Yorkshire Dales Walk: Whernside and Thornton Force

Aug 11, 2024

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Walk overview

Thornton Force

Next time

Walk overview

Start: Chapel-le-Dale

Ordnance Survey (OS) Map: Yorkshire Dales - Southern & Western Area

Whernside, Ingleborough & Pen-y-ghent. OL2. 1:25,000

Grid Reference: SD741775 (Philpin Lane); SD764791 (The Station Inn)

Public Bus Timetable

Distance: 8.0 miles / 13.0 km

Time: 3-4 hours.

Climb: 1608‘ / 490m

GPX Route Download

Google Earth Download

Android App: Locus Map

OpenAndroMaps Downloads for Android: Link

Guide to Adding Bing + OS Maps to Locus Maps Classic: Link (This is being deprecated by Microsoft and not ported over to Azure).

Website with OS Maps: Link

Garmin OpenTopo Downloads: These are near OS quality and include Basecamp files & DEM contours: Link

Further Reading: How to use OpenStreetMap and OS digital maps

File:Yorkshire Dales map.png — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Yorkshire_Dales_map.png

Whernside circular route

This is the second of the summertime getaway specials, the first being the Malham field trip.

Whernside is 12 miles NW of Malham, and this hike took place 4 weeks after that.

It stands at only 2410’ / 736m, with a typical climb of 1600’ from the valley.

The name, first recorded in 1208 as Querneside, is of Old English origin. It is derived from cweorn 'quern' or 'millstone' and sīde 'hillside', so means "hillside where millstones are found". The name is of the same origin as Great Whernside,[5] 17 miles (27 km) to the east, with which it is sometimes confused.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whernside

As I’m lone walking, I’m not committing straight away to higher, more challenging peaks as if anything goes wrong I have no one with me to help me down the mountain. The Mountain Rescue service do a brilliant job, but the last thing anyone wants is to need to rescue me after being an idiot.

A popular starting point is the Ribblehead Viaduct:

https://www.gps-routes.co.uk/routes/home.nsf/osmapdisp?openform&route=whernside-walking-route

Philpin Farm Campsite

I created my own modified route as I was pitched at Philpin Farm, near waypoint 8:

**From Locusmaps, with hillshading enabled.**

Philpin’s was one of the best value campsites I’ve ever stopped at. It was £9 per night, vs the £16 I was paying at Riverside in Malham. I was off-grid for the 3 days, as the terrain blocked all my network coverage. Fortunately, they provided free WiFi in a barn.

They have a cafe that opens at weekends, vending machines for drinks and snacks, plus you can even order a full English breakfast for £7 during the week if you don’t fancy lighting up your stove.

**I did wonder if the “Hats-Gloves-Socks” was an all-in-one multi-use garment.**

Best of all, the showers were excellent, unlimited and free, unlike at Malham. And only essential notices were displayed.

If you do get to visit I recommend staying in the upper part of the site to avoid the plague of midges lower down. I replaced the standard lightweight aluminium pegs with 8” rock pegs. There were gale-force gusts with driving rain on the first nights as a cold front swept through to leave the perfect day for walking. The tent (a Vango Nevis 300) survived unscathed.

Nevis 300 - 1 — **It’s sold as 3-man tent, but it would be very cosy if you did. You can assemble it in minutes, and I’ve back-packed with it. Not super-light, but 2.5kg is manageable.** https://www.vango.co.uk/nevis-300

**Philpin’s Farm on the first evening after arrival. I’m at 920’ here. Whernside is lost in the clouds.**

Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge

I wasn’t energetic enough to do this, and its best in a group, but several teams were on their way round. One chap had set off at 7.00am that morning, which was about when I woke up. You could start and finish from Philpin’s, but Pen-y-Ghent is the usual launching point.

The Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge is 24-miles (38.6km) round trip route, and includes 1585m (5200ft) of ascent.

The Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge takes on the peaks of Pen-y-Ghent (694 metres), Whernside (736 metres) and Ingleborough (723 metres), usually in this order, and in under 12 hours. These hills form part of the Pennine range, and encircle the head of the valley of the River Ribble, in the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

How to take part in the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge?

You can complete the Challenge either as part of an organised event, or as a self organised group. We have organised dates available each year, and we can also arrange private events for large groups.

https://www.threepeakschallenge.uk/yorkshire-three-peaks-challenge/route

https://www.threepeakschallenge.uk/yorkshire-three-peaks-challenge/

Whernside

The day started as good as it gets in the Dales, with a forecast high of 21C in the valleys and about 15C on the peaks, with winds peaking at a SW 20kts.

After 3 miles of valley walking along a mixture of rocky stream beds, surfaced paths and pastureland you cross under and then follow the Settle to Carlisle railway to Blea Moor, where it disappears into the so-named tunnel for 7787’ / 2404m. At it’s deepest it is 500’ / 152m below the surface. Built by the Midland Railway between 1872 and 1875, it cost £109,000, or £12,950,000 in 2023 terms.

The Settle-Carlisle line is 73 miles / 117km long. 6,000 navvies helped with the construction between 1869 and 1875. The estimated cost was around £2.3 million, or £270 million in 2023 terms. The death toll is unknown, but at least 80 died just from smallpox.

In the 1980’s, with only a few trains per day, the operators British Rail (BR) decided that the cost of restoring the tunnels and viaducts would be too high and planned to close the line. However, the outcry from protest groups, coupled with revelations of lies and dirty tricks by BR, led to an increase in traffic and by 1989 the Secretary of State for Transport, Paul Channon, announced that consent for closure would be refused.

A hat-tip must also go to the then Transport Minister Michael Portillo for commissioning an assessment of BR’s case, and finding that the line could be kept open for only £3 million, or about half the figure BR had put about.

**A traditional semaphore stop signal facing trains heading for the single track Ribblehead Viaduct after emerging from the tunnel.**

**A manned signal box in an excellent state of preservation. Signals are behind the camera.**

Looking back down the 1% (1 in 100) gradient towards Settle Junction, otherwise known as the “Long Drag” - a particular challenge for steam trains. The previous signal is just below Ingleborough and above the path.

14 minutes of Long Drag train porn:

Source: “Steam over the Settle & Carlisle Railway - September 2020”

There is a 51-minute cinematic film from 1963, which begins with a lady taking several long drags. Geddit? I see what you did there.

**Settle Carlisle:- The Long Drag. Halifax Cine Club 1963 (complete)**

Back to present day:

**The 3 giant mole hills are air shafts to the Bleamoor Tunnel.**

**The path follows the Dales High Way for a short distance, and then takes you past Force Gill.**

**Force Gill Waterfall has a drop of 50’ / 15m. You can walk down to it for a closer look.**

Looking back from above Force Gill you can almost see the 3 Peaks. On the horizon at left is Pen-y-Ghent, about 15 miles / 24 km away. It’s a lot of ground to cover in 12 hours if you do all three.

I couldn’t find any of the orchids or butterworts that I saw at Malham, but I did find these Drosera rotundifolia (Round leaved sundews) lining a stream next to the path. There weren’t many of them about though.

The summit path is well maintained. I took poles and 3 1/2 litres of water for the day, given the forecast. I had 2 1/2 litres in a hydration pack with tube, and 2 x 0.75 litre bottles, one with energy drink. I had 1 litre remaining by the time I got back to camp. For me, this worked out about 1/2 litre / hour. With a higher heat index you would get through a lot more. Water accounted for more of the rucksack weight than anything, - I like to pack as light as possible.

**Dentdale to the North, with the Cumbrian Howgill Fells on the horizon.**

**Looking west 20 - 40 miles to Morecambe Bay, Grange-Over-Sands, and Barrow-In-Furness on the horizon. If visibility had been better the Isle of Man would have been in shot from here.**

**The Whernside summit trigpoint (triangulation pillar) with theodolite mount. It was a breezy 14-15C and I was quickly cooling down, so I didn’t hang around too long.**

A spectacular descent to the south. Philpin’s is light green, beyond the conifer plantation. The path bears left a little further on. Poles deployed as many of the rocks were well worn and slippery. I get on well with Brasher boots. Mine have worn well and are like wearing a pair of slippers, with no blisters after a day out.

The Ribblehead Viaduct was constructed by 2,300 men between 1869 and 1874. The estimated cost then was £343,318. It has 24 arches, each spanning 45’ / 13.7m, and is 400 yards / 400m long. At its highest point it is 104’ / 32m above the valley floor. The pillars taper from 13’ / 4m across at the base to 5’ 11” / 1.8m near the arches. Faced with limestone blocks set with lime mortar, they have rubble-filled cores. Some of the blocks weigh up to 8 tonnes. Red brick arches span the pillars, and 1.5 million bricks were used.

After threats of closure had passed a major restoration was needed, and this took place in phases from 1990-1992,1999-2001, and from November 2020. The latest £2.1m project is to re-point joints and replace broken stones. This work was ongoing when I walked under it later in the day.

**Ingleborough, above Philpin’s. My “home” is the green tent on the far right. It’s always a relief to see it hasn’t blown away on it’s own expedition whilst you were away.**

When I got back to camp I was ready for the traditional “hikers’ pint”. I had it all planned out: dump the rucksack (minus the car key, ahem) before the short walk to the nearest pub:

I confess I was a little apprehensive when I saw it.

The “Old Hill Inn” looked like it last opened in 1963, serving pints of Mild and brown ale in dimple glasses to sheep farmers in flat caps. “How do, s’evening?”.

Alas, my fears were born out, and it was closed.

I had no cell signal to look up an alternative, so headed back to the barn to tap into the WiFi. The farmer/landlord sensed ~~my urgent gasping need for a flippin’ pint~~ I was dehydrated and suggested instead the Station Inn at Ribblehead.

He cautioned not to walk along the main road as there were no paths, and this meant certain death, but it was up to me. So I worked out a route that back-tracked over much of the valley route from earlier. It meant a 4.5 mile round trip, but it was a pleasant evening.

The path takes you through the 14th arch and past a plaque recording the restoration. Small shanty towns sprung up near here to house the workers in wooden huts with sleeping quarters, central living and cooking spaces. This view includes the site of one some joker called “Sebastopol”.

**A very welcome pint of a classic 5.6% Yorkshire stout, Theakston’s Old Peculier.**

Thornton Force

Next day I struck camp by 09.00, and the forecast was for wind and persistent rain from mid morning. But it was still dry so I had nothing to lose by heading for the Ingleton Waterfalls Trail. This is a 4.3 mile / 7 km path that takes about 2 to 4 hours to complete. You go clockwise from Ingleborough. The Western side is on private land, so there is a £10 admission, which includes parking.

However, given the forecast I only wanted to see the main feature - Thornton Force. This has a drop of 50’ / 14m, and the limestone was laid down 330 million years ago.

If it’s not busy in the week, despite being a one-way path, some unscrupulous cheapskates have found there is nothing to stop you going the wrong way round… Scoundrels.

**Strictly one way only. Consider yourself told.**

**Water appearing to flow uphill along the River Twiss.**

Thornton Force slow-mo:

There had been a lot of rain the night before.

Sound on:

A wall of rain was approaching Ingleton from the south-west, so I quickly headed back to the car. I checked the weather radar later, and it didn’t ease off for about another 4 hours.