High Cup Nick (Appleby-in-Westmoreland Circular) walk

23.9 km (14.8 mi), with 748m ascent/descent. For a shorter or longer walk, see below Walk Options.

8 out of 10, with 6 ½ hours walking time.

This is an exhilarating exploration of one of the finest natural features in northern England, the spectacular High Cup Nick, an almost geometrically perfect U-shaped glaciated valley, deeply incised into the Northern Pennine scarp, from Appleby, a market town on the River Eden in Cumbria, famous for its annual Appleby Horse Fair, with views across the Eden Valley to the Lake District and the Howgill Fells.
The High Cup valley is shielded from view from most points below in the Eden Valley by adjacent hills, so its outline and full splendour only reveal themselves over time on the outbound route, as you cross the mildly undulating landscape at the foot of the Pennine Range, consisting of pastures and woods, before starting the steep ascent to the top of the valley along a good track. You then walk along the ledge on top of the V-shaped rim of the valley, passing waterfalls, rock stacks, boulder fields and shake holes.
From the halfway point at one of the most-photographed spots in Outdoor Britain, a choice of three return routes is possible: medium high or high routes along the flanks or over the top plateau of Murton Fell, or a more demanding and longer route via the High Cup Plain and along Maize Beck into the MoD Warcop Live Firing Range (see the notes on access below) and across an upland watershed encompassing some limestone pavements, high grass moorland and blanket bog, into the dramatic and haunting Scordale with its disused lead and baryte mines and with some high cliffs on the side of the deep-cut scenic valley framing views into the plain and to distant fells.

Cut the out-and-back to the top of Murton Pike: cut 900m distance and 76m ascent.
Shortcut: return more direct and at lower elevation. Cut 2.5 km/1.5 mi and 83m ascent: 7/10 rating.
Extension: return from High Cup Nick along a longer route, first across the High Cup Plain plateau with the Pennine Way, then – at times pathless - along Maize Beck into the MoD Warcop Range and up along Swarth Beck (this stretch is very energy sapping and frequently pathless) across the watershed into the dramatic Scordale (mostly with paths or tracks) and to Murton. Adds 5.8 km/3.6 mi but no ascent: 10/10 rating. Note: Warcop Range is a live firing range with restricted access. Firing generally stops at 13.00 hours on Sundays and the public rights-of-way are accessible for about 12 full weekends a year. For general safety information on the MOD Estate, check here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/safe-access. For up-to-date access details check here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/north-england-public-access-to-military-areas#warcop and here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/warcop-access-times.

Short and Main Walk, after their split at High Cup Nick, run parallel for the first kilometre, but at different heights. You could start along the Short Walk route along the rim of the Nick and then climb up to the Main Walk route along the bridleway along the wall (the turn is obvious from text and route map).
A variation of the end from the fringes of Appleby to the railway station leads along tarmac lanes and residential roads instead of along fields and country tracks, this adds just 100m and 10m ascent.
Add a loop to and through Appleby’s town centre at the end of the walk past many tea places and most sights (adds 2.2 km and 85m ascent).

Outbound and return route are never too far away from each other. This enables car drivers to shorten the route by parking higher up the route, along the road linking Murton (on the main and long walk) and High Cup House (on the short walk) with Dufton/Bow Hall via Keisley (both on the outbound route).
Parking in Keisley or at High Cup House is not advised (narrow lane). Instead, good spots would be:
- the unofficial car park on a grassy strip by the roadside at the top of the tarmac lane just beyond Bow Hall, where the walk route joins the Pennine Way out of a pasture, at Grid Reference NY 704 250. This is 6.3 km into the route. Pick up the directions at the double asterisk **).
- the official car park in Murton (on the OS map), 5.7 km from the end of the main and long walk options. Walk across from Murton to Keisley and pick up the directions at the single asterisk *).
In any case: do not block any field gates or farm drives and do respect ‘Private – No Parking’ signs.

OS Landranger: 91 (Appleby-in-Westmorland) & 98 (Wensleydale & Upper Wharfedale)
OS Explorer: OL19 (Howgill Fells & Upper Eden Valley)

Appleby-in-Westmorland Station, map reference NY 686 206, is 377 km northwest of Charing Cross, 45 km southeast of Carlisle, 161m above sea level and in Cumbria. It is a station on the Leeds - Settle – Carlisle Line, with eight trains per day Mon-Sat and seven on Sundays. Journey time is 42 minutes from Carlisle, 56 from Settle and 118 from Leeds.

Saturday Walkers’ Club: The walk is not practicable as a daywalk from London.

The Midland Hotel Freehouse 25 Clifford Street, Appleby-in-Westmorland, Cumbria CA16 6TS (017683 51524). The Midland is located right by the train station.

Numerous options in Appleby on a loop to and through the town centre (this adds 2.2 km and 85m ascent). See the walk directions for details.

beck: stream, brook; brig(g): bridge; -by: habitation; cam: bank, slope, ridge; carr: marshy woodland or shrubland; clough: narrow valley, cleft in a hillside, ravine, glen, gorge, cliff, rocky precipice; crag: steep rugged mass of rock projecting upward or outward; currick: cairn, pile of stones, often locations used to keep watch for Scottish raiders; dale: valley; -ey: island, dry area in a marshy place; fell: hill, mountain slope (especially rough moorland); firth/frith: long, narrow inlet of the sea or estuary; force/foss: waterfall, rapids; frith: area of peace, protection, safety, security, pasture; garth: small grass enclosure adjacent to a house; gate: way, street; gill/ghyll: small narrow valley or ravine;hagg: part of an area of woodland, especially on a sloping bank; holm(e): island, inland promontory, raised ground in marsh, river-meadow; how(e): barrow, small hill; hush: (Roman era) mine on steep hillside, using dammed up water to wash away topsoil and boulders, revealing the underlying lead or ore veins; ing(s): meadow(s), especially water meadow near a river; keld/kell: spring or well; kirk: church; laithe/leeath: barn, agricultural building; lang: long; ling: heather; lonning/lonnin’: lane or track, something less than a road, more rural than a street, usually short; mell: sand dunes; mire: bog; moss: bog, marsh; ness: headland, promontory; nick: shallow notch, cut or indentation on an edge or a surface; pike: spike, sharp point, peak; rake: slant, incline; rigg: ridge; scar/scaur: cliff, rocky outcrop with a steep face; seat/set(t)/side: summer pasture or dwelling place; seaves: rushes; shaw: hurdle, gate; sike/syke/sitch: small stream or gulley, gutter; stang: pole, shaft, stake, wooden bar; stoop/stowp/stoup: post, gatepost, distance marker (milestone), standing stone; -sty: ascent, ascending lane or path, narrow pathway or course; tarn: lake or pond (especially in an upland location); thorp(e)/t(h)rop: village or small settlement; thwait(e): village or small settlement; toft(s): small farmstead with enclosed land, later applied to a village or small settlement; wath: ford; whinny: gorse, furze, thorny vegetation; -wich/wick: village or settlement.

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National Rail: 03457 48 49 50 • Traveline (bus times): 0871 200 22 33 (12p/min) • TFL (London) : 0343 222 1234

Sep-23 Thomas G