Riding a long distance trail (Ridgeway/Pennine Way etc)

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SDH

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For my "summer holiday" next year I'm contemplating riding the Ridgeway or the Pennine Way Bridleway.
Overnighting at B&Bs with stables/grazing.
(I have actually walked -on foot- both these routes a few years back - so aware of the distances/terrain involved etc).

Has anyone done anything like this? I'm looking for advice on feeding (grazing on route?), fitness, lost shoes, bad weather etc etc.

I should mention that I horsey & I toddle off on 2-3hours rides when the whim takes us :-)
 
Is the pennine way track part of the Mary Townley loop?? I know a livery which I could recommend if it is
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Yes!
Although I believe its more a case that the Mary Townley loop is part of the Pennine Way
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Oooops yes I know what I meant
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well if you hit the Mary Townley bit theres a Livery Stables that does the horses and a cottage in the village for you.... very nice place..

 
I've not done it but there are guides to the penine way and places to stay etc.

I believe that the BHS have some info available too.
 
www.horseswelcome.org/index.html

Covers B&B for part of the Penine Way and offers other ideas etc.

I have seen a few people come by our way doing long distance trails. One had a box with another horse which followed her-she was doing Lands end to John-O-Groats. Another lady had a pack horse and camped out alot, she covered borders and dumfreis way and staed in B&B's about every 4-5 nights. She had a little portable coral which fitted into her rucksack. It was like electric fencing and she put the horses in that each night- not seen one of thoses before. I may have some details at home about it. She had lots of good ideas. PM me if you want and I will see if I have her details.
 
Thanks everyone - I'm more after the info specific to the horses as opposed to places to stay etc (found that online already)

Flowerlady - All my horsey mates think i'm totally nuts however I probably will do it with my Dad on his mountain bike and my boyfriend in car as "luggage courier". (don't worry, boyfriend would much prefer this, to doing any exercise!).
I'm contemplating bringing Sam my semi-retired beastie as a pack pony/company for Rusty - the horse i'll ride. Altho not sure Sammy could cope with it so he may have do sections on the trailer, LOL
 
The Daily Telegraph wrote an article about the Ridgeway Ride (1996/7?) They hired horses from Bewley Riding Centre so if you contact the centre they may be able to help you it was a long time ago.
 
How many miles are you planning on doing and over how long?? it might be worth getting in touch with some Endurance Riding Club....lost shoes I dont know maybe invest in one of the equi boots just incase..weather thats in the hands of the gods but if your taking company loads of different clothes...fitness again will depend on what you currently do and at what pace but I'm on the Mary Townley and the terrain in areas is tough going so take that into account and then there are the obvious hills...sorry probably not much help...
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I rode the south downs way (100 miles) this summer in prep for john o groats to lands end.

I did it just me and my pony with no one else and no one following. Feedwise, my mum droppeed it all off before hand at each of the places we were staying as it'd have eben too much to carry.

She was initially barefoot though I put front shoes on her (hoofboots rubbed her) and her back feet went without but only just. I didn't have anything prepared in case of a lost shoe, just hoped for the best as the boots would have rubbed her anyway.

Fitness..my aim was to have her doing 20 - 25 miles 3 or 4 times a week just before we went (our days were 20 - 27 miles) though we didnt really manage this due to her having ringworm under her saddle a month beforehand and me getting swine flu 2 weeks beforehand and so on and so forth. She managed easily though.

Bad weather - I had a pac-a-mac and waterproof trousers but was very lucky with thew weather too, it only rained badly twice and we soon dried out!

If you're staying at B&Bs ect it'll be easy to dry clothes. I personally only took 1 set of evening clothes (I took leggings instead of jeans as its lighter) and 1 set of riding clothes, pac-a-mac instead of a proper coat as again, its lighter, and some big hoodies for the cold. Oh and waterproof over trousers. Plus some extra socks and pants.

Theres a massive list of stuff you need really, if you need any help or anything pm me I'd be happy to help as best as I could
 
If you decide on The Ridgeway, I have the whole trail book, gives you loads of details, accomodation and so on so if you want to borrow it, give me a PM. If you contact the local council to there, they had lots of leaflets they sent me about it which are all very helpful.
I do envy you, it's long been a dream of mine to do it or any of the LD routes for that matter, sadly finance or lack of it gets in the way!
Best of luck and I do hope you'll keep a diary for us on here.
 
Don't confuse the Pennine Way with the Pennine Bridleway - although similar in some parts they are completely different trails.

I live on the Pennine Bridleway and arrange holidays for people along the trail. If you are planning to do the Pennine Bridleway I would recommend you contact the Pennine Bridleway team at Natural England - www.nationaltrail.co.uk/penninebridleway. They produce a free accommodation guide for the section from Derbyshire to the South Pennines (which includes the Mary Towneley Loop). It also has really useful information on local farriers, vets, suitable places for parking, shops and pubs etc

From a personal point of view I would consider the following if you are planning a trail holiday:-
-Consider how far you can do comfortably in a day - 20 miles seems to be the upper limit for most riders on the Pennine Bridleway.
- If you are planning to do more than 4 days riding I would factor in a rest day or at least a short day.
- Have a list of emergency farriers/vets to hand - some B&Bs will not have this information
- Plan where you are staying beforehand and book accommodation in advance - lots of places get full especially in the summer
-Be prepared for all weathers even in the summer!
- An Equiboot is a good idea just in case you lose a shoe
-If you are not doing a organised trail, make sure someone knows your plans and report back on a regular basis.
-Check what (if any) horse feed each accommodation provider can supply. Don't suddenly change feeding regimes while you are away. Lots of horses can do a trail holiday just on grass - try to keep things as close to normal as you can.

The Pennine Bridleway team have a stand at Your Horse Live in November and they always have lots of useful information there - well worth a visit if you plan to attend.

Good luck and happy holidays!
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