A circular walk from Ingleton, via Dent, Hawes and Horton-in-Ribblesdale - July 1992
Walks with a Camera © Geoff’s Pages 2011
Not a good day, weather-wise. It was dull and cool
as we climbed slowly out of Ingleton, and up the
long shoulder of Whernside, and before long, a
steady rain began, keeping up for the entire
journey. We stood to eat our lunches at the
summit, before dropping to Dentdale.
Curiously, like so many limestone country rivers,
the bed of the Dee seemed the driest part of the valley as we
Day 1: Ingleton - Dent
Today we would head back up Dentdale to Arten Gill, there taking
the path under what was always reckoned to be the "prettiest"
viaduct on the Settle - Carlisle railway. The path rises to cross the
ridge which, dividing the waters between the Dee and Widdale
Beck (which feeds into the Ure near Hawes), thus forms part of
the main English watershed.
We had left Dent in that kind of murky gloom which often follows
heavy rain. Gradually however the day improved,
so that by the time we reached the top of the
pass, it was a fine, warm, sunny afternoon. So
instead of descending into Widdale, we continued
our ascent onto Widdale Fell, following the edge of
the fell toward Hawes, before ultimately
descending to the beck and, after a short road
walk, crossing through the fields into Hawes.
Day 2: Dent - Hawes
Day 4: Horton-in-Ribblesdale - Ingleton
For the last leg of our journey, we crossed the
limestone landscape of Sulber to ascend
Ingleborough, before descending via Crina Bottom
to Ingleton.
There are still many acres of limestone pavement
in Yorkshire, despite the ravages of quarrying and
the collection of surface rocks for gardens - here
are some of the finest, and we vowed to return and spend a bit
more time exploring and photographing this unique landscape (see
camera walk "Ingleborough").
Leaving the pavements behind, the path
climbs gently beside Simon Fell, reaching
the summit of
Ingleborough via a
short steeper
section. Time for
lunch, and a chance to study the view for
one last time. A steep descent of the south-
west face (!) took us down by the
beautifully-situated farm of Crina Bottom - well hidden from the
main roads, but passed by many thousands of walkers each year.
Finally, we arrived in Ingleton via Storrs - just in time for the sky
to really clear! Nevertheless, it had been an excellent trip, with
plenty of variety in the scenery and some good overnight stops.
Must do it again some time!
made our way down to the village of Dent. There wasn't much to
do in the rain - fortunately there are two good pubs, the George
and Dragon, and the Sun - so the rain wasn't a disaster.
Day 3: Hawes - Horton-in-Ribblesdale
The route for today was the Pennine Way -
southwards via Dodd Fell and Cam Fell to the
pothole country in Ribblesdale.
This was one of those fresh, breezy days when it's
great to be up on the tops (despite
a little shower, barely sufficient for
waterproofs). The path crosses the
fields from Hawes to Gayle on a stone-slabbed way,
then climbs steadily up to Ten End, with
magnificent views over Wensleydale providing
plenty of excuses for a breather.
Once the latter summit is reached, the
route continues at a fairly constant height
for some distance across the bleak, lonely
country between the eastern dales and the
Ribble. Gradually the
descent begins to the
fascinating pothole country just to the
north of Horton, and here we spent some
time exploring the surface and, in the case
of Browgill cave, venturing a little way
inside.
