Pennine Way - Gargrave to Horton-in-Ribblesdale

This is the second of two days walking the Pennine Way, having walked from Hebden Bridge up to Gargrave on the previous day.

Today the plan is to walk from Gargrave (where I have stayed overnight), up to Horton-in-Ribblesdale. Although, in the end I do skip the section heading over Pen-y-Ghent, with the walk having taken a little longer than expected - and to ensure that I catch my preferred train home, and not push into the final trains of the day. 

Making an early start on the way out of Gargrave, I head up through town, and then head up on a minor road, heading up north, passing numerous dog walkers on the way.

After about half a mile following this path, I head off the road, and start heading through fields on a stretch that takes me through to Eshton Moor.

Not far beyond here, I pass alongside the road, and meet up with the River Aire - which I will now follow up to Malham.

It is a pretty river to walk along, and this section reminds me a lot of the section heading down from Carlisle along the Cumbrian Way. On the way I meet some inquisitive, but easily scared cows, and pass by Airton - which is a small village, with what looks to be a massive former mill, looming over the river as it passes by.

From here the path follows the river up to Hanlith, where the path turns onto the local roads, and climbs steeply up towards Windy Pike.

Having made it past Hanlith, the final stretch heading into Malham begins, and having gained height the views are much improved, looking out over pretty countryside and then with Malham Cove coming into view further along the way. 

Here the best of the walking for the day begins, and there is the opportunity to split the walk and stay over in Malham - in which case you can spend some time exploring the area around Malham, before heading onwards on the following day.

As we arrive into Malham though, everything starts to get very busy again, and we have quickly gone from having no one about, to having a mass of people all over the place.

The path heads up on the road north out of Malham, and then pulls off to the right, as it heads up into Malham Cove.

Heading towards Malham Cove

Getting closer to Malham Cove

In the pictures I managed to find some gaps in the people and it wasn't unbearably busy, but is still definitely busy here, as you walk along a really pretty (but fairly short) stretch from the turn off up to Malham Cove.

Here the Pennine Way turns to the left, and heads up a series of steps, climbing up to the top of the cliffs.

Looking out from the top of the steps

At the top, the path heads along the top of the cliffs - and although it is hard to find where you should be walking, you can just make whatever route you decide to follow along the top. You can walk up close to the cliff edge, but you can equally stay a long way back - and you are not forced up against the edge of the cliffs at all.

From here the path heads up through Ing Scar, in a cut above Malham Cove that is nearly as impressive as the cliffs below.

Starting up through Ing Scar

Looking back from further up Ing Scar

Near the top the path turns right, to swap to the other side of the wall, and then climbs up before turning right, to head through a second cut beneath Comb Hill.

The second cut we pass through

From here the path continues to generally head north, and here starts to head on towards Malham Tarn - passing over the road and entering an Area of Shake Holes.

These areas will be warned about on the map and on signs, and it is worth paying attention to these as this indicates an area where there are holes that naturally form. These can be big or small "holes" in the landscape, that can be an inconvenience or a major hazard to fall down - but just stick to the path through these sections and don't just wander off for an explore. In other sections you will similarly be warned about mining holes - and in general sticking to the paths is wise.

Upon reaching Malham Tarn, the path heads off to the right of the lake, and passes to the west of Great Close Scar - and here I stop off for another rest by the lake side.

Great Close Scar

Continuing on, the path heads round on the north side of the lake, past Malham Tarn House, and then along the house drive - through a cut in the rock - to just before Home Farm. Here the path turns to the right, to once again head north.

From here onwards, the path is generally climbing upwards - crossing over a road after a section of sheep fields, and then turning slightly to the west just past Tennant Gill, before heading north again, as the path prepares to head over Fountains Fell. 

Looking across the valley on the way up Fountains Fell

After a very long climb, the path makes it over the top of Fountains Fell - and then starts a descent down into the valley below. Having made it over the top, Pen-y-Ghent comes into view across the valley and grows in size as you head down the hill.

The descent is done a lot quicker than the climb, and it is not too long before we find ourselves joining up with the road below Pen-y-Ghent - and here the path turns to the left, along the base of the valley.

Looking at Pen-y-Ghent from the road

By this point we have shed about 240 meters from the top of Fountains Fell, and after following the road for a section it is time to turn off to the right along a track towards Fawcett Moor. Although we have shed a lot of height from Fountains Fell, the climb to Pen-y-Ghent is bigger than the one back up to Fountains Fell - with the peak of Pen-y-Ghent lying 26 meters above the peak of Fountains Fell.

From here the Pennine Way heads north over Pen-y-Ghent, and then briefly heads west, before dropping down into Horton-in-Ribblesdale - passing Hunt Pot, Hull Pot and Horton Scar along the way.

However, with a reasonably long train journey home - and with the amount of time I have left to the latest train of the day looking tight if I continue on round via Pen-y-Ghent - I decide to skip this final climb and instead turn to the left - away from Pen-y-Ghent. From here I drop down into Dub Cote and into Horton-in-Ribblesdale from the south side, and get to the train station just about in time for my planned train.

The trains are not particularly frequent and it perhaps would have been easier to have stayed over before heading home - but this is one of the areas I have most been looking forward to getting acquainted with, and I intend to come back and do more walking around Horton-in-Ribblesdale - so there will be time to tick off the Pen-y-Ghent section at a later date.

Overall I have really enjoyed the Pennine Way over these two days. There have been many hills, which have made some parts slower than I had expected, but it is a really pretty part of the world. With it being high and open moorland I can see it not being great in bad weather, but it really has been an amazing two day.

You definitely don't see many other people while walking the more isolated sections of the Pennine Way, but even then you are still close to farms, houses and roads so it is not complete isolation. Now I just need to come back and complete more sections of this trail.

Disclaimer: This writeup provides a narrative of what to expect rather than a route guide to follow. The route is covered by the 98 and 103 OS Landranger maps - while there is also a Pennine Way guidebook which includes OS mapping (links redirect to Amazon). The route is in general well way-marked.