Ingleborough via Ingleton (Ribblehead Circular) walk

24.3 km (15.1 mi), with 790m cumulative ascent/descent. For a shorter walk, see below Walk Options.

8 out of 10 with 7 hours walking time.

Demanding route up to and across Yorkshire’s second-highest top (and arguably its only mountain), largely avoiding the crowds that ply some of the very popular paths up, including the notorious Three Peaks Route.

The route starts through the disused Ribblehead Limestone Quarry, now a National Nature Reserve, and ascends the lower northerly slopes of the Ingleborough massif on good clear paths up to the northerly subsidiary top of Park Fell. It then skirts along its westerly edge with fine views across the valley to Whernside and back to the Ribblehead Viaduct. Another, gentler ascent follows to the edge of the top of Simon Fell and you follow the steep westerly scarp to the engineered path that carries the busy Three Peaks Route up across from Whernside. Follow the stepped path for the final steep ascent to Ingleborough’s featureless plateau, former site of an Iron Age hillfort and very exposed to weathers drifting in from the nearby coast.

On a rare clear day, you have views to Morecambe Bay and can identify up to 42 named hills and mountains. In mist or driving low clouds though, all you are going to identify are: storm shelter, trig point and piles of stones! You descend along a steep engineered path and some farm tracks-with-views all of 600 height metres to the tourist honeypot that is Ingleton with its many lunch options, from where a short steep ascent along a quiet lane gets you back onto an interim plateau with fine views to the surrounding hills (Gragareth, Ingleborough) as well as some limestone scars. From here, climb up to the extensive Scales Moor limestone plateau with its outcrops, pavement, erratics, shake holes, sink holes and pot holes. The return to Ribblehead Station follows good tracks through the valley between Whernside and Ingleborough and under the famous Railway Viaduct.

A ridge walk, shortcuts, an alternative ending and a (ticketed) Waterfalls Trail complement the options.

An Alternative Route from the plateau of Park Fell leads over the tops of Park Fell and Simon Fell en route to Ingleborough’s top, avoiding any exposure, rather than along the continuous scarp. A slightly boggy area in the saddle between Park and Simon Fell is unavoidable though on this variant.
A Shortcut cuts the final descent into Ingleton for lunch (cut 1.5 km and 80m ascent; map-led).
Buses from Ingleton Community Centre link to the following railway stations: Bentham, Lancaster, Giggleswick, Settle. None of those buses run on Sundays.
An Alternative Finish from Ingleton to Bentham Station (Leeds - Lancaster Line) is shown on the route map, this is largely flat and cuts 6.8 km (4.2 mi) and 269m ascent.
The ticketed Ingleton Waterfalls Trail (£10 as of 04/24) is a splendid alternative ascent out of Ingleton, leading through a wooded gorge and along the River Twiss’ spouts, cascades and waterfalls.

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

Ribblehead Station, map reference SD 765 789, is 336 km northwest of Charing Cross, 85 km southeast of Carlisle, 70 km northwest of Leeds, 315m above sea level and in North Yorkshire. It is a station on the Leeds - Settle – Carlisle Line, with nine trains per day Mon-Sat and five on Sundays. Journey time to Ribblehead is 84 minutes from Carlisle, 16 from Settle and 77 from Leeds.

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

[all passed after approximately 12 km/7.4 mi and most of the ascent/descent]
The Wheatsheaf Inn 22 High Street, Ingleton, LA6 3AD (01524 241 275).
Peaks & Troughs Bar & Kitchen 6 High Street, Ingleton, LA6 3AA (01524 969 519).
The Village Kitchen 8-10 The Square, Ingleton, LA6 3AA (01524 241 869).
Ingleton Chippy, Ingleton Pizza
G&T Café and Kitchen 39 Main Street, Ingleton, LA6 3EH (07985 111 799).
The Three Horse Shoes 39 Main Street, Ingleton, LA6 3EH (01524 242 370).

Station Inn - Ribblehead Low Sleights Road, Carnforth, North Yorkshire, LA6 3AS (01524 241 274). The Station Inn is located 200m from the end of the walk.
Ribblehead Station Visitor Centre and Tea Room Low Sleights Road, Carnforth, North Yorkshire, LA6 3AS. The Tea Room is located on the Leeds bound platform.

Tea Bentham Ending
Hoggs ‘n’ Heifers, The Black Bull, The Coach House.

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