint, but it soon became clearer again alongside Ney Gill and led me to the tiny farming hamlet of Ravenseat. After passing the farm I followed the footpath through many grassy fields and past many abandoned buildings slowly making my way down the valley of Whitsun Dale to the infant River Swale. Before reaching a bridge over the river I turned left to follow a narrow path through tall bracken above trees and the crags of Cotterby Scar, and when I reached a road I turned right to cross the river and head into the village of Keld. Despite having been in this area on three previous occasions I had never been to Keld, because I had always kept to the north of the river and avoided the unnecessary climb into the village. Now, I kept strictly to the trail walking along the road that led me into Keld where this stage of the Coast to Coast Path ends. Keld is not only the halfway point for the trail, but nearby is the point where the Coast to Coast crosses another mountain-crossing national trail: the Pennine Way. After walking through the tiny village of Keld I descended to the junction with the Pennine Way and then steeply down to the River Swale. A short climb then led me to another junction where the two great national trails part company with the Pennine Way heading north and the Coast to Coast Path east into Swale Dale.

There is little choice of accommodation in Keld, so in 2010 I did two stages in one day, which was very exhausting, so this time I wanted to split it into two days and my solution was to divert onto the Pennine Way north to Tan Hill Inn. After an initial, exhausting, steep climb, the gradient eased, but was still unrelentingly uphill until eventually I reached the highest inn in Britain, which I had previously stayed at in 2009 while on the Pennine Way. The rain had held off, though I was teased with a few drops while on the approach to Keld, so when I reached the crowded Tan Hill Inn I decided to occupy some time by continuing along the Pennine Way heading onto Sleightholme Moor. However, the landscape soon became very depressing with hardly any change in gradient and heather moorland in all directions. This is typical of the Pennine Way and why Wainwright didn’t like it, which is also why he felt compelled to create a better trail, the Coast to Coast Walk. I kept going along the Pennine Way until, after fifteen minutes, it finally started to rain so I turned around and retraced my steps back to Tan Hill Inn.

Coast to Coast Path: Limestone Country

Friday 28th August 2026

On the day before this walk I had left the Lake District and reached the village of Shap where there are not many affordable places to stay for the solo traveller, so I caught a bus to the town of Penrith and, after spending the night there, I caught a bus back to Shap. This meant I didn’t restart the Coast to Coast Path until mid-morning with almost twenty miles of walking ahead of me. However, unlike while walking across the Lake District, the terrain was now relatively flat over wide, empty lands, so I was confident that I could easily cover the distance. The Coast to Coast Path soon took me out of Shap, across the railway line and up to the M6 motorway, which marks a third of the way across the country. I had left the fells of the Lake District behind me and, as I passed the now disused Shapfell Quarry, ahead of me was a very different landscape with limestone crags soon lining my way. A clear track took me into a vast, open landscape under dark clouds that threatened rain and on reaching the enclosed settlement of Oddendale I entered the Yorkshire Dales and turning right I set off into the open heather moorland. The easy walking soon led me to an area of limestone outcrops that was a fascinating place for me to stand while gazing at the plants growing in the sheltered cracks between the limestone slabs, but soon I lost all sense of direction and it took me awhile to locate the path again.

While light rain briefly fell, the path took me across a very gently undulating terrain around the head of the River Lyvennet before turning south to pass through an area where some young trees have been planted. I previously did most of the Coast to Coast Walk in 2010 and it has been interesting for me to compare and look at the differences that have been made to the trail since then with the biggest being national trail status, but seeing these trees planted on what was previously empty moorland is more subtle. I have also been intrigued by the many changes that have been made to route of the trail since Wainwright first devised the Coast to Coast Walk more than fifty years ago. His stated aim was to stick to right-of-ways, however, it soon became apparent that this was not the case and his biggest problem starts at this point. Wainwright took the trail across Great Asby Scar, a vast limestone plateau with little public access at the time, so eventually the trail had to be diverted around it. Initially this was along roads through the village of Orton, which added two miles to the trail, but the revised edition introduced a new route through the farmland below the escarpment. 

Wainwright’s original route is now technically access land so it could be taken, but the modern route is shorter and easier to follow, so, while it would be interesting to explore the original route across Great Asby Scar, I would need plenty of spare time and not while doing the Coast to Coast Path. The national trail follows the revised route and it is the route I took in 2010 so I did so again, though it is very dull as it crosses many enclosed, grassy fields. There was some compensation with the slopes to my left rising steeply to the tops that the trail original crossed while to my right, across the wide Lune valley I could see the Howgill Fells in the distance, with the weather surprisingly clearing at this point, though rain could still be seen ahead of me. Eventually the agricultural interlude mercifully ended in an area of moorland with the purple flowers of heather shining brightly under the grey, overcast skies. 

At a crossing of paths Wainwright’s original Coast to Coast route comes down from the hills but the modern Coast to Coast Path turns right at this point, so the meeting is brief, as I headed south. Wainwright originally took the trail around the northern banks of Sunbiggin Tarn, but the trail later took a wide diversion to the south along a road and then on what was originally described as difficult to follow and very wet, but is now easy going with wooden causeways crossing the wettest section. I enjoyed the abundance of wild flowers and heather on Tarn Moor, which was a pleasure for me to walk through in weather that was better than feared. Although I missed the Lake District, there was a lot to appeal in walking amongst this rich vegetation in quiet isolation, which you don’t get in the Lakes, and the gentler gradients made it considerably less tiring. Unfortunately, the landscape soon deteriorated to be replaced by a monoculture of grass grazed by the sheep of Ravenstonedale Moor, so I was relieved when a walled enclosure disrupted the monotony. After crossing a road I was finally reunited with Wainwright’s original route, which for seven miles had been going its own way, though there were still more variations ahead. I was now on a clear track running beside a wall, which was eventually crossed, only to continue following the wall. The Coast to Coast Walk originally crossed this field, but now the path goes around so as not to disturb the remains of ancient settlements.

With stunning views ahead of me into Smardale, the steepest gradients on this section of the trail took me down into the valley and after crossing the bridge I climbed back out with fabulous views of Smardalegill Viaduct on the disused Lune valley railway line. As the gradient eased heather appeared again, but soon I left the moor with more tedious walking while ahead of me I could see heavy rain falling on the Pennine range. This prompted me to put my waterproofs on, but the rain never came and I eventually realised that the wind was coming from behind me, so the rain clouds had passed over my head but not dropped their rain until they had reached the Pennine range. The access road for Greenriggs Farm brought me into the town of Kirkby Stephen at the end of one of the longest stages of the Coast to Coast and, surprisingly, I enjoyed it. The weather could have been much worse and while there was none of the dramatic scenery of the Lake District, the gentle gradients had soothed my body, which I appreciated. I may have left the Lake District behind, but the Yorkshire Dales doesn’t disappoint in comparison.