Most drivers cross the Pennines in a blur of motorway: Manchester to Newcastle in under three hours, with a service station sandwich for company. The slower way is better. Give the crossing three days on the A-roads that thread the moors and you will travel over Saddleworth, along the western edge of the Yorkshire Dales and across the empty North Pennines, arriving in Newcastle having actually seen the country you crossed.
The route below runs roughly 235 miles. It is not a sprint, and that is the point.
Day One: Manchester to Holmfirth, Over Saddleworth Moor
Leave Manchester around 9.30am, once the school run has thinned. Take the A62 out through Oldham — nobody's idea of a scenic road, but it does the job — then the A669 and A670 through Uppermill and into Greenfield, where the A635 picks up the climb onto the moor.
Morning stop: Uppermill
Roughly forty minutes from the city centre. Park in the signposted pay-and-display near the canal basin, walk a few minutes along the towpath and get a coffee. Uppermill is a small, stone-built mill village that has quietly turned itself into a decent place to spend an hour.
The moor crossing
From Greenfield the A635 climbs onto Saddleworth Moor and keeps going. It is exposed up here: windy in almost any month, and the first road in the area to close when snow arrives. Pull into one of the laybys on the descent for the view back towards Manchester — on a clear day you can pick out the city skyline behind you. Then drop into Holmfirth, twenty minutes or so from the top.
Holmfirth is the obvious lunch stop. The river runs through the middle, the summer wine connection is unavoidable, and the Picturedrome is one of the better small music venues in the north. Eat, then stretch your legs before the afternoon.
If you have time, run out on the A6024 towards Holme Moss: the mast, the wide empty moor and the view over to Woodhead. It is twenty minutes each way and worth it. Stay overnight in Holmfirth, or push twenty minutes further to Huddersfield if you want more choice of hotels.
Day Two: Holmfirth to Richmond, via Halifax, Skipton and Nidderdale
This is the long day — roughly 110 miles — so leave by 9am with a full tank.
Head for Huddersfield and pick up the A629, which runs north-west through Halifax and Keighley and on to Skipton. It is a proper A-road: fast in places, slow through the mill towns, never dull.
In Halifax, the Piece Hall is worth an hour. A vast Georgian cloth hall, it is now full of small independent shops and cafés, and entry is free. Use one of the signed town-centre car parks rather than circling the one-way system.
Keighley is a working town and there is no need to stop. Skipton is the opposite: castle at one end, canal basin at the other, cobbled high street in between. Allow an hour and a half for lunch and a wander.
From Skipton take the B6265 north-west through Rylstone and Cracoe and over Greenhow Hill, past old lead workings, into Pateley Bridge for tea and a look at the sweet shop that claims to be the oldest in England. Then the B6265 to Ripon, and the A6108 east through Masham — two breweries in one very small town — and Leyburn to Richmond. The last stretch above the Swale is a fine evening drive.
Stay in Richmond. The market square, the castle and the old railway station, now converted into a food and cinema complex, will keep you occupied until dinner. Book ahead in summer.
Day Three: Richmond to Newcastle, Across the North Pennines
Leave Richmond on the B6274 through Gilling West, or take the quicker A6108 to Scotch Corner and a short hop along the A66. Either way, Barnard Castle is thirty to forty minutes away.
Barnard Castle deserves a couple of hours: the high street, the castle ruins above the river, and the Bowes Museum just outside town. Parking is pay-and-display and well signed.
From there the B6278 heads north-east over Bollihope Common to Stanhope, and this is the emptiest stretch of the whole trip. Lead-mining ruins, curlews in spring, hardly a car. The Durham Dales Centre in Stanhope has parking, a café and toilets — the last reliable facilities before the finish.
Push on through Rookhope and over to Allenheads, then down into Allendale. From there the A686 runs to Haydon Bridge and the A69 carries you into Newcastle. If you would rather stay on quiet roads, work north from Allendale to the A68 and pick up the A696 at Otterburn, coming into Newcastle past the airport.
Three hours of driving, five or six with stops. You will arrive late afternoon.
Timings, Fuel and Parking at a Glance
- Day One: about 35 miles, 1.5–2 hours driving, five to six hours with stops.
- Day Two: about 110 miles, 3–4 hours driving, a full day.
- Day Three: about 90 miles, three hours driving, five to six hours with stops.
- Fuel: supermarket forecourts in Oldham, Huddersfield, Skipton, Richmond and Barnard Castle are cheaper than rural stations.
- Fuel gaps: there is nothing useful on the high B-roads in the North Pennines. Do not leave Rookhope or Allenheads under a quarter of a tank.
- Parking: signed pay-and-display in Uppermill, Holmfirth, Halifax, Skipton, Pateley Bridge, Richmond and Barnard Castle. A few rural car parks are coin-only.
- Newcastle: park-and-ride at Callerton Parkway or Regent Centre beats city-centre parking, which is limited and expensive.
Weather, Closures and When to Go
The A635 over Saddleworth, the A6024 at Holme Moss and the B6278 and B6299 across the North Pennines all close in snow. From November to March, check the forecast and road status before you set out, and be prepared to turn around rather than press on.
Sheep wander onto the road on the moorland sections almost year-round, and cyclists are common on the A629 and the A6108. Give both plenty of room.
May to September gives you the best of it; June brings the longest evenings. Midweek is noticeably quieter than weekends, and bank holidays make Holmfirth, Skipton and Richmond busy.
Practical Notes Before You Go
Mobile signal is patchy on Saddleworth Moor, over Bollihope and around Allenheads, so download offline maps before you leave. Carry water and something to eat: some of the best stretches have no shop for twenty miles in any direction.
Check tyres, coolant and screenwash beforehand — the climbs are long and the weather changes fast. If you are driving an electric car, plan charging around the towns on the route, because there is nothing on the moors. And book accommodation in Holmfirth and Richmond ahead of time, particularly in summer.
Photo: Michał Robak / Pexels
