Pen-y-ghent

'A misty jaunt up Yorkshire's third peak'

Date: 26 Feb 2012                                            Start time: 11:04

Start point: Verge at south end of Horton-in-Ribblesdale - SD813720

Walkers: Mark Illingworth, Emma Lever

Distance: 7.30miles                                          Time: 3:45:08

 

Route: Walk round cresent shaped lane towards village church. Cross main road and head NE along tarmac road past School (R). At farm buildings, turn L up eroded grassy footpath. Follow path E through a number of gates and stiles as path becomes stonier and slabbed in places. At gate which meets 'Pennine Way' running S->N alongside a wall, turn L to walk N up clear stepped path all the way to summit trig point. At summit, cross wall at gate-stile to continue on 'Pennine Way'. Follow path as it turns W away from limestone cliff. After a double stiled wall, head NNE in direction of Hull Pot. Walk around large pot hole area then trace steps back S to 'Pennine Way', which becomes an off-road lane between two walls in S/SW direction back to Hortin-in-Ribblesdale. When 'Pennine Way' meets main road, turn L to walk S back towards church. Cross road back to crescent shaped lane.

Weather: Hill fog, turning to very occasional drizzle at times. Very poor visability, especially higher ground. Not warm, but not too cold except when wind pushed drizzle into your face. Winds were quiet until you reached 'Pennine Way' where strength increased, dropping again at lower ground near Hull Pot.

Notes: With the weather as it was we couldn't get the full feel of the limestone laden surroundings. Driving via Austwick allowed for a Postman Pat like Yorkshire Dales feeling, rather than three-peaks walking country Yorkshire Dales, especially as the iconic shapes of the three highest tops couldn't be made out at any point of the day, so farms and walled lanes were what drew the eye.

The path up to Pen-y-ghent from Horton was the three-peaks path so it was very well travelled. The path back being  the Pennine Way was similarly obvious, well-travelled and sort of a tourist route feel came to the journey. this sometimes bothers me, but not today. The claggy hill fog made visibility non-existent from the 400m contour so the simple navigation of an obvious well made path helped somewhat.

I enjoyed how the limestone becomes part of the landscape and part of the path up Pen-y-ghent. It added variety to the walk and you got so close to it small areas that you had so much to look at at least.

Pen-y-ghent is really a steady stroll up through sometimes boggy farmland followed by a steep clamber up a well laid out staircase of a path. The best part of this staircase isn't the helpful man-made sections, but the sections where the rocks making up the hill themself offer a simple but fun clamber to the next level of path. This was my favourite section of the walk, only slightly dampened by the young leader of a group of teenagers, who was wierdly friendly and enthusiastic in a way that simultaneously annoys you but makes you feel sorry for them as they possibly have very few friends. The children themselves were polite and it was nice to see so many people enjoying the hill even on a grey day in February. I think the group with a small dog who frequently exchanged places with us on the journey, and the three generations of one Yorkshire family with their curious pooch 'Bracken' will also stick in my memory - not least because the latter group helped us find Hull Pot.

Hull Pot was largely the inspiration for this journey, we'd seen it in all its gushing glory on Stuart Maconie's documentary about the Pennine Way of Wainwright. Unfortunately we seem to miss the times when falls like this are at their best. Hull Pot Beck was almost dry and but for a small cascade in the north-east corner of the chasm there was no water drama in sight. I was disappointed by what we saw, which I shouldn't really have been. Here was still an impressive and unique gaping pot hole with no clear way down and no real explanation as to how it opened up when the land surrounding was so level and grassy.

Horton-in-Ribblesdale itself was an ok village. Not ugly, but not chocolate box. I liked the out houses to the village church as they had an aged charm to them. The church itself would have looked better if they hadn't fixed the roof on what appeared to be the quick and easy.

We only got the above from Hull Pot, a Google image search will give you some more exciting images. The Stuart Maconie TV programme was called Wainwright's Long Walk, it aired in Autumn 2011 on the BBC. I'm not sure if you can get the whole thing online somewhere to watch.