Whernside Walk

Looking over to Ingleborough

We planned to walk up Whernside last year, we did manage to get up Ingleborough and Pen-y-ghent with the kids but ran out of time / weather when it came to the highest of the three.

It turned into quite an outing, 6 adults, 6 kids and 4 dogs! We all drove up to Ribble Head and found parking at the side of the road. We soon headed out across the valley bottom walking parallel with the viaduct. At the far side of the valley we continued up the hill adjacent to the railway and soon found ourselves at an unusual bridge / aqueduct that took us over the railway and higher.

It started to get steeper from here, it was nice to have a quick rest looking at the Force Gill Waterfall. The path levelled out and we could now see clearly the ridge that the path follows to the top. Up to this point the kids had all been doing okay and we’d made good time, we stopped and had drinks and snacks before moving on again.

The Boys!

Another steep climb and we were on the ridge, it was getting colder here and there was snow / ice under foot. A couple of the smaller kids were scared of slipping so we had to make sure they felt safe as we headed along the ridge. The views up here are really good and the climb felt worthwhile.

Within a few minutes we reached the top, the highest point in Yorkshire, it was pretty busy. Several groups of people were huddled out of the wind under walls. Time to admire the view and have some lunch. A great place to look over at Ingleborough! Standing still wasn't a good idea, we soon started to feel the cold so headed further along the ridge to continue our circular walk. The path descends quickly and zigzags to a wall at the edge of the fields near the valley bottoms. I don’t like steep descents, it makes my knees throb!

Under the Viaduct

In the valley bottom we headed through several fields and then followed the dried up Winterscales Beck, typical limestone country, no water but lots of evidence! It wasn't long before we were back at the Ribble Head viaduct, this time we stopped to admire the amazing feet of engineering.

Heading back to the car we decided that it was time for a pint at The Station Inn. We sat out back with the kids and dogs before heading home. It had taken a long time to walk 7.5 miles, too many people; someone always needed to stop for something!

Andrea and me still had a busy evening, we were going to Sheffield to the Australian Pink Floyd!