Fountains Fell and Catrigg Force (Horton to Settle) Walk

24.4 km (15.2 mi), with 703/792m cumulative ascent/descent. For a shorter walk, see below Walk Options.

7 out of 10 with 6 hours walking time.

This is a relatively easy exploration in the Yorkshire Dales up to the wild Fountains Fell – a fine viewpoint in good weather – which despite leading through very remote countryside has mostly good quality and easy-to-walk paths courtesy of the ascent and the crossing of the fell following the well-funded Pennine Way.

The approach to and ascent of Fountains Fell give fine vistas up to and along the famous Pen-y-ghent ‘from the back’ out of Silverdale – an angle of it not seen from the more popular routes in the area focusing on the Yorkshire Three Peaks. Fountains Fell itself, once owned by Fountains Abbey and used for sheep farming aiding the production of wool, shows ample signs of having been intensely worked for coal in the early 19^th century in support of the lead smelting near Malham. On the descent off the far side of the fell, you get views into the very green Cowside and Littondale valleys and to the large Malham Tarn and beyond it into Malhamdale.

Subsequently you cross a few lonely pastures-with-views, then drop down to the pretty Catrigg Force waterfall close to Stainforth village (with a shortcut option to a bus stop) and continue along quiet lanes and bridleways through some interesting limestone country at the Winskill Stones National Nature Reserve and then along an elevated path above Ribblesdale with fine views to Settle with its good selection of tea stops.

On the top of Fountains Fell, a more direct descent, southerly across the plateau and down a spur of the hill, would be shorter but also involves rougher and at times pathless ground (not yet walked).
Towards the end of the walk, you could stay on Henside Lane instead of looping down to Catrigg Force waterfall and back up through the Winskill Stones NNR. This cuts 1.9 km and 60m ascent.
Bus Line 11 (Horton in Ribblesdale to Clitheroe) stops at Stainsforth (Park View), with a late afternoon last bus to Settle (Mon-Sat at 16.02 (as of 06/24)). This enables a shortcut down from Catrigg Force along the Pennine Bridleway to the bus stop 1.2 km away. Cuts 3.6 km and 60m ascent.

OS Landranger Map: 98 (Wensleydale & Upper Wharfedale)
OS Explorer Map: OL2 (Yorkshire Dales – Southern & Western Areas)
Harvey British Mountain Map: Yorkshire Dales
Harvey Superwalker XT25 Map: Yorkshire Dales – South West & South East

Horton in Ribblesdale Station, map reference SD 803 726, is 328 km northwest of Charing Cross, 92 km southeast of Carlisle, 63 km northwest of Leeds and 245m above sea level. Settle Station, map reference SD 817 634, is 9 km south south east of Horton Station and 156m above sea level. Both are in North Yorkshire and are stations on the Leeds - Settle – Carlisle Line, with nine trains per day Mon-Sat and six on Sundays. Journey time to Horton is 90 minutes from Carlisle and 70 minutes from Leeds. Settle is 8 minutes closer to Leeds.

Saturday Walkers’ Club: The walk is doable as a daywalk from London with an early start and a late return.

Picnic

Plenty of options, all within a few minutes’ walk to the train station: Royal Spice, The Waffle Cone, the Talbot Arms, The Folly Coffee House, The Shambles Fish Bar, Matteo’s Settle Italian restaurant, The Fisherman restaurant, Bailey’s Bar & Grill, Royal Oak Hotel and pub, Ye Olde Naked Man café & bakery, The Singing Kettle café & bistro, The Golden Lion hotel and pub, Ruchee Indian & Bangladeshi restaurant, Bar 13 wine bar.

Northern Glossary

beck: stream, brook; brig(g): bridge; -by: habitation; cam: bank, slope, ridge; carr: marshy woodland or shrubland; clough: narrow valley, cleft in a hillside, ravine, glen, gorge, cliff, rocky precipice; crag: steep rugged mass of rock projecting upward or outward; currick: cairn, pile of stones, often locations used to keep watch for Scottish raiders; dale: valley; -ey: island, dry area in a marshy place; fell: hill, mountain slope (especially rough moorland); firth/frith: long, narrow inlet of the sea or estuary; force/foss: waterfall, rapids; frith: area of peace, protection, safety, security; garth: small grass enclosure adjacent to a house; gate: way, street; gill/ghyll: small narrow valley or ravine; hagg: part of an area of woodland, especially on a sloping bank; holm(e): island, inland promontory, raised ground in marsh, river-meadow; how(e): barrow, small hill; hush: (Roman era) mine on steep hillside, using dammed up water to wash away topsoil and boulders, revealing the underlying lead or ore veins; ing(s): meadow(s), especially water meadow near a river; keld/kell: spring or well; kirk: church; laithe/leeath: barn, agricultural building; lang: long; ling: heather; lonning/lonnin’: lane or track, something less than a road, more rural than a street, usually short; mell: sand dunes; mire: bog; moss: bog, marsh; ness: headland, promontory; nick: shallow notch, cut or indentation on an edge or a surface; pike: spike, sharp point, peak; rake: slant, incline; rigg: ridge; scar/scaur: cliff, rocky outcrop with a steep face; seat/set(t)/side: summer pasture or dwelling place; seaves: rushes; shaw: hurdle, gate; sike/syke/sitch: small stream or gulley, gutter; stang: pole, shaft, stake, wooden bar; stoop/stowp/stoup: post, gatepost, distance marker (milestone), standing stone; -sty: ascent, ascending lane or path, narrow pathway or course; tarn: lake or pond (especially in an upland location); thorp(e)/t(h)rop: village or small settlement; thwait(e): village or small settlement; toft(s): small farmstead with enclosed land, later applied to a village or small settlement; wath: ford; whinny: gorse, furze, thorny vegetation; -wich/wick: village or settlement.

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National Rail: 03457 48 49 50 • Traveline (bus times): 0871 200 22 33 (12p/min) • TFL (London) : 0343 222 1234

Aug-24 Thomas G