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South Tyne Trail: Alston to Slaggyford

A gentle, well-surfaced walk down the South Tyne valley from Alston, beside the narrow-gauge railway you can ride back.

Distance
7.3 km
4.5 miles
Ascent
14 m
High point 266 m
Time
1 hour 30 minutes
Walking time, no stops
Grade
Easy
One way

Take this walk with you

Directions to the start in Google MapsDownload GPXDownload KML for Google My MapsGet there by bus or trainFollow the route in Google Maps (walking)

This route is on paths Google Maps knows, so the walking link follows it closely. The GPX is still the exact line. To see the line in Google Maps, open Google My Maps, create a map, choose Import and pick the KML file. It then appears in the Google Maps app under Saved, Maps.

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The grassy line of the South Tyne Trail running across open fields
Photo: Peter McDermott, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Alston stands high in the North Pennines, and the old railway line that once linked it to Haltwhistle now carries the South Tyne Trail down the valley. This stretch, from Alston to Slaggyford, is the easy, rewarding heart of it: a firm path on the old trackbed, the river below, and wide, quiet hill country all around.

For much of the way you walk alongside the South Tynedale Railway, a narrow-gauge heritage line built on the old branch. It runs about five miles from Alston to Slaggyford, calling at Kirkhaugh and Lintley Halt, which makes a perfect one-way walk: stroll down the valley, then take the train back up. Slaggyford itself is just over the border in Northumberland.

The trail is broadly level and well surfaced, so it suits families, cyclists sharing the path, and anyone after an unhurried morning in a corner of Cumbria few visitors reach.

The route

  1. 1

    Alston station

    Start at Alston station, home of the South Tynedale Railway, and join the South Tyne Trail heading north along the old trackbed beside the narrow-gauge line.

  2. 2

    Down the valley to Kirkhaugh

    Follow the firm path north-west with the River South Tyne below on your left, crossing into Northumberland before Kirkhaugh station.

  3. 3

    Lintley

    Continue on the trackbed past Lintley Halt, with the river and the railway never far away.

  4. 4

    Slaggyford

    Carry on to Slaggyford station at the end of the line. Check the South Tynedale Railway timetable to ride back to Alston, or walk back the way you came.

Questions people ask

How long is the South Tyne Trail?

The full trail runs about 23 miles from the source of the South Tyne near Garrigill, through Alston, to Haltwhistle.

Can you get the train back from Slaggyford to Alston?

Yes, when the South Tynedale Railway is running, from spring to autumn. The line is about five miles long, with stops at Kirkhaugh and Lintley Halt.

Is the South Tyne Trail suitable for pushchairs?

Much of it uses well-surfaced paths along the old railway, though conditions vary and it is remote.