stile and run along the grassy track through the field to a wall. Turn R up to a wall corner. Cross through the small wooden gate and follow the path alongside the wall to the corner. Bear R and climb to meet a path. Turn R and follow the path for approximately 50 metres to a small, flat, grassy area and fingerpost. Turn L, taking a small path up through a short rocky section. Bear R then L, following one of the small grassy paths diagonally N up through the Norber Erratics to a wall corner marked by a ladder stile at SD 765 702 1.2km.
Running through the Norber Erratics (photo: Adrian Dellbridge)
Erratic deposits
The Norber Erratics are boulders of Silurian sandstone deposited by the last ice age. They lie on the surface, overlying the beds of limestone below.
2 Cross the wall and go straight ahead for a few metres to reach a small, stony path. Turn R and follow this path as it contours around the valley. After 400 metres, fork L on a grassy path heading for a notch in the limestone outcrop. Run through the notch and take one of the small paths heading N for approximately 500 metres, to reach a large cairn at Long Scar, adjacent to a grassy bridleway 2.8km.
3 From the cairn, run back to the bridleway and follow it NE to a bridleway junction. Continue ahead, following the Pennine Bridleway markers, to reach a gate crossing the track 4.8km.
4 Pass through the gate and continue ahead to reach the Sulber Nick path/track junction. Turn R, signposted ‘Horton in Ribblesdale’. Continue to follow this path for 1km before the path drops down to a gate. Continue ahead for 200 metres to a path junction and fingerpost 6.5km.
5 Turn R up the grassy path to a wall corner signposted ‘Austwick’. Go through the gate and continue ahead, with the wall on your R, to a stile. Turn R, cross over the stile and follow the path to reach the head of Crummackdale. Descend the grassy path into the valley to reach the intake wall and gate 8.2km.
6 Run down the grassy track and walled lane for 2.5km to a track junction. Turn R and then L after 30 metres to cross the stream, using the lower of the two bridges 10.5km.
7 Follow the path up to the wall. Cross using the stone stile. Continue ahead as the path crosses several fields and stiles, and cross over a small stream using a small bridge. Follow the path up through the field to reach the track just below the starting point. Turn R back to the start 12km.
ROUTE 3
Pen-y-ghent
| Start/finish | National Park car park, Horton in Ribblesdale: SD 807 725 |
| Distance | 11km (7 miles) |
| Ascent | 560m (1840ft) |
| Grade | Level 2 |
| Time | 2hr |
| Terrain | A mixture of good paths and tracks with a short section of road |
| Map | OS Landranger 98: Wensleydale & Upper Wharfedale |
| Refreshments | Pubs and café in Horton in Ribblesdale |
| Public transport | Train via the Settle–Carlisle line or Bus 11 from Settle |
From some angles Pen-y-ghent has the profile of a sleeping lion or the sphinx rising high above upper Ribblesdale. The run is straightforward, reaching the summit of one of Yorkshire’s iconic mountains in just a few kilometres. Pen-y-ghent is often the first peak climbed when walking/running the Yorkshire Three Peaks.
The route follows the main path ascending Pen-y-ghent from the west, summiting via the rocky southern escarpment. A short scramble completes the last few metres of the escarpment up on to the summit plateau. However, there is little to worry about and the section is soon over. The descent follows the paved/rocky summit path back towards Horton in Ribblesdale before taking advantage of the new Three Peaks path laid by the YDNP. This extends the run by a few kilometres and joins up with the Pennine Way to bring you back to the start.
Safety
The last few metres of the steep climb on to the summit plateau involve an easy scramble. CARE should be taken in wet or wintry conditions.
Pen-y-ghent’s profile
The steep rocky profile of Pen-y-ghent is caused by its geology. Layers of harder millstone grit cap bands of limestone and shales.
1 Turn R out of the car park and follow the road past the Pen-y-ghent Café and then the campsite. Cross the road just before the church and turn L on the public footpath. Turn L along the road and then immediately R over the footbridge signposted ‘Pen-y-ghent via Brackenbottom’. Turn L and run up the road, past the old primary school, out of the village to a farm 1.3km.
2 Turn L before the farm, signposted ‘Pen-y-ghent Summit’. Follow the well-worn footpath alongside the wall as it climbs steeply up through the fields. The gradient lessens and the route becomes a series of flat terraces interspersed with small limestone steps. Continue ahead for a couple of kilometres, heading for the foot of Pen-y-ghent summit (south side). The final part of this section rises steeply up flagged stone steps to meet the Pennine Way 3.6km.
The steep final ascent up Pen-y-ghent (photo: Alice Ellwood)
3 Turn L and climb the steep path that leads to the summit of Pen-y-ghent. The path climbs steeply then crosses a short, flat section before climbing very steeply to the summit plateau. Run across the plateau on a good paved path as it rises gently to Pen-y-ghent’s trig point 4.3km.
4 Cross L through the wall and head NW downhill, taking a rocky path that soon becomes paved. The path bears R at the escarpment. Run down the rocky path along the edge and then down through the escarpment to a prominent bend in the path, marked with a Pennine Way signpost 5.3km.
5 Continue to run downhill, following the Pennine Way down a gravel path. After a kilometre the angle lessens. Pass through a gate and continue down through a second gate to a major track junction signposted ‘Pennine Way and Yorkshire Three Peaks 6.9km.
Running on Pen-y-ghent’s southern slopes (photo: Alice Ellwood)
6 Run straight ahead, following a small gravel path signposted ‘Yorkshire Three Peaks High Birkwith via Whitber’. This is a new path and may not appear on some maps. Follow the path as it ascends Whitber Hill. Turn L along the path as it crosses rough moorland and descends over a small stream. Follow the gravel path through a kissing gate and then downhill to reach a track junction signposted ‘Yorkshire Three Peaks and Pennine Way’ 8.6km.
7 Turn L through the gate, signposted ‘Pennine Way, Horton in Ribblesdale’. Run along the grassy track to descend past a couple of ruined barns. Bear L through the gate over Sell Gill Pot stream. Run down the stony track, which becomes a walled lane as it
