DHW4
Dales High Way- Day 4
TUESDAY 17TH JULY 2018:
Day 4 and another mountain awaits, this time Ingleborough, the second highest of the 3 peaks (at 724m). Another solid breakfast and a good chat with Marco, the owner of BCH, who is in his first season here but seems likely to shake up the otherwise poor accommodation offerings in HOR.
I am soon on my way and pass through HOR, seeing the PYG café, known by the 3 peakers (hope the defibrillator outside doesn’t put them off!) and the cute train station. Ingleborough is an immediate, if distant, presence but my attention does get pulled back to PYG behind me, which does sit so well as a backdrop to HOR. What a view.
The rain overnight seems to have freshened things up, any humidity gone, and whilst it remains grey now, it is forecast to quickly clear into a nice, sunny day.
The going is fairly easy for the first 3 miles or so, including through some striking limestone plateau, the forward momentum taking me away from the pull of PYG and into that of Ingleborough. I am soon in the full focus of the mountain as the path begins to climb more steeply as I approach the base.
Rather than clearing, the weather seems to be deteriorating, with cloud gathering and the air feeling damp, in part this probably just due to the elevation gain. Nevertheless, the effect is felt and I need to put on my mac when this develops further into light rain.
I make my assault on the summit, the last a bit of a scramble (but easy) and come out on top, at which point it starts to rain proper and the mist and low cloud descend. I take shelter behind a convenient wall and have my planned snack. Only problem, I was expecting to be sitting enjoying the view, unfortunately visibility is about 20m. Such a shame. Initially I wait it out but not much changes so I feel I must move on – I don’t want to cool down too much. Off I go into the murk, the plus being the rain has mostly petered out by now.
The benefits of GPS guide me to the trig point – certainly no other way of finding it….like actually being able to see it!. I do see a few people around, just ghostly shapes in the mist. There is no point in hanging around so I head back, as I do so the mist / cloud suddenly lifts, just like that, but only for a minute, then closes right back in. Strange.
I descend, although missing the path slightly need to go scrambling down a few rocks but am soon back en-route, reaching the next junction. Here you can go directly to Chapel-le-Dale, which is my ultimate destination, however, the steps down appear nearly vertical. Yikes! Thankfully, that’s not my route today, I am following the ridgeway to Ribblehead to view the viaduct up close.
As I leave the shelter of the mountain the wind blows hard, although the rain has now stopped completely, but I need to keep wrapped up for a while. As I move along the ridge I get good glimpses of some fine views, including looking back at Ingleborough and down into the valley below, after a while these scenes becoming clearer as the cloud lifts. I am not sure whether it is the weather generally improving or whether it is localized to Ingleborough and the more I move away the better it gets, either way, same result.
I sit for a while, sheltering from the wind behind a wall and enjoy the view – the viaduct now clearly in sight and Whernside opposite from me across the valley. Still a grand setting, whatever the weather.
Nearing the end of the ridge I reach another summit at Park Hill (563m) and bag another trig point. That concludes the hills and I need to get down to lower ground, this entails a very steep descent down a grassy hill – so steep I actually need to get out my walking poles to keep my balance.
At the base I link up with the road and walk along to the Ribblehead viaduct for a close up view and a good mooch around. The viaduct carries the Settle–Carlisle railway and has an interesting history. Built in the 1870’s, it was the last main railway in Britain to be constructed primarily with manual labour – a huge task in such a difficult environment. The 24 arch structure is very impressive, enhanced by its location. Yet another dream photography subject – it really is one icon after another around here.
That completes my sightseeing, all that is left is a walk to my next B&B, which I reach by walking along the busy road for a mile or two. (had I known better at the time, I could have taken a more scenic route). Today it is a guest house, Croft Gate, a friendly little place in Chapel-le-Dale, a tiny village sitting in the valley between the mountains of Ingleborough and Whernside.
A shorter day today so a chance for a bit of R&R, although I do have to walk ½ mile back up the road for dinner at The Old Hill Inn – not much choice in this neck of the woods. As it happens this is an excellent meal – more comfort food – sausage & mash and sticky toffee pud (again!) plus good entertainment as I was able to chat to a couple of other groups of walkers all evening – one group of 3 who had abandoned the 3 peaks challenge after 2 summits, the second couple walking the area and staying at Croft Gate. Very enjoyable.
Yet another exhilarating day on the DHW draws to a close. On my return walk to Croft Gate the sun is out and weather glorious – Ingleborough is bathed in evening sunshine against a pure blue sky – enough said!
Stats: 13.4 miles,4hr 58mins moving, 5hr 55mins total, Average moving 2.7 mph, 2113 ft Ascent
