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Whernside (Ribblehead Circular) Walk

Onto Yorkshire's highest point along quiet back-of-the-hill route. Return through the limestone country of Chapel-le-Dale.

Circular Yorkshire Dales

History

Club walks since April 2015, and a summary which goes back to Jan 2010.

Date Option Post # Weather
Sun, 10-Aug-25 Whernside (Ribblehead Circular): Yorkshire's highest point along quiet back-of-the-hill route. Return through the limestone country of Chapel-le-Dale [Settle Trip] 21 perfect conditions warm dry with some clouds
Thomas G
Length : 20.7 km (12.9 mi) [shorter walks possible, see below]
Ascent /Descent: 592m
Net Walking Time : 5 ¼ hours
Toughness : 6 out of 10
Take the 10.19 Carlisle train from Settle (Horton-in-Ribblesdale10.28), arrives Ribblehead at 10.36. [This is the 09.09 from Leeds.]
Return trains : 16.44, 18.50, 20.36.
An easy route up to the highest point in the Yorkshire Dales, the summit of Whernside. Not as dramatically and iconically shaped as the other two of the Three Peaks, Ingleborough and Pen-y-ghent, and without the dramatic limestone features that Ingleborough woos with, Whernside nevertheless enchants with the initial ascent up the lonely Little Dale and then ‘around the back of the hill’ along mainly good grassy tracks with fascinating views into Dentdale and to the Artengill Railway Viaduct, as well as across to the mountains further north, including Baugh Fell, Great Knoutberry Hill and with peeks to Mallerstang and into the Upper Eden Valley.

You ascend the slope dominated by mosses, heather and cotton grass, to the plateau with its many tarns and eventually follow an elevated scarp side path to the summit. The southerly tops of the Dales and Upper Ribblesdale are in view from here, as are the Howgill Fells and a glimpse of Morecambe Bay to the west. The following steep descent benefits from being on the Three Peaks Route as it follows an engineered path, but you then leave the Three Peaks Route and follow a quiet loop along farm tracks under Whernside’s westerly nose and down to Chapel-le-Dale. Here and along the route back to Ribblehead, many features typical of limestone country are passed: limestone pavement, shake holes and sink holes, pot holes, dry streambeds and rivers, seasonal waterways. The final stretch leads under the iconic Ribblehead Railway Viaduct.

Shortcuts are described, but one of the main ones follows the busy Yorkshire Three Peaks route uphill.

Walk Options :
Follow the Yorkshire Three Peaks route (more direct but very busy and considerably steeper) up to Whernside’s plateau along an engineered path rather than the scenic and quiet around-the-back route. Cut 3.2 km and 50m ascent.
Cut the westerly loop through Chapel-le-Dale and past a couple of pot holes. Cut 4.2 km and 90m ascent.
An Alternative near the end of the Chapel-le-Dale loop diverts around the crossing of the Winterscales Beck, which – although usually dry at the crossing point – can become too dangerous to cross when in spate.
From Chapel-le-Dale, follow the road all the way to the train station: cut 1.3 km.
Lunch : Picnic .
Tea : The Old Hill Inn (4.3 km from the end of the walk), Philpin Farm Snack Bar (3.9 km from the end), The Station Inn , Ribblehead. Located 200m from the end of the walk, or the Ribblehead Station Visitor Centre and Tea Room .
For walk directions, map, height profile, photos and gpx/kml files click here .
  • Thomas G
    Aug-25

    mwis.org mountain weather forecast for the day in summary: dry, mostly sunny, windy but not blustery, 90% chance of cloud free summit

  • JohnL
    Aug-25

    On the train from Leeds. Running on time

  • Thomas G
    Aug-25

    With 22 SWC-ees yesterday, and 1 new arrival today (on day release from a weekend at relatives), there were 23 today, of which one did SWC Walk Dent to Ribblehead, having walked Whernside recently, and one had 'knee'. So 21 on the walk, in perfect conditions warm dry with some clouds .

    We stayed together until the turnoff for the morning shortcut, which 4 took, got to our lunch stop at the back of Whernside by the largest of the Whernside Tarns for 1, and then joined the throng of people going up the 3 Peaks route near the summit, which was a bit of a circus but not of Snowdon's top type proportions.

    Steeply down then, where group cohesion went downwards, so much so that the first arrivals at the ice cream van at the bottom (having caught up with the shortcutters en route) had a 15 minutes longer break than the final arrivals. Very nice ice cream though.

    From there, 9 then walked the afternoon shortcut, and 12 the main route. We liked the scenery and visited the chapel in Chapel-le-Dale where many navvies from the railway and viaduct build are buried. Everyone then admired the stretch of the Winterscales Beck where the river disappears underground to reappear from a cave to disappear again to reappear in a pot to disappear again. The 16.44 train was only reached by the shortcutters and one of us who followed the road to the station though. That long ice cream break...

    Drinks in the Station Inn garden followed before the 18.50 train.