One Peak short of the classic Yorkshire Three Peaks

Summary: A slightly shorter version of the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge, this Two Peaks loop traverses Pen-y-ghent and Ingleborough. Starting from Horton in Ribblesdale, the hike covers the two most interesting hills and offers some great views.

Trailhead: Yorkshire Dales National Park Car Park, Horton-in-Ribblesdale
Distance: 32.8km
Duration: Full Day
Grade: Moderate
1200m total ascent
Route type: Loop
Best season/s: All year
Topographic map/s: OL 02 YORKSHIRE DALES - Southern & Western Areas - Buy
Online map: https://www.alltrails.com/explore/map/yorkshire-two-peaks-0ad39c5
Dogs Allowed
No mountain bikes

The Yorkshire Three Peaks is a classic 24 mile (39km) circular walk in the Yorkshire Dales National Park., which traverses Pen-y-ghent, Ingleborough and Whernside. I’m not sure I’m up to doing all three hills on what is forecast to be a warm summer’s day, so my shorter Yorkshire Two Peaks hike covers Pen-y-ghent and Ingleborough over about 20 miles (32km).

Ribblesdale to Ribblehead via Pen-y-ghent

I’m starting at Horton in Ribblesdale, the traditional starting point for the Yorkshire Three Peaks, on a trail that ascends gently from the main road.

IMG 9680 LR One Peak short of the classic Yorkshire Three Peaks

IMG 9682 LR One Peak short of the classic Yorkshire Three Peaks

I’m soon on the long-distance Pennine Way trail, with another trail marker confirming I’m heading to Pen-y-ghent via Bracken Bottom.

IMG 9683 LR One Peak short of the classic Yorkshire Three Peaks

IMG 9684 LR One Peak short of the classic Yorkshire Three Peaks

Most of the first mile of the Yorkshire Three Peaks is on country lanes, before the hiking trail starts climbing more steeply from Bracken Bottom (or Brackenbottom).

IMG 9688 LR One Peak short of the classic Yorkshire Three Peaks

The distinctive profile of Pen-y-ghent is soon visible from the wide, paved path.

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IMG 9698 LR One Peak short of the classic Yorkshire Three Peaks

It’s a pleasant and easy walk so far, on what is a popular route: I’m passed by a number of Three Peakers, who stride past at a fast pace, while I overtake hikers doing just Pen-y-ghent at a more leisurely pace (Pen-y-ghent is the easiest of the three peaks).

IMG 9704 LR One Peak short of the classic Yorkshire Three Peaks

The trail starts to climb a bit more steeply towards the southern end of Pen-y-ghent…

IMG 9707 LR One Peak short of the classic Yorkshire Three Peaks

IMG 9706 LR One Peak short of the classic Yorkshire Three Peaks

…and gets very steep as it climbs up from the lower foothills to the plateau-like summit.

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IMG 9719 LR One Peak short of the classic Yorkshire Three Peaks

It’s an easy stroll along the last few hundred metres to the “summit” of Pen-y-ghent, which is 2,277 feet (694m) in height and the lowest of the Yorkshire Three Peaks. The name of the peak possibly means “hill on the border” from the Cumbric language where pen meant ‘top’ or ‘head’ and the more obscure ‘ghent’ could be taken to mean ‘edge’ or ‘border’ (but it may also mean ‘heathen’).

IMG 9721 LR One Peak short of the classic Yorkshire Three Peaks

IMG 9728 LR One Peak short of the classic Yorkshire Three Peaks

IMG 9733 LR One Peak short of the classic Yorkshire Three Peaks

With some morning mist still partly shrouding the mountain, the views aren’t great and I soon continue down the gentler north-western side of Pen-y-ghent. The Pennine Way stretches as far as the eye can see towards Ribblehead.

IMG 9750 LR One Peak short of the classic Yorkshire Three Peaks

IMG 9755 LR One Peak short of the classic Yorkshire Three Peaks

A very short detour off the Pennine Way is the Hunt Pot, a 60m deep fissure that’s part of an extensive watery underworld cave system in the carboniferous limestone of Pen-y-ghent. (I overlook Hull Pot which is a short distance to the north, and worth another detour.)

IMG 9767 LR One Peak short of the classic Yorkshire Three Peaks

IMG 0945 LR One Peak short of the classic Yorkshire Three Peaks

It’s a bit of a tedious slog along the Pennine Way as it passes Whitber Hill, Sell Gill Hill and Jackdaw Hill.

IMG 9773 LR One Peak short of the classic Yorkshire Three Peaks

IMG 9779 LR One Peak short of the classic Yorkshire Three Peaks

There’s almost no shade along the trail until the Pennine Way crosses Brow Gill Beck, a small stream which has some small cascades.

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IMG 9787 LR One Peak short of the classic Yorkshire Three Peaks

A bit further along the trail crosses Cam Beck, where I need to negotiate my way past two sheep.

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IMG 9792 LR One Peak short of the classic Yorkshire Three Peaks

Another sturdy bridge spans the Gayle Beck, which flows into the River Ribble.

IMG 9796 LR One Peak short of the classic Yorkshire Three Peaks

IMG 9797 LR One Peak short of the classic Yorkshire Three Peaks

I’ve almost completed the first half of my Yorkshire Two Peaks loop, as I pass through a small farm to reach Ingman Lodge Road. There is no way to avoid a 1.2 mile (2km) walk along the road towards the small town of Ribblehead, although you do get a nice view of the Ribblehead Viaduct along the way. Completed in 1874 after five years of construction (during which 100 men lost their lives), the railway bridge has 24 arches and is over 400 metres in length.

IMG 9799 LR One Peak short of the classic Yorkshire Three Peaks

IMG 9803 LR One Peak short of the classic Yorkshire Three Peaks

The small but busy town of Ribblehead has a kiosk near the railway station and a pub (the Station Inn), where I stop for lunch and re-stock on water. (It’s the only spot along the Yorkshire Three Peaks walk where there are bathroom facilities, as well as the option to buy food and drinks.)

IMG 9804 LR One Peak short of the classic Yorkshire Three Peaks

IMG 9805 LR One Peak short of the classic Yorkshire Three Peaks

Ribblehead to Ribblesdale via Ingleborough

If you’re doing the traditional Three Peaks walk you’d cross Blea Moor Road and continue west to Whernside, the highest of the Yorkshire Three Peaks at 736m / 2,415ft (it’s also the least popular among walkers). For my Two Peaks loop, I head eastwards along a road that passes behind the quaint Ribblehead railway station.

IMG 9806 LR One Peak short of the classic Yorkshire Three Peaks

IMG 9809 LR One Peak short of the classic Yorkshire Three Peaks

My route passes through Gauber Quarry, a limestone quarry which operated from the 19th century until the 1970s to produce limestone for the iron industry in Durham, stone for the railway line and even lime powder for toothpaste, farming and the textile industries. The quarry is now part of Ingleborough National Nature Reserve, and green posts mark the Ribblehead Quarry Walk which I initially follow.

IMG 0947 LR One Peak short of the classic Yorkshire Three Peaks

IMG 9811 LR One Peak short of the classic Yorkshire Three Peaks

I continue up to the open hillside of the Gauber High Pasture and traverse the open fields below the small peak of Park Fell (563m / 1847 feet) – an alternate route to Ingleborough goes up and over this hill.

IMG 9817 LR One Peak short of the classic Yorkshire Three Peaks

IMG 9820 LR One Peak short of the classic Yorkshire Three Peaks

The upside of this Yorkshire Two Peaks loop is that on this section I don’t see anyone; I’m starting to question if I’m going the right way. My route from Ribblehead to Ingleborough is following the Ingleborough Ridge Walk, which is marked by blue posts and occasionally a little boggy underfoot. Directly ahead of me is Ingleborough, with its square-shaped summit.

IMG 9826 LR One Peak short of the classic Yorkshire Three Peaks

IMG 9827 LR One Peak short of the classic Yorkshire Three Peaks

The trail passes a number of limestone pavements at Southerscales with their characteristic block (clint) and fissure (grike) appearance. Britain and Ireland hold a significant proportion all existing limestone pavement, and despite significant destruction until the 1990s, this is one of the most impressive examples of limestone pavements.

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IMG 9831 LR One Peak short of the classic Yorkshire Three Peaks

The trail gradually gets better as it approaches Ingleborough.

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IMG 9840 LR One Peak short of the classic Yorkshire Three Peaks

I’m soon encountering many people again, as I re-join the standard Yorkshire Three Peaks route.

IMG 9844 LR One Peak short of the classic Yorkshire Three Peaks

IMG 9847 LR One Peak short of the classic Yorkshire Three Peaks

The trail starts ascending the foothills of Ingleborough; directly ahead I start to make out what from a distance seems a ridiculously steep path up to the ridge.

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IMG 9852 LR One Peak short of the classic Yorkshire Three Peaks

It is very steep, with multiple flights of stone steps zig-zagging up the side of the ridge (the alternative route from Ribblehead via Park Fell and Simon Fell would avoid this steep ascent).

IMG 9859 LR One Peak short of the classic Yorkshire Three Peaks

At the top of the steps is a path that follows the ridge line, with the Ingleborough summit not far away.

IMG 9864 LR One Peak short of the classic Yorkshire Three Peaks

IMG 9868 LR One Peak short of the classic Yorkshire Three Peaks

There’s one last, less-steep ascent to reach the Ingleborough summit plateau (with a great view of the Ribblehead Viaduct below).

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IMG 9870 LR One Peak short of the classic Yorkshire Three Peaks

The entire Ingleborough summit was once a fort, thought to have been built around the first century AD by the Brigantes (a northern Celtic tribe which was under attack from the invading armies of Rome). A rampart of millstone grit 3,000 feet (915m) in length long encircled the massive flat summit, with entrances on the northern, eastern and south-western sides. The name Ingleborough is derived from ‘ing’ meaning ‘peak’ in Old English ing and ‘burh’ meaning ‘a fortified place’ – or ‘hill fort’.

At 2,375ft the great mountain of Ingleborough may not be the highest in the Yorkshire Dales – that distinction going to nearby Whernside – but nevertheless eclipses the latter in terms of sheer stature and bulk. Not to mention, or so it would seem, the attentions of the local walkers.

What’s more, the spacious summit plateau is girdled by the remnants of once powerful dry-stone ramparts. Yep, that’s right…. this inhospitable mountain top was once a hillfort. Not only that, but the highest hillfort in Britain, to be precise. Crikey, the Iron Age people who lived here must’ve been hard, whether the average temperature was a couple ‘o degrees warmer in those days or not!
The Modern Antiquarian

IMG 9878 LR One Peak short of the classic Yorkshire Three Peaks

IMG 9879 LR One Peak short of the classic Yorkshire Three Peaks

The “true” summit – marked by an Ordnance Survey trig point – is near the western corner, and near the trig is a very solid windshelter.

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IMG 9898 LR One Peak short of the classic Yorkshire Three Peaks

There are outstanding views from the Ingleborough summit, with the furthest visible peak being Manod Mawr in Snowdonia (North Wales), which is 103 miles (166 km) away. Almost directly north is Whernside, the third peak of the Yorkshire Three Peaks walk which I’ve just skipped.

IMG 9895 LR One Peak short of the classic Yorkshire Three Peaks

To the north-west are are the peaks of the Howgill Fells, an area of high ground in the Yorkshire Dales.

peakvisor photo Ingleborough One Peak short of the classic Yorkshire Three Peaks

My Two Peaks loop continues down the south-eastern flank of Ingleborough along the Sulber Nick, a footpath which follows the line of minor geological fault. (An alternative and slightly longer route descends via Gaping Gill, one of the most famous caves in the Yorkshire Dales National Park.)

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IMG 9908 LR One Peak short of the classic Yorkshire Three Peaks

After a few hundred metres there’s a short, steep section where the path gets a little rocky.

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IMG 9911 LR One Peak short of the classic Yorkshire Three Peaks

The Sulber Nick route then continues to descend gently the lower eastern slopes of Ingleborough.

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IMG 9914 LR One Peak short of the classic Yorkshire Three Peaks

Directly ahead is Pen-y-ghent, and below are some impressively large limestone pavements.

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IMG 9919 LR One Peak short of the classic Yorkshire Three Peaks

As the trail drops into the valley it passes the ruins of a farmhouse, and then through one of the limestone pavements.

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IMG 9930 LR One Peak short of the classic Yorkshire Three Peaks

There are a fair few people on the trail, with lots of Yorkshire Three Peak hikers on the final stretch back to Horton in Ribblesdown. The route crosses the railway line at the Horton in Ribblesdown station and then the River Ribble to convenienty finish at The Crown pub…

IMG 9940 LR One Peak short of the classic Yorkshire Three Peaks

IMG 9942 LR One Peak short of the classic Yorkshire Three Peaks

Although my 20 mile / 32km Two Peaks loop doesn’t have the bragging rights of the complete 24-mile (39km) Three Peaks Challenge, it’s still been a solid eight hour walk. The scenery isn’t as dramatic as the landscape further north, but there are some nice views from the peaks and some interesting limestone formations in the valleys.

Getting to the Yorkshire Three Peaks (or Two Peaks) hike

The small town of Horton in Ribblesdale in the county of North Yorkshire is the usual starting point for the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge – as well as my Two Peaks loop, and the popular individual ascent of Pen-y-ghent. It’s about 57 miles (1:30min drive) north of Manchester, and accessible by train on the Settle Carlisle Line with services between Leeds and Carlisle. There is parking along the main road and paid parking in the a large carpark designed for hikers.