Why you should explore the North Pennines in Cumbria

The North Pennines may not have the profile of the Lakeland fells or even the Howgills, but this cross-county set of hills is full of beauty, interest and importance says photographer and author Helen Shaw

The spine that runs through most northerly counties of England, the North Pennines covers 770 square miles. The western slice lies in Cumbria, stretching from Mallerstang in the south to Brampton in the north with Penrith and Appleby-in-Westmorland on the periphery of the National Landscape.

18467068 Cottages in Alston with Park Fell rising in typical North Pennine fashion behind (c) Helen ShawAlston, England's highest market town, and Cross Fell, at 893 metres or 2,930ft, are at its peak.

“Wherever you go in this area, the North Pennines will deliver unexpected delights and landscapes that surprise you,” write Helen Shaw in her new book, The North Pennines, that celebrates in photography the diversity of what has been called “England’s last wilderness”.

Amid world class Roman remains and industrial and mining archaeology there are pretty towns, villages and resilient communities. Geology has carved out some of Britain’s finest rivers and waterfalls while its unspoiled, lonely moors are home to rare and special flora and fauna.

Epiacum Roman Fort (previously called Whitley Castle) north west of Alston at Castle Nook Farm. (c) Helen Shaw The North Pennines is an important haven for rare Arctic alpine plants, red squirrels, otters and wading birds such as lapwing, curlew, oystercatchers, golden plover and snipe.

Forty per cent of Britain’s upland hay meadows can be found here along with 30 per cent of England’s upland heathland and 27 per cent of its vital blanket bog.

Helen lives in the area, on a remote hillside south of Garrigil, and writes: “No amount of statistics about the importance and diversity of the area can describe the impact that these vast areas of empty and unspoiled land have on our wellbeing. Breathing clean air, being completely alone, being at one with nature: all this is here in the North Pennines.”

Sunset over Cross Fell on a frozen winter day seen from the Eden Valley near Skirwith (c) Helen Shaw Helen is a keen walker and lover of wild and lonely places. The North Pennines is her fifth book and follows her 2021 title, String of Pearls, with Margaret Wilson, which is dedicated to the landscape and literature of the Lake District.