Kirkby Stephen

Kirkby Stephen is a market town in Westmorland and Furness, Cumbria, with 1,895 residents at the 2021 census according to Wikipedia. The River Eden passes its eastern edge, and in 1352 to 1353 Roger de Clifford obtained a market charter for it from Edward III; the Monday market is still held, with livestock sales at the Mart. The town is on the Coast to Coast Walk, which Alfred Wainwright devised in 1973, and Wikipedia describes it as a base for tourism in the Upper Eden Valley.

Why base here

The case for sleeping here is two hills that can be seen from its streets. Nine Standards Rigg, the cairned summit on the Coast to Coast, starts at the station, 2.4km away in a straight line, and the Saturday Walkers’ Club circuit from there is 18.1km with 584m of ascent. Wild Boar Fell starts at Aisgill in Mallerstang, 12.2km away in a straight line, and the Walking Englishman’s circuit is 16.0km with 656m. Wikipedia records a 23-mile fell race and walk, the Yomp Mountain Challenge, that follows the Eden watershed along the high ground on both sides of Mallerstang and takes in both summits.

On foot versus by car

Only one of the three activities starts without a car, and the station is not in the town. Wikipedia puts it 1.5 miles south-west of the market town and more than 150 feet above it, because the Midland Railway wanted to hold its gradients to 1 in 100 on the climb to Aisgill. The club’s route heads from the station for the River Eden at Stenkrith, south of the town, and the track bed of the Stainmore railway beyond it, while the shorter line Where2Walk gives for Nine Standards starts in the town centre at NY 775 085.

Wild Boar Fell needs a car, since the Walking Englishman parks near Aisgill Moor Cottages. Kisdon Force is 13.8km away in a straight line, in Swaledale, and its own base is Reeth.

Practicalities

Kirkby Stephen station is on the Settle to Carlisle line. Wikipedia gives Northern as the operator and Network Rail as the owner, and records that the Settle and Carlisle Railway Trust leases the station and restored it in 2009. DalesBus lists the 563 between Penrith, Appleby and Kirkby Stephen, run by Stagecoach, with a stop at the railway station. The Western Dales Bus runs the S1 and S5 between Kirkby Stephen, Sedbergh and Kendal. By road the town is on the A685, and Wikipedia gives Kendal and Penrith as the nearest larger towns, about 25 miles away. Check DalesBus before relying on any bus for a walk.

Who this base does not suit

Anyone who wants several hill days from the door will find only Nine Standards on foot, and Where2Walk calls that hill notoriously wet and boggy, with few paths. For the Howgills, with The Calf starting in the town, Sedbergh is the better base, and for waterfalls and shorter low walks, Hawes, where Hardraw Force is about 1.5km north.