Great Knoutberry Hill (Dent to Ribblehead) walk
Easy mountain walk from England's highest station onto grassy hill with fine views. Passes three railway viaducts and uses good track across Blea Moor.
![Dent Head Viaduct SWC Walk 437 - Great Knoutberry Hill (Dent to Ribblehead)](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53895892592_cd870c100a_n.jpg)
Dent Head Viaduct
SWC Walk 437 - Great Knoutberry Hill (Dent to Ribblehead)
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![Wild Boar Fell, from Coal Road, above Dent Station SWC Walk 437 - Great Knoutberry Hill (Dent to Ribblehead)](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53897055618_6a69ceeb8d_n.jpg)
Wild Boar Fell, from Coal Road, above Dent Station
SWC Walk 437 - Great Knoutberry Hill (Dent to Ribblehead)
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![Shaft No 2, Blea Moor, with Ingleborough SWC Walk 437 - Great Knoutberry Hill (Dent to Ribblehead)](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53897234520_fa6ba2b8b9_n.jpg)
Shaft No 2, Blea Moor, with Ingleborough
SWC Walk 437 - Great Knoutberry Hill (Dent to Ribblehead)
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![Ribblehead Viaduct from the east SWC Walk 437 - Great Knoutberry Hill (Dent to Ribblehead)](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53897233645_1688a9e264_n.jpg)
Ribblehead Viaduct from the east
SWC Walk 437 - Great Knoutberry Hill (Dent to Ribblehead)
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![Barrow Crossing at Dent Station SWC Walk 437 - Great Knoutberry Hill (Dent to Ribblehead)](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53897055718_f0ec11b291_n.jpg)
Barrow Crossing at Dent Station
SWC Walk 437 - Great Knoutberry Hill (Dent to Ribblehead)
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![Dent Station, at 351 metres the highest (in-service) main line station in England SWC Walk 437 - Great Knoutberry Hill (Dent to Ribblehead)](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53897152914_33c4dbbf70_n.jpg)
Dent Station, at 351 metres the highest (in-service) main line station in England
SWC Walk 437 - Great Knoutberry Hill (Dent to Ribblehead)
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![Backview down Coal Road from above Dent Station: Whernside and Calf Top SWC Walk 437 - Great Knoutberry Hill (Dent to Ribblehead)](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53895893177_49668a6211_n.jpg)
Backview down Coal Road from above Dent Station: Whernside and Calf Top
SWC Walk 437 - Great Knoutberry Hill (Dent to Ribblehead)
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Length |
18.2 km (11.3 mi), with 601/636m cumulative ascent/descent. For a longer walk, see below Walk Options. |
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Toughness |
6 out of 10 with 5 hours walking time. |
Walk Notes |
This fairly easy route (for a mountain walk) starts at England’s highest operational mainline station and rises steeply along a quiet road to the 500m above sea level. You then follow the Pennine Bridleway along the contour around Great Knoutberry Hill before turning left up the grassy slope to its summit at 672m above sea level (a shortcut cuts out the ascent). From the top – in good weather – you have fantastic views past Wild Boar Fell and Mallerstang into the Vale of Eden, as well as to the Yorkshire Dales peaks and some of its valleys. A short and easy descent leads to a grassy track that skirts around the top of Wold Fell before dropping to a road. Turn easterly across to Dentdale for views of Dent Head railway viaduct, one of three seen on the route. A scenic ascent up to Blea Moor follows and you cross the moor on a good track which follows the line of the Blea Moor Railway Tunnel beneath. This very quiet stretch enchants with views of Whernside and Ingleborough, some meandering streams as well as the spoil heaps associated with the build of the tunnel and its airshafts. You then briefly share the usually busy route of the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge, but soon enough turn off it for a scenic loop along a beck and through pastures towards and under the famous Ribblehead Viaduct. Most of the route uses good paths or tracks, with only the stretch over the top of Great Knoutberry Hill being trackless, but even that is overly bog and tussock-free. |
Walk Options |
An out-and-back from the top of Great Knoutberry Hill along its north easterly flank (Widdale Fell) of up to 6 km each-way enables fine views into Widdale and Wensleydale, the valley of the River Ure.
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Maps |
OS Landranger Map: 98 (Wensleydale & Upper Wharfedale)
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Transport |
Dent Station, map reference SD 764 875, is 344 km northwest of Charing Cross, 77 km southeast of Carlisle, 76 km north west of Leeds, 350m above sea level and in Cumbria. Ribblehead Station, map reference SD 765 789, is 8 km south of Dent Station, 315m above sea level and in North Yorkshire. Both are stations on the Leeds - Settle – Carlisle Line, with eight trains per day Mon-Sat (but only six southbound ones at Dent) and five on Sundays. Journey time to Dent is 74 minutes from Carlisle, 26 from Settle and 87 from Leeds. Ribblehead is 10 minutes closer to Leeds. Saturday Walkers’ Club: The walk is doable as a daywalk from London with a very early start and late return. |
Lunch |
Picnic |
Tea |
Station Inn - Ribblehead Low Sleights Road, Carnforth, North Yorkshire, LA6 3AS (015242 41274). The Station Inn is located 200m from the end of the walk.
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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 LA10 5RF Map Directions Return to the start: Finish LA6 3AS 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