A Trail of Inspiration Exhibition - February 2025 - November 2025

Throughout 2025 there will be a rolling exhibition along the trail. This exhibition explores the many ways in which the Pennine Way National Trail inspires us. The trail is known as a long distance walking route but for so many it is more than just that; it’s a source of inspiration for art, literature, music, film and more.
Some of the artists involved in the exhibition have walked the whole trail, many have enjoyed sections of it, but they have all taken inspiration from the experience of being on the trail, surrounded by nature, sometimes with company, sometimes on their own, in all weathers and at different times of year. These experiences have inspired the works that are displayed, and in turn, the artists involved hope to inspire more people to ‘experience’ the Pennine Way.
Where can you see the exhibition?
Dales Countryside Museum, Hawes, Feb - May 2025
Hebden Bridge Town Hall, May 2025
Malham National Park Visitor Centre, June 2025
Bowlees Visitor Centres, July and August 2025
The Sill: National Landscape Discovery Centre, Northumberland National Park, September - November 2025

A Trail of Inspiration Exhibition at the Dales Countryside Museum

The first stop for the exhibition - from 1st February to 5th May

Haltwhistle Walking Festival - Celebrate the Pennine Way’s 60th Anniversary

Bookings open Saturday 1st March.
From Saturday 26th April – Monday 5th May. Hike high moorland and forests with the spirit of the Border Reivers and a frontier of Roman Empire for company. Myths and legends abound among wild country and lonely loughs. Quite simply, the Pennine Way is Britain’s oldest and most iconic National Trail – a 268-mile trek along the spine of England.

27th April – 10.30 – Pennine Way, What a Diamond! (hard, 10 miles) National Trust Marsden Moor

Join us to celebrate 60 years since the official opening of the Pennine Way National Trail. This circular walk connects with the section of Pennine Way through Marsden Moor National Trust Estate. After a steep climb up from Butterley Reservoir, enjoy far-reaching views from the ridge before winding back along the old packhorse route and Huddersfield Narrow canal.
Some may find the route challenging as it includes sections of narrow, uneven paths.
More details coming soon to National Trust website

Saturday 7th June – 11.00 – Pennine Way at 60, Access for All (easy, 3 miles) National Trust Marsden Moor

Celebrating 60 years of the Pennine Way, come and walk some of the route with our Rangers and learn about the history of the countryside access movement, Right to Roam, Common Land and your access rights on the moor. More details coming soon to National Trust website

Durham County Council Sunday 9 March - The Pennine Way and Low Force

10.30am (4 hours) 9 miles, level 2, Steven and Janet Hutchinson.
Start: Middleton in Teesdale, in front of the memorial fountain, DL12 8LX . GR NY 948255. OS map Ex OL31.
Local history, packed lunch, price of walk £4.

Join Hexham Ramblers on one of our guided circular walks - just look for the Pennine Way 60th Anniversary logo on our website.

From April to October explore the beauty of the vast openness through which the Pennine Way snakes north ‘between Tees and Eden,’ to Cross Fell and along the ancient Maiden Way through Alston and the South Tyne valley on its way to Hadrian’s Wall and ‘the great heaving swells and deep-set glens of the Cheviots' as described by Tom Stephenson.

Johnny Campbell - The Pennine Way Tour

To celebrate the 60th anniversary of Britain's first long-distance trail, The Pennine Way, Folk musician Johnny Campbell is walking it with his guitar and performing shows most nights. 17 shows, 19 days, 268 miles. He'll be joined in Horton in Ribblesdale by Wainwright prize-winning author Amy-Jane Beer who'll be reading excerpts from her current and upcoming book featuring the Yorkshire Dales. The night features an opening slot from Jack Roscoe.

The Two Toms Trail and the Pennine Way at 60

THURSDAY 24th APRIL 10.30 am
(A guided walk into Malham along the Pennine Way leaves Airton at 9.00 am)

At the National Park Visitor Centre grounds, Malham, North Yorkshire

On 24th April 1965, Tom Stephenson came to Malham to launch the official opening of the Pennine Way. Sixty years later to the day, we return to the village for an outdoor celebration of Britain’s first long-distance path. You can join a three-mile guided walk into Malham from Airton along a section of the Pennine Way, arriving in Malham at 10.30 am for speeches, a sing song, and the chance to find out more about our new walking trail linking Tom Stephenson’s Lancashire home and Pendle Hill with the Pennine Way.

This event is organised by the volunteers of the Friends of Clarion House and the Pendle Radicals. Further information on this event will be placed on the Friends of Clarion House and the Two Toms Trail Facebook pages.

The Two Toms Trail and the Pennine Way at 60

SUNDAY 27th APRIL 11.30 am - 15.30 pm

At the Clarion House, Jinny Lane, Roughlee, Lancashire, BB12 9LL

A celebration of Pendle Hill’s associations with two of the 20th century’s most inspirational countryside campaigners - Tom Stephenson and Thomas Arthur Leonard. Join us for a traditional Sunday at the last Clarion House in the country as we celebrate the life and achievements of two men who shaped the Pennine Way, our National Parks and access to mountains and moorlands. There will be guest speakers, free guided walks along the ‘Two Toms Trail’, a good old-fashioned ramblers’ sing-a-long and a look at the work of the Pennine Paths Preservation Society (who surveyed part of the original Pennine Way route for Tom Stephenson). There is a new children’s playground to enjoy, so families are most welcome. Tom Stephenson’s push-bike will even be making a guest appearance!

This event is organised by the volunteers of the Friends of Clarion House and the Pendle Radicals. For more information on the day’s itinerary visit the Friends of Clarion House and the Two Toms Trail Facebook pages.