Seen from a distance, Ingleborough is a hill with a very distinctive shape, a windswept plateau standing in grand isolation above the valleys and villages of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. At the heady height of 724m, it is the second highest hill in the Dales and the middle peak of the famous Yorkshire Three Peaks. Having grown up in this area it’s a familiar sight, but this would be the first time I’d stand on its summit to enjoy the view over the Dales.
I arrived in the pretty village of Clapham on a gloriously sunny October morning. These valleys and hills can be bleak at this time of year, but on a day like this they were utterly magnificent. It was early as I strolled along Clapham Beck, and the village was quiet as I made my way to the Ingleborough Estate Nature Trail – a memorial to the village’s most famous son, Reginald John Farrer, a famed traveller, botanist and plant collector.
Clapham is a village with history. First mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, there was a settlement here long before that. Sheep farming and the wool industry were the mainstays of village life throughout its history. The Farrar family arrived as lords of the village in the 18th century. They continue to be the dominant landowners in the area, including owning many of the houses in the village and the Ingleborough Estate where I was walking.
The route passes through woodland and a small lake before leaving the trees behind and onto the open fells. It also passes the entrance to Ingleborough Cave, which gives access to a large cave network that includes a five meter high stalactite said to be the largest in Britain. I recall visiting as a child, but today I would be staying above ground. Further on the path goes through a limestone gorge before reaching Gaping Gill.
A large hole that leads into a cave system, it’s possible to be winched into Gaping Gill by the Bradford Pothole Club. The geography of the area includes a vast layer of limestone that wind and rain have carved over centuries. On the surface there’s an otherworldly limestone pavement, while beneath the surface water has created a subterranean world of cave systems that are beloved of spelunkers – people who take joy in exploring cave systems.
The route up Ingleborough is well used and clearly marked, and I was soon on the final climb to the top. I’d only seen a handful of people on the walk, but at the cairn that marks the summit there were maybe twenty people. After a few greetings and comments on the unnaturally good weather, I headed across the flat top of the hill and started my descent, all the time with one of the other Three Peaks in front of me, Pen-y-ghent.
There were incredible views down the valley looking towards Ribblehead Viaduct. One of the many dramatic features of the Settle–Carlisle railway line, the twenty four, 30m high arches of the Ribblehead Viaduct span 400m across the valley floor. Completed in 1875, the rail line travels across ‘the roof of England’, and was a major engineering feat of the Victorian era. The human cost for the 6,000 ‘navvies’, mostly from Ireland, was immense.
The walk down Ingleborough comes with sweeping views, it really is one of the most beautiful places in northern England. I found myself walking across limestone pavement, arriving at an stunning crescent shaped limestone cliff that sliced across the landscape. I sat here for a few minutes watching the patterns of the clouds as they drifted above me towards Pen-y-ghent. It was blissfully quiet.
The next section of the walk was pleasantly flat and in the distance I could see a large cairn on top of a small hill. The views from here back to Ingleborough and down the valley to Clapham were lovely. I chatted to a couple of mountain bikers before starting the gradual walk downhill to the village. The route took me through some tunnels constructed in the 19th century, and then to the 15th century St. James’ Church.
A short walk back into the centre of the village, it was mid-afternoon and warm enough to sit in the garden of the The Old Manor House pub. I ordered a pint of Yorkshire bitter and watched as walkers returned from the fells.
