Pennine Way Accommodation Compared: Camping, Hostels and B&Bs

Pennine Way Accommodation Compared: Camping, Hostels and B&Bs

The Pennine Way runs roughly 268 miles from Edale in Derbyshire to Kirk Yetholm on the Scottish side of the Cheviots, and most people take two to three weeks over it. That's fifteen to twenty-five nights, which makes the question of where you sleep almost as important as what you carry. Camping, hostels and B&Bs are the three real options, and each asks something different of your money and your patience. The right answer often changes halfway through the walk.

What Shapes Your Choice Before You Book Anything

Three things decide more than budget alone.

The shape of the route. The Way passes through villages — Edale, Malham, Horton-in-Ribblesdale, Hawes, Keld, Dufton, Alston, Bellingham — where beds exist. Between them are long, exposed stretches: the South Pennine moors, the climb over Cross Fell, and the final Cheviot leg into Scotland. A few stops sit a mile or more off the line, which means a lift, a bus or extra road walking at the end of a hard day. A 15-mile day on limestone tracks in the Dales feels very different from 15 miles of bog and flagstone on the top, and that difference matters when you're deciding whether to push on to a bed or stop early.

The season. Between Easter and September, most accommodation is open and much of it is full. Outside that window some hostels and campsites shut, and you'll be leaning on pubs and the handful of places that stay open all year. Late spring and early autumn can be the sweet spot: enough daylight, fewer people, and a better chance of finding a bed without booking months ahead.

How far ahead you can commit. Fixed dates let you book everything in advance. Walking to a weather window means you need options that don't punish a late decision. If your plan depends on a specific B&B on a specific Saturday in July, you are no longer flexible; if you're carrying a tent and a stove, you can afford to see what the forecast does.

Camping: Cheap, Flexible, Heavier Than You Think

Camping is the cheapest way to sleep on the Pennine Way and the least forgiving. Pitch fees are modest, but the real cost is in your pack: tent, mat, sleeping bag, stove and the fuel you burn carrying them over 268 miles of rough ground. A lightweight solo setup still adds three to four kilograms to your base weight, and on steep ground that weight is paid for in pace and knees.

What you gain is freedom. Most campsites accept a single night, and many will take you on the day if you ring ahead. The gaps are what catch people out. Sites cluster in the Dales and along Hadrian's Wall; on parts of the South Pennines and the Cheviot finish you may need a longer day or a word with a farmer. It pays to mark the awkward gaps on your map before you leave and decide how you'll bridge them: a longer day, a detour to a village, or a night in a hostel or B&B.

Worth thinking about before you commit to a tent-heavy itinerary:

• Drying. Few sites have a drying room, so on a wet week everything you own stays damp. A wet tent packed at dawn is heavier and colder than the one you pitched.
• Midges. Still, sheltered evenings in midsummer are the worst of it. A head net costs little and saves your sanity. Camping on exposed ground or near a breeze helps more than any spray.
• Facilities. "Campsite" can mean a field, a tap and a basic toilet. Check before you plan a rest day around it. Some sites have showers and a shop; others have neither.
• Food. If there's no pub within reach, you're carrying dinner as well as your bed. That adds weight and limits how far you can walk between resupplies.

Wild camping

Wild camping is not a general right in England and Wales; you need the landowner's permission, and on busy stretches of the Way it is rarely appropriate. Scotland's rules are more permissive but come with responsibilities and some local restrictions. Check current guidance for the areas you'll cross, keep groups small, arrive late, leave early, and never light a fire on peat or moorland. If you're unsure, ask. A quiet word with a farmer or a pub landlord often solves a night that would otherwise mean a long walk in the dark.

Hostels and Bunkhouses: The Practical Middle

Hostels and bunkhouses sit between the two extremes. You get a bed, a roof, usually a kitchen and often a drying room — the single most valuable facility on this walk. Some are YHA, though that network along the route has shrunk over the years; plenty more are independent, community-run, or attached to a pub or farm. The best of them feel like exactly what a long-distance walk needs: a hot shower, a place to hang wet gear, and a table where you can spread out a map and eat a huge pasta dinner.

You pay per bed, so solo walkers aren't penalised with a supplement, and you carry far less. The trade-off is other people. Dorms mean earplugs, and a shared kitchen at seven in the evening isn't always calm. If you're a light sleeper, book a small room or a private bunk if the hostel offers one, and don't count on lights-out at the same time as you.

On booking: weekend beds in the Dales fill weeks ahead in summer, and some small hostels take reservations by phone only, so don't trust an online calendar that shows nothing available. Midweek in May or September you can often decide on the day. Check opening times, whether there's a drying room and laundry, whether breakfast or a packed lunch is offered, and whether the hostel sits on the route or a mile up a lane. That last detail is easy to miss on a screen and painful to discover at the end of a wet afternoon.

B&Bs, Guesthouses and Inns: The Comfort Option

B&Bs, guesthouses and pubs with rooms are the most expensive of the three, and for many walkers they are the reward. You get a private room, a proper bed, a shower you don't queue for, and usually a cooked breakfast that will carry you through the first half of the day. Some also offer a packed lunch, a flask fill, and a drying space for boots and jackets. After a week of camping and dorms, a B&B can feel like a small holiday.

Costs vary widely. In popular Dales villages, a summer weekend room can be £80 or more, and solo walkers may face a single supplement or a minimum two-night stay. Outside the honeypot villages and in shoulder season, prices drop and owners are more flexible. It is always worth asking directly, especially if you are walking alone: some places will waive a supplement midweek, and some pubs have a simpler room above the bar that never appears on booking sites.

What to watch for:

• Arrival times. Many B&Bs close their doors between late morning and late afternoon. If you're running late, ring ahead.
• Breakfast time. A fixed 8am breakfast can sound fine until you realise it means starting at 9am, not 7am. Ask if an early breakfast is possible.
• Drying and laundry. Not every B&B welcomes wet gear in the room. Ask where boots and jackets should go.
• Location. A place a mile off route is fine with a lift, a bus or a taxi, but that cost and time add up.
• Cancellation. Some small places ask for a deposit and charge for late cancellation. If your plans depend on weather, check the policy before you commit.

If you want a hot bath, a cooked breakfast and a bed that isn't a bunk, the B&B is the classic Pennine Way reward. Just don't leave it to the last minute in July.

Mixing It Up: A Sensible Strategy

Most successful Pennine Way walks are not one accommodation type but a mix. A common rhythm is to camp or hostel through the remote stretches, then take a B&B every fourth or fifth night to dry out, sleep properly and eat a real meal. That pattern keeps costs down without grinding you into the ground.

Another approach is to book B&Bs for the whole route and use a baggage transfer service to move your main pack between stops. You then walk with a day pack, which changes the feel of the walk entirely: more comfortable, more expensive, and far less flexible. If you go that way, book early and confirm that each accommodation accepts transfers.

For the tent-carriers and hostel-hoppers, the opposite is true. You can decide at breakfast how far you'll go, stop early when the weather turns, or push on if you feel strong. That freedom is the point. Just have a fallback: a phone number for a bunkhouse, a note of the nearest campsite, and enough food for one extra night.

Booking, Contingency and the Cost of Changing Your Mind

However you travel, build in slack. The Pennine Way is notorious for weather that changes plans: a flooded ford, a closed path, a day of low cloud on Cross Fell, or a knee that decides it has had enough. Fixed bookings can become a trap. Where you can, choose accommodation with a generous cancellation policy, or keep one night in reserve that you can abandon without losing much money.

Phone signal is patchy, especially in the Cheviots and parts of the South Pennines. Don't rely on being able to call from the top of a moor. If you have a booking, confirm it before you lose signal for the day. Carry a power bank, and keep a written list of numbers as well as your phone.

Finally, think about what you actually want from the walk. If the challenge is carrying everything and sleeping wherever you can, camping will give you that. If you want company and a lighter pack, hostels are the sweet spot. If you want comfort, a hot shower and a proper breakfast, B&Bs are worth the money. The Pennine Way is long enough that your answer can change from week to week — and that's fine. The best itinerary is the one that still feels sustainable on day twelve.

Photo: Ketut Subiyanto / Pexels