Lady Anne's Way is a hiking route between
Skipton
Skipton (also known as Skipton-in-Craven) is a market town and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the East Division of Staincliffe Wapentake in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is on the River A ...
and
Penrith in
Northern England
Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...
. The trail is punctuated by houses and towers once owned by the Clifford family, but is named after
Lady Anne Clifford
Lady Anne Clifford, Countess of Dorset, Pembroke and Montgomery, ''suo jure'' 14th Baroness de Clifford (30 January 1590 – 22 March 1676) was an English peeress. In 1605 she inherited her father's ancient barony by writ and became ''suo jure'' ...
who renovated and repaired the buildings in the 17th century. The route goes through
Grassington
Grassington is a market town and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. The population of the parish at the 2011 Census was 1,126. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is situated in Wharfedale, ...
,
Buckden,
Askrigg
Askrigg is a small village and civil parish in Wensleydale in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. It is part of the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England. The village and its parish are located in Upper Wensleydale, west of L ...
,
Garsdale Head
Garsdale Head is a hamlet mainly within the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the hamlet is now on the border with Richmondshire, North Yorkshire. It lies within the boundaries of th ...
,
Kirkby Stephen
Kirkby Stephen () is a market town and civil parish in Cumbria, North West England. Historically part of Westmorland, it lies on the A685, surrounded by sparsely populated hill country, about from the nearest larger towns: Kendal and Penrit ...
,
Great Ormside,
Appleby-in-Westmorland
Appleby-in-Westmorland is a market town and civil parish in the Eden District of Cumbria, England, with a population of 3,048 at the 2011 Census. Crossed by the River Eden, Appleby was the county town of the historic county of Westmorland. ...
and
Penrith.
Background
In 1605, Lady Anne Clifford was disinherited from her father's estates by his death and the act of it passing on to the next male heir. 38 years later, it came to her when the last males in her family lineage died, and despite ideas that females could not accede to baronies, she became Baroness Clifford of Westmorland and Vecsey. She then set about repairing the castles and houses that she owned and when completed, she continually travelled between them all taking her household retinue with her.
In 1995, Sheila Gordon created a path that linked all the castles and fortified structures that Lady Anne Clifford used to travel between. The walk crosses from
Airedale
Airedale is a geographic area in Yorkshire, England, corresponding to the river valley or dale of the River Aire.
The valley stretches from the river's origin in Aire Head Springs, Malham which is in the Yorkshire Dales, down past Skipton o ...
,
Wharfedale
Wharfedale ( ) is the valley of the upper parts of the River Wharfe and one of the Yorkshire Dales. It is situated within the districts of Craven and Harrogate in North Yorkshire, and the cities of Leeds and Bradford in West Yorkshire. It ...
and
Wensleydale
Wensleydale is the dale or upper valley of the River Ure on the east side of the Pennines, one of the Yorkshire Dales in North Yorkshire, England.
It is one of only a few Yorkshire Dales not currently named after its principal river, but th ...
in
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by national parks, including most of the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors. It is one of four cou ...
and finally, the
Vale of Eden
The Vale of Eden is formed by the course of the River Eden, one of the major rivers of Northwest England. It is however of much greater extent than the actual valley of the river, lying between the Cumbrian Mountains (more usually referred to as ...
in
Cumbria
Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. ...
. As the route became more popular with walkers, funding was obtained to allow the entire route to be waymarked in 2018.
The route links
Skipton Castle
Skipton Castle is a Grade I Listed medieval castle in Skipton, North Yorkshire, England. It was built in 1090 by Robert de Romille, a Norman baron, and has been preserved for over 931 years.
History
The castle was originally a motte and ba ...
in North Yorkshire with
Brougham Castle
Brougham Castle (pronounced ) is a medieval building about south-east of Penrith, Cumbria, England. The castle was founded by Robert I de Vieuxpont in the early 13th century. The site, near the confluence of the rivers Eamont and Lowther, had ...
in Cumbria. The route then continues into Penrith where it finishes.
Route
Advertised as a route from south to north, the walk starts at Skipton Castle in Airedale. It goes north in conjunction with the
Dales High Way, then east, and north east through the villages of
Embsay
Embsay is a village in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. It is paired with the neighbouring hamlet of Eastby to form the civil parish of Embsay with Eastby. The parish population as of the 2011 census was 1,871.
Geography
At the ...
and
Eastby before reaching its first marked point of
Barden Tower. It then follows the
River Wharfe
The River Wharfe ( ) is a river in Yorkshire, England originating within the Yorkshire Dales National Park. For much of its middle course it is the county boundary between West Yorkshire and North Yorkshire. Its valley is known as Wharfeda ...
northwards in conjunction with the
Dales Way
The Dales Way is an long-distance footpath in Northern England, from (south-east to north-west) Ilkley, West Yorkshire, to Bowness-on-Windermere, Cumbria. This walk was initially devised by the West Riding Ramblers' Association with the 'leadi ...
to Grassington but veering away slightly by going through
Hebden. From Grassington, the route travels across the eastern side of Wharfedale through to
Kettlewell
Kettlewell is a village in Upper Wharfedale, North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it lies north of Grassington, at the point where Wharfedale is joined by a minor road (Cam Gill Road) which leads north ...
and Buckden. Here the route goes due north across
Langstrothdale Chase and going over
Stake Moss before dropping into Wensleydale and the village of
Worton.
At
Nappa
Nappa may refer to:
Places
* Nappa, Finland, a village in northern Kymenlaakso
* Nappa, North Yorkshire, a village in England
* Nappa Hall, North Yorkshire, England
People
* Mike Nappa (born 1963), American author
Other uses
* Nappa (char ...
, the path takes a westwards course through Wensleydale going through
Askrigg
Askrigg is a small village and civil parish in Wensleydale in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. It is part of the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England. The village and its parish are located in Upper Wensleydale, west of L ...
,
Sedbusk
Sedbusk is a hamlet near Hawes and Hardraw Force within the Yorkshire Dales in North Yorkshire, England. The hamlet is north of the town of Hawes across the River Ure. Sedbusk is in the civil parish of High Abbotside along with Hardraw a ...
and the town of
Hawes
Hawes is a market town and civil parish in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England, at the head of Wensleydale in the Yorkshire Dales, and historically in the North Riding of Yorkshire. The River Ure north of the town is ...
. It then goes north west through
Appersett and Hellgill, where it crosses into the Upper Eden Valley. It proceeds north through Mallerstang up to
Nateby, through
Kirkby Stephen
Kirkby Stephen () is a market town and civil parish in Cumbria, North West England. Historically part of Westmorland, it lies on the A685, surrounded by sparsely populated hill country, about from the nearest larger towns: Kendal and Penrit ...
, then north east to
Brough across the
River Belah
The River Belah is a river in the county of Cumbria in England. Its name derives from the Old English word and means the "Roaring River".
The Belah is formed by the confluence of several small streams or ''sikes'' draining most of north and ...
. At Brough, the path turns westwards again through
Warcop
Warcop is a village and civil parish in the Eden district of Cumbria, England. The parish had a population of 491 in the 2001 census, increasing to 532 at the Census 2011.
It is near the A66 road and is north of Kirkby Stephen and about ...
and
Great Ormside, where it turns northwards again to head to
Appleby-in-Westmorland
Appleby-in-Westmorland is a market town and civil parish in the Eden District of Cumbria, England, with a population of 3,048 at the 2011 Census. Crossed by the River Eden, Appleby was the county town of the historic county of Westmorland. ...
. It then heads north to
Long Marton
Long Marton is a village and civil parish in the Eden District of the English county of Cumbria. In 2011 the population was 827.
The village previously had a railway station called Long Marton railway station which closed in 1970. Within the ...
and
Kirkby Thore
Kirkby Thore is a small village and civil parish in Cumbria, England (), in the historic county of Westmorland. It is close to the Lake District national park and the Cumbrian Pennines. It includes the areas of Bridge End, in the southwest by ...
, before going west again to visit the hall and castle at
Brougham. The final stretch is a short distance into Penrith, where the walk ends in the town centre.
The buildings that are waymarkers on the route are;
Skipton Castle
Skipton Castle is a Grade I Listed medieval castle in Skipton, North Yorkshire, England. It was built in 1090 by Robert de Romille, a Norman baron, and has been preserved for over 931 years.
History
The castle was originally a motte and ba ...
,
Barden Tower,
Nappa Hall
Nappa Hall is a fortified manor house in Wensleydale, North Yorkshire, England, described by English Heritage as "probably the finest and least-spoilt fortified manor house in the north of England". It stands east of Askrigg, overlooking past ...
,
Pendragon Castle,
Brough Castle
Brough Castle is a ruined castle in the village of Brough, Cumbria, England. The castle was built by William Rufus around 1092 within the old Roman fort of ''Verterae'' to protect a key route through the Pennine Mountains. The initial motte ...
,
Appleby Castle
Appleby Castle is in the town of Appleby-in-Westmorland overlooking the River Eden (). It consists of a 12th-century castle keep which is known as Caesar's Tower, and a mansion house. These, together with their associated buildings, are set ...
,
Brougham Castle
Brougham Castle (pronounced ) is a medieval building about south-east of Penrith, Cumbria, England. The castle was founded by Robert I de Vieuxpont in the early 13th century. The site, near the confluence of the rivers Eamont and Lowther, had ...
and
Brougham Hall
Brougham Hall is located in the village of Brougham just outside Penrith, Cumbria, England.
History
The de Burgham family may have held land at Brougham in Edward the Confessor's time and were allowed to keep their position after the Norman ...
.
Stages
A nine-day pace is also covered in the guidebooks.
Connecting trails
The route starts at Skipton where it connects with the
Dales High Way and it also connects with the
Dales Way
The Dales Way is an long-distance footpath in Northern England, from (south-east to north-west) Ilkley, West Yorkshire, to Bowness-on-Windermere, Cumbria. This walk was initially devised by the West Riding Ramblers' Association with the 'leadi ...
at Barden Tower, its second point of building interest after Skipton Castle.
References
Sources
*{{cite book, last=Gordon, first=Sheila, title=Lady Anne's Way; a 100-mile walk from Skipton to Penrith, year=2013, publisher=Skyware, location=Saltaire, isbn=978-0-9559987-6-8
Footpaths in North Yorkshire
Footpaths in Cumbria
Long-distance footpaths in England
Yorkshire Dales