Fountains Fell and Catrigg Force (Horton to Settle) walk
Easy exploration of a wild and remote fell. Return with views of green valleys, Malham Tarn and Catrigg Force waterfall. Finish along elevated path above Ribblesdale
![Catrigg Force, without foliage blocking the view SWC Walk 442 - Fountains Fell and Catrigg Force (Horton in Ribblesdale to Settle)](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53903832033_f9c924dae4_n.jpg)
Catrigg Force, without foliage blocking the view
SWC Walk 442 - Fountains Fell and Catrigg Force (Horton in Ribblesdale to Settle)
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![Fountains Fell, from Pennine Way SWC Walk 442 - Fountains Fell and Catrigg Force (Horton in Ribblesdale to Settle)](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53903831523_7324e64fba_n.jpg)
Fountains Fell, from Pennine Way
SWC Walk 442 - Fountains Fell and Catrigg Force (Horton in Ribblesdale to Settle)
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![Pen-y-ghent across fields SWC Walk 442 - Fountains Fell and Catrigg Force (Horton in Ribblesdale to Settle)](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53904015095_5e65420dcc_n.jpg)
Pen-y-ghent across fields
SWC Walk 442 - Fountains Fell and Catrigg Force (Horton in Ribblesdale to Settle)
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![Malham Tarn from Knowe Fell SWC Walk 442 - Fountains Fell and Catrigg Force (Horton in Ribblesdale to Settle)](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53904014395_e72c73d499_n.jpg)
Malham Tarn from Knowe Fell
SWC Walk 442 - Fountains Fell and Catrigg Force (Horton in Ribblesdale to Settle)
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![Occasional stream emerging from halfway up Pen-y-ghent's eastern side SWC Walk 442 - Fountains Fell and Catrigg Force (Horton in Ribblesdale to Settle)](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53902679777_71a66119ea_n.jpg)
Occasional stream emerging from halfway up Pen-y-ghent's eastern side
SWC Walk 442 - Fountains Fell and Catrigg Force (Horton in Ribblesdale to Settle)
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![Pheasant on wall at Rainscar Farm, Pen-y-ghent in background SWC Walk 442 - Fountains Fell and Catrigg Force (Horton in Ribblesdale to Settle)](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53903580306_0326a8b706_n.jpg)
Pheasant on wall at Rainscar Farm, Pen-y-ghent in background
SWC Walk 442 - Fountains Fell and Catrigg Force (Horton in Ribblesdale to Settle)
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![Pennine Way across top of Fountains Fell SWC Walk 442 - Fountains Fell and Catrigg Force (Horton in Ribblesdale to Settle)](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53903832433_8832e4797a_n.jpg)
Pennine Way across top of Fountains Fell
SWC Walk 442 - Fountains Fell and Catrigg Force (Horton in Ribblesdale to Settle)
swcwalks swcwalk442 53903832433
Length |
24.4 km (15.2 mi), with 703/792m cumulative ascent/descent. For a shorter walk, see below Walk Options. |
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Toughness |
7 out of 10 with 6 hours walking time. |
Walk Notes |
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 19th 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. |
Walk Options |
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).
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Maps |
OS Landranger Map: 98 (Wensleydale & Upper Wharfedale)
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Transport |
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. |
Lunch |
Picnic |
Tea |
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. |
Glossary |
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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Profile | |
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By Train |
Out (not a train station) Back (not a train station) |
By Car |
Start BD24 0HH Map Directions Return to the start: Finish BD24 9AA Map Directions Travel to the start: |
Amazon | |
Help |
National Rail: 03457 48 49 50 • Traveline (bus times): 0871 200 22 33 (12p/min) • TFL (London) : 0343 222 1234 |
Version |
Aug-24 Thomas G |
Copyright | © Saturday Walkers Club. All Rights Reserved. No commercial use. No copying. No derivatives. Free with attribution for one time non-commercial use only. www.walkingclub.org.uk/site/license.shtml |
Walk Directions
Full directions for this walk are in a PDF file (link above) which you can print, or download on to a Kindle, tablet, or smartphone.
This is just the introduction. This walk's detailed directions are in a PDF available from wwww.walkingclub.org.uk