3 July 2025

A Trail of Inspiration: the Pennine Way at 60

Bowlees Visitor Centre, North Pennines National Landscape
3 July to 31 August, open 10am to 5pm daily

A travelling exhibition celebrating 60 years of the Pennine Way is making another stop on its journey along the iconic National Trail, arriving in the North Pennines National Landscape for a two-month residency.

A Trail of Inspiration: the Pennine Way at 60 features work from artists, musicians, videographers, writers and poets, all inspired by journeys and experiences along this beloved 268-mile walking route.

The exhibition will be on show at the North Pennines National Landscape’s Bowlees Visitor Centre, in Upper Teesdale from 3 July to 31 August.
Each of the artists has created their own response to their experiences of walking and enjoying the trail. From talking backpacks and music, to paintings and weavings, the exhibition is as rich and varied as a day spent walking along the Pennine Way. As well as the creative work, there is a canvas which gathers 300 images sent in by members of the public to share and celebrate the Pennine Way.

There are familiar and celebrated names among the list of exhibitors, including work from Simon Armitage, Poet Laureate. His journey, the ‘wrong way’ along the Pennine Way was captured in his book Walking Home, which shared his journey from the Scottish borders down towards his home.

The list of creatives displaying work also includes Anita Sethi, Sally Zaranko, Fredi Chohan, Jon Harrison, Kat Wheatley, Andrew Cannon and Kevin Threlfall.

Simon Wilson is Programme Manager for Business and Engagement with the North Pennines National Landscape team. As part of his wide-ranging role, he helps to look after the 73 miles of the Pennine Way which lie within the North Pennines, alongside other colleagues and partner organisations. The work includes representing the North Pennines on the Pennine Way National Trail Partnership, managing improvements to access and co-ordinating a volunteer programme along the trail. Simon is also an artist, and his piece ‘Kipper on Goldsborough’ is one of the works featured in the exhibition. He said: “I have been involved in looking after the Pennine Way National Trail for several years and know some parts of it very well. My earliest excursions onto the trail were as a child from Edale, and more recently in the North Pennines National Landscape. I have painted and sketched many times along the trail. To step onto the Pennine Way is to share an experience with others, an experience that brings us closer to nature.”

Chris Woodley-Stewart, Director of the North Pennines National Landscape partnership, said: “It’s a pleasure to be bringing this exhibition to Bowlees, right next to a stretch of the Pennine Way which will be familiar to so many people. Walking from Bowlees Visitor Centre brings you very quickly to the Wynch Bridge at Low Force, and then straight onto the Pennine Way. Follow the trail for a couple of miles and you’re at High Force, one of the most spectacular sights on the trail. The North Pennines has some of the most memorable stretches of this wonderful walking route. We hope that the exhibition inspires more people to at least walk a short stretch of it, if not the full route.”

The Pennine Way, spanning 268 miles from Edale in Derbyshire to Kirk Yetholm in the Scottish Borders, was envisioned by Thomas Stephenson as a “long, green trail” and has since become an iconic route traversing the rugged spine of northern England. The exhibition highlights how the trail continues to be valued by people of all backgrounds, whether as a personal challenge, or a weekend adventure. Several thousand people walk the trail each year: some complete the whole trail in one go, while others take the route section by section, often taking years to complete the whole journey. Even more walkers enjoy shorter stretches at a time, many unaware that the paths they walk on form part of England’s oldest long-distance trail.

Part of a year-long celebration marking the 60th anniversary of National Trails, the exhibition has been on show at the Dales Countryside Museum in Hawes, Hebden Bridge, and the National Park Visitor Centre at Malham, before arriving at Bowlees Visitor Centre. Its next stop will be at The Sill: National Landscape Discovery Centre.

Find out more at www.nationaltrail.co.uk/pennine-way-at-60. Please note that the exhibition space at Bowlees Visitor Centre is accessed via stairs.