Ascent of Whernside from Ingleton

Sunday was such a gorgeous day so I decided to drive over to Ingleton and walk up the long southern ridge of Whernside from Ingleton in the Yorkshire Dales. It takes about 90 minutes to drive there from Hebden Bridge and I set off at about 10.30 am. I had planned to walk up Oddie's Lane and follow the route described by Wainwright as Walk 7 in his 'Walks in Limestone Country", my copy of which is an heirloom with my mother's annotations. However, it was convenient to park in the Waterfall Trails car park and having paid my £6 I thought I might as well follow the trail with a slight detour of about 9 miles to to take in Whernside. This makes the whole walk about 14 miles (24 km) and 2000ft (600m) of climbing.

The Ingleton Waterfalls Trail is beautiful as it weaves up the River Twiss and cuts across the hillside.

Waterfalls on the River Twiss

A ray of sunshine lights up a rock below Thornton Force

On up the hillside to meet the Limestone Pavement at Twistleton Scar leaving the Ice Cream Vans behind.

Looking across Limestone Pavement at Twistleton Scar towards Gragareth

The navigation is then incredible easy as you follow the wall for about 4 miles to the top of Whernside. It's hard to imagine how much work went into building a dry stone wall like this.

Wall to Whernside

I met a few groups with huge rucksacks. A very hot day to be doing your Duke of Edinburgh expedition I must say! Otherwise, most people on the top had come up from Ribblehead. I eat my lunch at the top and headed back the same way. Wainwright sugessts a different route back through Bruntscar but I felt that it was nicer to be high up.

On the way back I looked for the 'Fluted Pothole' he'd sketched but it could be one of many.

A Fluted Pothole.

Just before rejoining the Waterfalls Trail along the River Doe it became a little less hazy and Ingleborough looked great with the Limestone Pavement in the foreground.

Ingleborough from Twistleton Scar

Back in Ingleton they were having a World War II Retro day with people singing that there'd be Bluebirds over the White Cliffs of Dover but just before I got back into the car to drive home with the thermometer showing 26 degrees Centigrade I caught the sound of a Stone Chat on the Limestone Pavement of Whernside!