Getting To And From The Route

The Westmorland & Furness Way is located in Cumbria in the north of England.

The starting point is Alston at the northern end and the finishing point is Furness Abbey (near Barrow-in-Furness) at the southern end. However, you can join the route in other places if you are just looking to complete a certain section.  

Below you will find information on how to access the main transport hubs along the route: 

Alston - the starting point

Arrive at Haltwhistle railway station on the Carlisle to Newcastle line and take the 681 bus service to Alston - operated by Go North East. This service runs Mondays to Saturdays, 5 times per day. 

Or, alight at Hexham railway station (also on the Carlisle to Newcastle line) for the 889T bus service, operated by Wrights Coaches. This service runs once, on Tuesdays. 

Furness Abbey (Barrow-in-Furness) - the finishing point

Furness Abbey is serviced by the X6 Stagecoach bus that operates between Barrow and Ulverston - from where there are rail connections onto Lancaster on the West Coast mainline. 

Other transport hubs include:

Penrith: is on the West Coast mainline providing rail connections between London and Glasgow. Connect onto the Westmorland & Furness Way by walking along Lady Anne’s Way.  

Appleby-in-Westmorland: is on the famous Settle to Carlisle railway and also accessible via the 563 Stagecoach bus service that runs between Penrith and Kirkby Stephen.

Kirkby Stephen: is also on the famous Settle to Carlisle railway and accessible via the 563 Stagecoach bus service from Penrith. Western Dales Bus and Lonsdale buses both offer limited services between Kendal and Kirkby Stephen. 

Sedbergh: is serviced by a limited bus service from Kendal and the mainline station at Oxenholme - operated by Western Dales Bus. The service runs up to 4 days per week so we advise planning your journey in advance. 

Bowness-on-Windermere: is well serviced by several Stagecoach bus routes linking onto Windermere railway station and beyond to Kendal and Oxenholme stations.

Ulverston: is serviced by the X6 Stagecoach bus that connects onto Kendal and there are also train links onto Barrow, and Lancaster on the West Coast mainline.

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