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An easy walk up the trade route to the highest of the Dales, on a pleasant afternoon of mist and hazy sunshine.
The track north-west from Ribblehead is clear and easily followed, but – largely over quite bleak and featureless moorland – perhaps not the most dramatic. A nice set of falls at the head of Force Gill and the very impressive Ribblehead Viaduct catch the eye, but otherwise the first two or three miles might please rail enthusiasts more than others... And, in the places where the path hasn’t been stoned or gravelled, the tread of thousands of feet in the same direction has rendered it quite sludgy and unpleasant - skirting it through the moorlands alongside is much to be preferred (as long as not too many others do it!). The route improves as it steepens up to and, hugging the drop to the east, along the surprisingly sharp ridge. Very hazy at the summit, and sadly no view even over the few miles to Ingleborough, let alone to the Lakes in the distance.
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- Whernside from Ribblehead
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- Ribblehead Viaduct
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- South down the valley below Whernside
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- Force Gill falls
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- Greensett Moss and tarn
From the south ridge, a heavily-worked stone-stepped path heads steeply down to the valley, from where it is easy, flat going across the farmlands back to the viaduct. From this angle, Whernside – occasionally caught by the sun – looked a much more enticing sight than when presenting a bleak façade to the north; overall, a satisfying enough route but perhaps nothing to argue that this shouldn’t be the least-visited of Yorkshire’s ‘Big Three’.
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- Rises on Whernside's south ridge lost in haze
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- Ingleborough from descent of Whernside
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- Whernside from near Broadrake
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- Heading back to Ribblehead Viaduct
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- Whernside from near Ribblehead
Just enough hours of daylight, and energy in the legs, left to tackle the short climb of isolated Great Knoutberry Hill, just to the north.
The drive up to the pass might just be the hardest thing here. The green miners' track contouring the west flank of the hill above Dentdale is a lovely walk, and even the route by the fence to and from the summit – which I had expected to be rather a pathless slog – is well-trodden and (bar a couple of largely-avoidable bogs) easy enough going; indeed rather more pleasant underfoot than much of the ‘made’ path over Whernside earlier. Standing quite well apart from anything higher, it’s easy to imagine Great Knoutberry Hill as a terrific viewpoint over many of the Dales peaks around - even if the view to the south was lost in the setting sun today, even the lesser hills in other directions looked quite imposing. A quick ‘bag’ maybe, but a pretty enjoyable one.
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- Baugh Fell
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- Wild Boar Fell from near Green Bank
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- Aye Gill Pike from GK Hill ascent
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- Stone men on GK Hill with the shadows of Ingleborough and Whernside
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- The rather undistinguished summit...
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- Wold Fell from the countouring track
