Coast to Coast: the Westmorland & the Yorkshire Dales
Stages 6–10 of 16, Shap to Richmond: 51.8 miles (83.5 km) with 2,317 m of ascent, about 25.8 hours of walking over 5 days. The route is inside the Yorkshire Dales National Park for most of this section.
Limestone country, then Swaledale. The walk eases off after the Lake District: Shap to Orton is the shortest and gentlest stage on the route, and the Orton Fells give way to Kirkby Stephen and the watershed crossing at Nine Standards Rigg, which has three seasonal routes to protect the peat. Beyond it the path follows Swaledale down through Keld and Reeth to Richmond.
- Lake District
- Westmorland & the Yorkshire Dales
- Vale of Mowbray
- North York Moors
- All 16 stages
Every stage in this section
Figures are the ones each stage page publishes, so the totals below always match the stages they add up. Every row links to the full guide for that day — elevation profile, surface underfoot, water points, history and what to see.
| Stage | Route | Miles | km | Ascent | Time | Grade | Terrain |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | Shap to Orton | 5.4 | 8.7 | 237 m | 2.8 h | Easy | Mixed |
| 7 | Orton to Kirkby Stephen | 14.0 | 22.6 | 438 m | 6.6 h | Moderate | Mixed |
| 8 | Kirkby Stephen to Keld | 10.9 | 17.5 | 654 m | 5.7 h | Moderate | Mountain |
| 9 | Keld to Reeth | 11.2 | 18.1 | 611 m | 5.7 h | Moderate | Mountain |
| 10 | Reeth to Richmond | 10.3 | 16.6 | 377 m | 5 h | Easy | Mixed |
| Section total | 51.8 | 83.5 | 2,317 m | 25.8 h |
Places along the Westmorland & the Yorkshire Dales section
7 places on these stages have a full history on this site, and 7 free audio guides between them.
Kirkby Stephen
Stage 7 · 1 audio guide
Kirkby Stephen is a handsome grey-stone market town strung along the upper River Eden, and for Coast to Coast walkers it is a pivotal place — the…
Read moreSmardale Gill Viaduct
Stage 7 · 1 audio guide
Smardale Gill Viaduct is one of the most striking structures on the Coast to Coast, a graceful 14-arch sandstone railway viaduct striding 90 ft (27…
Read moreNine Standards Rigg
Stage 8 · 1 audio guide
On the great watershed of England, where becks to the west fall to the River Eden and the Irish Sea and those to the east feed the Swale and the…
Read moreKeld & the Swaledale Waterfalls
Stage 9 · 1 audio guide
Keld is a tiny, remote stone hamlet at the head of Swaledale whose name is simply the Old Norse word for a spring — and it sits at a quietly…
Read moreOld Gang Smelt Mills
Stage 9 · 1 audio guide
High on the bleak moor between Keld and Reeth stand the gaunt, roofless ruins of one of the best-preserved and most structurally complex…
Read moreMarrick Priory
Stage 10 · 1 audio guide
A short way east of Reeth, where the Coast to Coast follows the River Swale, the squat tower of Marrick Priory rises from a meadow above the water.…
Read moreRichmond Castle
Stage 10 · 1 audio guide
Towering 100 feet (30 m) above a bend in the River Swale, Richmond Castle is the best-preserved early Norman castle in England — and the dramatic…
Read moreCommon questions
How long is the Coast to Coast in the Westmorland & the Yorkshire Dales?
51.8 miles (83.5 km) over 5 of the walk's 16 stages, Shap to Richmond. That is about 25.8 hours of walking, and most people take 5 days over it — one stage a day.
How much climbing is there in the Westmorland & the Yorkshire Dales section?
2,317 m of ascent across the section, an average of 463 m a day. The biggest single climb is Kirkby Stephen to Keld at 654 m.
How hard is the Westmorland & the Yorkshire Dales section of the Coast to Coast?
The stages here are graded easy, moderate. The toughest is Orton to Kirkby Stephen (moderate), and the terrain is mixed, mountain.
Can you walk just the Westmorland & the Yorkshire Dales section?
Yes, and people do. It is 5 days end to end, Shap to Richmond, and both ends are reachable by public transport — see getting there for the trains and buses that serve each stage end. Walking the Coast to Coast a section at a time over several trips is common, and it is how most people with a working week fit it in.
What is there to see in the Westmorland & the Yorkshire Dales section?
We cover 7 places along it in depth, with 7 free audio guides between them: Kirkby Stephen, Smardale Gill Viaduct, Nine Standards Rigg, Keld & the Swaledale Waterfalls, Old Gang Smelt Mills, Marrick Priory, Richmond Castle.
Planning the whole walk rather than this section? Itineraries sets out 12-, 14- and 16-day plans, best time to walk goes month by month, and getting there covers the trains and buses to every stage end.
