History
In 1986 Mary Towneley rode 250 miles on horseback from Corbridge in Northumberland to Ashbourne in Derbyshire to launch the idea of a Pennine Bridleway. After a feasibility study, a National Trail from Derbyshire to Kirkby Stephen in Cumbria was approved in 1995.
It opened in stages. Towneley died in 2001, and the first section, the Mary Towneley Loop in the South Pennines, opened in 2002; the Settle Loop followed in 2005, and the full length was opened on 12 June 2012 by Martin Clunes, President of the British Horse Society.
It was designed for horse riders and is also used by cyclists and walkers. The Pennine National Trails Partnership, administered by the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, looks after it with funding from Natural England.
Sources: National Trails: Pennine Bridleway; Yorkshire Dales National Park: Pioneers reunite for Pennine Bridleway anniversary; Wikipedia: Pennine Bridleway
Facts
- Code
- UK 040 (provisional)
- Distance
- 205 miles (330 km). We measure 177 miles
- Type
- Linear
- Opened
- June 2012
- Designation
- National Trail
- Looked after by
- Natural England / Pennine National Trails Partnership
- Nations
- England
- Total ascent
- Still to be measured