Ingleborough, Yorkshire Dales
Trail walks you through the classic ascents of this Yorkshire Dales icon.
Anyone who tells you there are no mountains in England outside of the Lake District has never set foot on Ingleborough. At 723m in elevation and sprawling its vast slopes across more OS map grid squares than we care to count, this is one serious wedge of upland. You can approach Yorkshire’s second highest summit from many different angles, all of them showing off a slightly different side of its complicated character. You’ll find woodland, gorges, rivers, bogs, waterfalls, caves, limestone pavements and steep rocky slopes defending its high plateau, crowned by the remains of an expansive Iron Age hill-fort with views that stretch for dozens of miles in every direction. Many people climb Ingleborough as part of the ever-popular Yorkshire Three Peaks challenge, but that type of smash-and-grab ascent does it a serious disservice. This is the type of peak you could climb multiple times, discovering some new ridge, shake hole, scar or gill each time. The most obvious starting points are Ingleton, Clapham, Chapel-le-Dale and Hortonin-Ribblesdale, and all are covered in the descriptions below. So pick a route, go and climb it, and we bet you’ll enjoy it so much that you’ll want to climb it again from a different side straightaway.
1 CRINA BOTTOM EASY ■ 2 hours ■ 4.8km ■ 551m ascent
Start Ingleton, grid ref SD701731 Terrain Steep grass, stony lane, moorland, steep rocky slopes
This route climbs directly from Ingleton to Ingleborough’s summit, passing the old farmhouse at Crina Bottom. Take the bridleway as it climbs steeply east up Storrs Common to the start of the fell lane. Follow the lane as it winds its way east to where it meets open access land. Once you reach the end of the lane, follow the bridleway eastnorth-east past Crina Bottom and across open moorland. As the summit slopes are approached, the gradient steepens as the bridleway passes over the pronounced steps that give Ingleborough its distinctive shape.
2 SOUTHER SCALES MEDIUM ■ 2 hours ■ 4km ■ 413m ascent
Start The Old Hill Inn, grid ref SD744777 Terrain Pasture, limestone moorland, wooden boardwalk, boggy moorland, steep rocky path
Short and steep, this route has the advantage of a high start point. Take the bridleway south from the B6255 road, then join the footpath over Southerscale Scar. Follow it past Braithwaite Wife Hole, over the Humphrey Bottom boardwalk and up onto the steep ascent to the broad col on the east side of Ingleborough. At the col, turn west-south-west and climb Swine Tail onto the summit plateau.
3 SULBER NICK EASY ■ 2½ hours ■ 7.2km ■ 488m ascent
Start Horton-in-Ribblesdale, grid ref SD804726 Terrain Limestone pavement and moorland
A long approach with an easy gradient across the beautiful limestone moorland of Sulber. From Horton-in-Ribblesdale, take the path across the railway line and up on to the limestone pavements of Sulber. Pass through Sulber Nick and follow the good path over The Allotment and up to Simon Fell Breast to the col on the east side of Ingleborough. At the col, turn west-south-west and climb Swine Trail to the summit.
4 GAPING GILL EASY ■ 2½ hours ■ 6.8km ■ 566m ascent
Start Clapham, grid ref SD745695
Terrain Wooded valley, limestone gorge, limestone moorland, moorland and peat hags
An interesting route that takes in the lovely wooded valley of Clapdale and the impressive limestone features of Trow Gill and Gaping Gill. From Clapham, take Clapham Drive north-north-east to Ingleborough Cave (an interesting show cave). Pass the cave and join the path to Trow Gill. Enter the gorge and climb the valley north to Gaping Gill, a vast underground chamber that holds the highest unbroken waterfall in Britain. From Gaping Gill, head north-east across moorland and climb onto Little Ingleborough. Follow the plateau edge north on to Ingleborough’s main plateau, then turn south-west and head for the summit cairns.
5 NEWBY MOSS EASY ■ 2 hours ■ 4.8km ■ 507m ascent
Start Newby Cote, grid ref SD732705 Terrain Moorland and peat hags
This route climbs steadily across the expansive moorland of Newby Moss, giving superb views of Pen-y-Ghent and the trough of Bowland. From the old road at Newby Cote, take the footpath along the lane north up onto the limestone moorland of Grey Scars. Swing north-north-east and climb steadily over the bleak moorland of Newby Moss to Little Ingleborough. Follow the plateau edge north on to Ingleborough’s main plateau, then turn south-west and head for the summit cairns.