Length: 24.3 km (15.1 mi) [shorter walks possible, see
below]
Ascent /Descent: 790m
Net Walking Time: 7 hours
Toughness: 8 out of 10
Take the 08.50 Carlisle train from Settle (Horton-in-Ribblesdale 8.58), arrives Ribblehead at 09.06.
[This is the 07.48 from Leeds.]
Return trains: 16.15, 17.43, 18.05, 19.48,
21.45.
Demanding route up to and across Yorkshire’s
second-highest top (and arguably its only mountain), largely avoiding the
crowds that ply some of the very popular paths up, including the notorious
Three Peaks Route.
The route starts through the disused Ribblehead
Limestone Quarry, now a National Nature Reserve, and ascends the lower
northerly slopes of the Ingleborough massif on good clear paths up to the
northerly subsidiary top of Park Fell. It then skirts along its westerly edge
with fine views across the valley to Whernside and back to the Ribblehead
Viaduct. Another, gentler ascent follows to the edge of the top of Simon Fell
and you follow the steep westerly scarp to the engineered path that carries the
busy Three Peaks Route up across from Whernside. Follow the stepped path for
the final steep ascent to Ingleborough’s featureless plateau, former site of an
Iron Age hillfort and very exposed to weathers drifting in from the nearby
coast.
On a rare clear day, you have views to Morecambe
Bay and can identify up to 42 named hills and mountains. In mist or driving low
clouds though, all you are going to identify are: storm shelter, trig point and
piles of stones! You descend along a steep engineered path and some farm
tracks-with-views all of 600 height metres to the tourist honeypot that is
Ingleton with its many lunch options, from where a short steep ascent along a
quiet lane gets you back onto an interim plateau with fine views to the surrounding
hills (Gragareth, Ingleborough) as well as some limestone scars. From here,
climb up to the extensive Scales Moor limestone plateau with its outcrops,
pavement, erratics, shake holes, sink holes and pot holes. The return to
Ribblehead Station follows good tracks through the valley between Whernside and
Ingleborough and under the famous Railway Viaduct.
A ridge walk, shortcuts, an alternative ending and
a (ticketed) Waterfalls Trail complement the options.
Walk Options:
An Alternative Route from the plateau of
Park Fell leads over the tops of Park Fell and Simon Fell en route to
Ingleborough’s top, avoiding any exposure, rather than along the continuous
scarp. A slightly boggy area in the saddle between Park and Simon Fell is
unavoidable though on this variant.
A Shortcut cuts the final descent into Ingleton for lunch (cut 1.5 km
and 80m ascent; map-led).
Buses from Ingleton Community Centre link to the following railway
stations: Bentham, Lancaster, Giggleswick, Settle. None of those buses run on
Sundays.
An Alternative Finish from Ingleton to Bentham Station (Leeds -
Lancaster Line) is shown on the route map, this is largely flat and cuts 6.8 km
(4.2 mi) and 269m ascent.
The ticketed Ingleton Waterfalls Trail (£10 as of 04/24) is a splendid
alternative ascent out of Ingleton, leading through a wooded gorge and along
the River Twiss’ spouts, cascades and waterfalls.
Lunch: More than a
handful of options in Ingleton (from 12 km into the walk).
Check the webpage or pdf for details.
Tea: The
Station Inn, Ribblehead. Located 200m from the end of the
walk, or the Ribblehead Station Visitor Centre
and Tea Room.
For walk directions, map, height profile, photos
and gpx/kml files click here . T=swc.439
2 comments:
mwis.org forecast summary for the day: windy gales on top, up to 40mph; showery rain early for a few hours, easing off early afternoon; 60% chance of cloud free summit
We had 18 people out walking yesterday, with 1 other meeting up with a local friend, plus 3 new arrivals, so 22 SWC-ees in the area in total (Leeds, Skipton, Settle and Hortone). Of those, 13 started the walk under grey clouds and in strong wind. The soon to be conquered steep grassy ascent of Park Fell was strenuous but not too long for spirits to drop, and the following lightly up and down stretch along the scarps of Park and Simon Fell into the wind sapped some energy. Then we hit the Y'shire 3 Peaks route and reassembled the group to be sure we all stuck together for the crossing of the plateau, which was in cloud. There are at least 5 different descent routes and we didn't want to lose anyone to going off in the wrong direction. Quickly across the plateau (no views) and down the steep engineered path the other side, eventually descending down through the cloud and getting some views of the valley ahead. At the Wheatsheaf Inn for 1, we agreed a time to meet up again with the sandwichers for the afternoon route.
Inside we met 2 of the rest of the group who were exploring Ingleton (by bus from Settle). The initial ascent out of Ingleton (lying much lower than Ribblehead) leads along a tarmac lane leading into limestone country and then up along a lane up to a limestone shelf which we then followed. The hills to the side were still mostly in clouds, later that changed to more cloud free than cloudy though. The hills ahead beyond the route though were bathed in sunshine and everyone enjoyed the typical limestone features of pavements, shake holes, sink holes, pot holes, erratics.
1 walker, keen on the views from Ingleborough, had walked back from Ingleton the way we came out, also exploring the pre historic features of the plateau in detail (hut circles, boundary walls). He was eventually rewarded with the prized views from the top.
We got to the Station Inn Ribblehead for 17.15, where we then saw 1 of the 2 Ingleton explorers walk in just after us. He had walked the waterfalls trail and then tried to catch us.
17.43 train for some, dinner and the 19.48 train for others. Grand day out.
N=14 w=overcast-improving-to-blue-skies-no-rain-always-blustery
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