Kendal Limestone Way
A 65-mile long-distance walk across the limestone country of Yorkshire and Cumbria, beginning in Skipton and ending in Kendal. With map, statistics, and GPX route file.
Statistics and Files
Grid Ref: SD 990 519
Distance: 65 miles (104 km)
Time: 25–32 hours
Duration: 4–6 days
Ordnance Survey Explorer Maps (1:25,000):
OL2 Yorkshire Dales – Southern and Western Area
OL7 The English Lakes – South Eastern Area
OL21 South Pennines – Burnley, Hebden Bridge, Keighley and Todmorden
OL41 Forest of Bowland and Ribblesdale
Summary
The Kendal Limestone Way was created by John Coppack, who wrote a guidebook detailing the route. While the walk explores a rich diversity of upland landscapes in south-west North Yorkshire and south-east Cumbria, its primary theme is limestone. The path contrasts the porous limestone uplands of the Yorkshire Dales National Park — where rugged hills and towering cliffs of pearl-white limestone dominate the landscape — with the contrasting limestone terrain in the south-eastern corner of Cumbria, where precipitous limestone ridges form a natural barrier between the Lakeland hills and Morecambe Bay. Alongside its focus on limestone, the route visits several towns and villages, starting in Skipton and passing through Gargrave, Airton, Hanlith, Malham, Settle, Austwick, Clapham, Ingleton, Masongill, Cowan Bridge, Kirkby Lonsdale, Hutton Roof, Levens, and Brigsteer before concluding in Kendal.