Words & Photos Ian Battersby

December 03 2009

I was drooling over maps one evening, trying to keep them dry, when a novel route popped into my head.

Pen-y-ghent is popular, but how about combining it with a sortie along upper Ribblesdale? Winter light was at a premium, but Ribblesdale is blessed with the Settle-Carlisle Railway, and so a linear route from Settle to Ribblehead Viaduct was born, by connecting bits of the Three Peaks, Ribble Way and Pennine Way.

Alighting at Settle, I followed the quieter Ribble Way through air that was cold enough to coat the rocks with ice. Birds fluffed up on branches to keep warm. I moved on to Stainforth.

Now many think of the south ridge of Pen-y-ghent as being short and sharp, but that’s just the upper section. It really begins in Stainforth, and I was about to climb its full length of six kilometres. It’s too much for the Ribble Way, which chickens out above Helwith Bridge, but a path continues to climb, enjoying an 
ever-widening panorama from Ingleborough to the more distant Pendle Hill. To the east the broad flank of Fountains Fell fills the horizon.

I reached the Pennine Way and the snow line at Churn Milk Hole, and puffed past several other hikers, still suffering from their shorter but crueller ascent from Horton. This is one of the Dales’ most dramatic climbs. The temptation is to go straight to the top for a gander towards Ingleborough and Whernside, but hold on, there’s plenty of that to go round later. I detoured from the path to follow the eastern edge of the hill, which fair plummets into Pen-y-ghent Gill. It’s a spectacular view, with the gill curving gently towards the head of Littondale.

Having taken my fill of this oft missed spectacle, I bagged the trig point, and descended to the crags of Pen-y-ghent Side, then crossed the iced-up mosses to Birkwith Cave below Dismal Hill. I remember reaching this point on a Three Peaks attempt, aborted after crossing thigh-deep bog. Dismal was the word. A minor path visits the cave in a short diversion, where a stream tumbles out in a fine waterfall.

I rejoined the Ribble Way, crossing God’s Bridge to Nether Lodge, from where a path drops to cross the now much younger Ribble. Its source is only a few miles away. With time to spare I wandered around the impressive 24 arches of the Ribblehead Viaduct, my final goal, overlooked by Ingleborough and Whernside. This was my reason for tackling the walk in this uphill direction, but if you’d rather have a pint in Settle... My train’s arrival prompted the end, and whisked me back alongside the route as evening dimmed the lights.

Distance: 15 miles/24km Ascent: 2820ft/860m Time: 8-9 hours Start: Settle (GR: SD 816634) Finish: Ribblehead (GR: SD 765789) Map: Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 Landranger sheet 98 (Wensleydale & Upper Wharfedale) OS 1:25,000 Explorer sheet OL2 (Yorkshire Dales – Southern & Western areas) Information: Settle, 01729 825192

Technical Spec
Head north on Church Street to bridge over river. Turn right on Ribble Way to left of river for 1km. Right down Stackhouse Lane for 400m to white house. Right down lane, and left along Ribble Way through Stainforth. Climb NNE to Churn Milk Hole. Follow Pennine Way N over Pen-y-ghent to crags of Pen-y-ghent Side. Descend below crags then follow Three Peaks path NW to Birkwith Cave, from where the Ribble Way continues NW to Nether Lodge. Turn W to B6479. Turn right to Ribblehead Station.