July 2026 Kirkby Lonsdale

 Saturday 11th July 2026

KIRKBY LONSDALE: a small, vibrant and relatively unspoilt market town situated on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Flanking the three counties of Cumbria, Lancashire and North Yorkshire, the town offers a picturesque base from which to explore the English Lake District, the Yorkshire Dales and the Forest of Bowland. Named as one of the Best Places to Live in the UK by the Sunday Times, Kirkby Lonsdale itself is a historic, quaint market town with a fantastic reputation for high quality independent shopping, as well as excellent restaurants, cafés and pubs, and superb accommodation.

A walk Lead by Brian Thorne

12 Miles, 1,200ft Ascent

A reasonably strenuous walk with stunning views over Kirkby Lonsdale to Morcambe Bay.  

Leaving the coach at Devil’s Bridge, we follow paths and tracks via the Woodclose Caravan Park to the hamlet of High Casterton. We cross the old Roman road which once linked forts at Low Borrowbridge near Tebay and Over Burrow, south of Kirkby Lonsdale, and we pass by Bindloss Farm to join the Fellfoot Road track, heading north. 

The climbing now begins in earnest as we follow the minor road, the fell track and finally the path to the huge summit cairn on Brownthwaite Pike (1381 ft) and our lunchstop. 

A welcome descent on a mostly good track (it can be a little boggy) then leads us down to the fell road at Gale Garth farm. A path takes us along the side of the valley for a little way until we rejoin the fell Road once more, and head steeply down, until we reach the Fellfoot Road track and turn north. 

Good paths take us through grassy meadows until we reach the minor road which leads us to Casterton Village and a possible refreshment stop at the local Hostelry. Paths and lanes then take us on our final stretch past the Golf Course, through the caravan Site and back to the coach.

When I did the recce some of the paths were quite overgrown so I would seriously recommend that no matter how hot it may be, anyone  considering doing the A should wear log trousers and not shorts?

B Walk Lead by Andrew Phillips

8 Miles  896ft Ascent

As with the other two groups, the walk commences at Devil’s Bridge, and proceeds up Laithe Lane, crossing the caravan site, before joining a path past the golf course. There will be a short stretch of main road to negotiate, before joining a field path towards Casterton Hall. We then follow the path through woodland, and may follow an extra loop northwards, but only continue that way if the overgrown path has not been cleared since my recce.

Dropping down into Casterton village, we will join a minor road up to Langthwaite, then crossing a stile onto a field path leading to Hole House and Bellgate, before looping round to join Fellfoot Road, heading south to Bindloss Farm (whilst keeping alert for modern “Mesolithic” displays on the way). We then cross the Roman Road to join Chapelhouse Lane back to the start.

Unfortunately there is some road walking on this route, but the lanes in question should have little traffic. The lunch stop is likely to involve relaxing on a grassy bank, depending on the rate of progress.

C Walk Lead by Helen & Mike Lewandowska

We do not intend to have coffee at the start of the walk but mid-way. There are toilets at the start by Devils Bridge and if people are desperate a van for take-aways. The walk starts near Devils Bridge and unfortunately with a little hill before we enter a caravan site and follow the public footpath through this. We then walk along a public bridleway for about half a mile when we reach a golf course. We follow the edge of the golf course along country lanes all the way into Casterton.

At Casterton we plan to take a break for coffee and cake at the Pheasant Inn.

We then walk again on country lanes until we need to cross a couple fields to reach the Roman road. There is one quite steep stone stile here-we found it easier to squeeze through a gap in the fence so hopefully this hasn't been repaired. We walk on the Roman road which is cobbled and uneven for about 10 minutes before reaching roads again. We progress downhill to the golf course again and make our way back to the start.

The walk is about 5 miles. The terrain is mixed country lanes, fields, some rough and uneven stony ground. There are some short hills but a lot of the walk is flat. There are some lovely views along the way and the pub is a nice place for a mid-way break. Kirby Lonsdale is also lovely and hopefully there should be plenty of time to explore at the end.