Yorkshire Dales - Dent to Horton-in-Ribblesdale (★★★★★)

Earlier in the year I was walking a section of the Pennine Way between Gargrave to Horton-in-Ribblesdale that took me into Ribblesdale for the first time.

Having really enjoyed that walk, today I am back in the area, to do a bit of a composite walk, starting from Dent train station. From here I will walk the Dales Way to the edge of Dent village, and then swap to the Dales High Way round to Ribblehead Viaduct.

Here I will swap to walking the Yorkshire Three Peaks (in reverse) up Pen-y-Ghent, before finishing up with the Pennine Way route into Horton-in-Ribblesdale.

For now I find myself at the very beginning of this planned route, getting off the train at Dent station - which is incidentally the highest operational mainline train station in England.

But for all all the promise suggested by such a high start point, my first task is to head down the hill - and give up a good chunk of this height.

The view coming down the hill

The Settle-Carlisle train line is one of the prettiest of the train routes through England, and this is a favorite route for those posh-people-trains (with fancy meals).

But us common folk are still allowed on this train line - and it is a great line for walking, with numerous named trails heading past or close to the train stations along this line. And indeed I have plans to come back and walk most of these trails.

The train line itself opened in 1875 - and the intention was focused around adding an additional route up to Scotland - with those being the days of competing train routes.

Prior to the construction of the Settle-Carlisle line, Midland Rail had a route to Scotland - but it was blocked from using Ingleton station by the operator of the current west coast mainline. This meant that their route to Scotland initially included a mile long walk over hills.

The situation improved later, but that rival operator continued to cause problems for Midland Rail - who decided that they needed an alternate route, and their own line.

The solution they came up with was the construction of the Carlisle-Settle line - a very complex line requiring 14 tunnels and 22 viaducts. And for a period this was a very successful up to Glasgow from London.

But this was always the slower route of the two - and over time the focus shifted back to the current west coast mainline - which was the networks preferred route up to Scotland. 

And as the rail operator became focused on rationalising the size of the railway network, the termination of passenger services along the line were recommended in the 1960s. Initially this was resisted, but by 1970 all stations except for Settle and Appleby West had closed - with only two trains running per day in each direction.

At this point the line looked set to have no long-term future - and indeed by 1984 these remaining stations were set to close. But Friends of the Settle–Carlisle Line was formed in 1981 with the intention of saving the line.

Gradually the efforts of these campaigners turned the tide - and by 1986 both Dent and Horton-in-Ribblesdale train stations had reopened

These days the trains along the line are often busy - and not only carries a lot of freight that would otherwise have to run on the west coast mainline, but it is also set to run diverted west coast mainline services during planned engineering works.

But for us all that matters is that the line is operational - and can indeed get us out to these hills and back again at the end of the day.

And so, as we head down the hill from Dent station, we soon cross over the River Dee, and turn right onto the Dales Way.

And here we arrive, not in the village of Dent, but in the village of Cowgill - Dent village is, confusingly enough, about two miles west of here.

But having got over the river, the next task is to follow this slightly overgrown path along the Dales Way along the base of the valley.

Looking out across the valley

Here our path takes a winding route, that at times can be a little tricky to follow - and mostly we just have to just follow the depression in the foliage, supported by regular checks of the map.

But aside from meeting a few barky dogs that are overly keen to say hello (and/or assert their dominance), this section is a pleasant meander through fields and past farm houses.

But we are not on this route for long, and when the Dales Way drops down to cross over the river, I stick on the road continuing along - pausing along the way to wait for a herd of sheep to cross the road into their new field - before being waved on by the farmer.

Update - I have since walked this section of the Dales Way, and it is a lovely walk that initially took me on to Burneside (near Kendal), before continuing on the next day to Bowness-on-Windermere in the Lake District. It's a great walk and well worth adding to your list.

From here I turn left, and start to climb up - as I turn away from Dent village, and start walking along the Dales High Way (which is essentially the bigger brother of the Dales Way - covering a similar route, but over higher ground).

This begins a long climb that will take me up to Great Wold - passing only slightly below the two peaks of Whernside - with the high point at Whernside being the high point of the Yorkshire Dales at 736 meters.

And this route is a long and steady climb up, with nice views back across the valleys behind.

Looking out to the right

Looking behind

Near the end of the climb I get a good sniff from some slightly nervous sheep - who eventually all give me the all clear, once they realise that I am not dangerous. Then as the path gains height, the landscape starts to shift away from the green and pleasant land of the valleys, into the slightly bleaker and rougher terrain of the hills.

Looking out towards what I think is Dent Viaduct

Aside from this small patch of green it is a bleaker landscape

At this point we have climbed up over three hundred meters - and if you did want to branch off to climb up Whernside and reach the high point of the Dales - then that would "only" require about two hundred more meters of climb. This offers quite a cheap climb up to the highest point of the Yorkshire Dales, but not one I'll be using today.

Through this particular stretch of countryside there are lots of different routes - and even more combinations, that are very easy to connect up to each other. 

But here our route starts to flatten out - and then our path starts to drop down towards Ribblehead Viaduct - where we start to get the dual views out towards Pen-y-Ghent in front, and Whernside on the right hand side.

Whernside to the right (bit late to turn off now)

Pen-y-Ghent in the distance

By this point I have joined up with the Yorkshire Three Peaks route - which has it's own track up to Whernside, that I soon pass by. And having done this, I soon see a large uptick in the amount of foot traffic coming my way.

The Yorkshire Three Peaks has a favored direction - and since I am walking along part of that route in the opposite direction, I will have a steady flow of walkers coming towards me until I reach the peak of Pen-y-Ghent.

The Yorkshire Three Peaks is not an easy trail - at 24 miles it is not exceptionally long, but it takes in about five thousand feet of ascent - which exceeds pretty much every walk I have ever done (usually I find they max out between four and five thousand feet).

But what is interesting about it is that it appeals to every man and his dog, which means that you get a lot of people who aren't that used to hiking walking this trail.

And as I pass some walkers heading up the first part of the climb up to Whernside, it is obvious that some walkers are on their limit already.

At this point there is a serious point to make, which is that there have been a few deaths on this route in recent years - mostly due to cardiac episodes on the climb up to Whernside. And so if you do the route and aren't in great shape, it is smart to take your time and not push it too hard - particularly since the distance is short enough to accommodate a fairly gentle pace.

It probably shouldn't be a route you just do out the blue without otherwise doing enough comparable activity. And if you do other walking first, you will find it an enjoyable day out - rather than a brutal test of will.

But returning to my walk - by this point on my walk I have made it down to the valley - and here I spend a bit of time following the path of the railway line.

Looking at the hills across from the railway line

The path pulls to the left and the continues on away from the railway line

After following along the tracks for a while - and watching two trains pass through - the path pulls left, and this is the signal that we have reached Ribblehead Viaduct.

Ribblehead Viaduct from the Northern end

Ribblehead Viaduct from the Southern end

This is a section to be enjoyed, as it is an impressive structure - but upon reaching the far side, the onward path largely comes to a halt - and so from here there is a stretch of road walking.

The road is in theory a quiet country road, but there are a few crests, and a few cars that are travelling at speed - so it is best to be careful along this section.

But before too long though, the onward route shifts to a track running off to the left - and this begins a section following a farm track round to Nether Lodge.

Crossing a stream on the way to Nether Lodge

And it is here that the climb up Pen-y-Ghent really starts - and there is about four hundred meters of total ascent to tick off between the road, and the top of Pen-y-Ghent. Fortunately though, it is all pretty gradual and not too taxing.

I had worried that this section would be tricky in terms of navigation - as the Yorkshire Three Peaks using local tracks rather than pre-defined route - but there is good signage for the Yorkshire Three Peaks route. This is particularly helpful because the Three Peaks route isn't a named route on the map.

And from here that route follows a track out from near Dismal Hill, then heads south on the branch of the Pennine Way that connects Horton-in-Ribblesdale with Hawes.

But we are not on the Pennine Way for long, and soon there is then a very clear turn off to the left that uses a track heading past Cross Pot and Hull Pot, to join with the other branch of the Pennine Way (this time connecting up Pen-y-Ghent and Horton-in-Ribblesdale). 

Now the climb up to Pen-y-Ghent begins in earnest - and it must be said that this is a fabulous stretch of path that keeps taking you up at a very gradual pace - along a very clear and well maintained track.

The path snaking up to the top of Pen-y-Ghent (it wiggles left and then right along the ridge)

As you get a bit nearer to the top, the climb starts to ramp up a bit in terms of steepness, with the first proper views now opening up behind.

Looking back along the path

Reaching the southern end of Pen-y-Ghent side

Then there is a final kick up to what I assume are limestone cliffs at the top (I think these are Pen-y-Ghent side) - but whilst this feels like the top, it is not. And here, as the path turns to the right, there is still about 130 more meters of ascent to go before the summit of Pen-y-Ghent is reached.

Still another hill to go after turning to the right

But there is still no major ramp up in the gradient of the path - and instead it winds up along the edge of the ridge - and after a first section following the slope of the hill, the path starts to hug the edge of the ridge more - but with it remaining a wide path, and with the ridge not being too sharp a drop off to the side.

Generally I'm not a huge fan of ridges or drops, but this section has none of those issues. Instead it just has great views.

But after this stretch along the edge of the ridge, the cruelest part of the climb comes, with a series of large steps, that run on for some time.

However, with the million steps complete, we find ourselves at the top of Pen-y-Ghent - and at just a few meters shy of 700 meters above sea level.

Here there are two routes on, the first is to continue along the path - but this route involves quite a steep section that is a scramble when done either as an ascent or descent. 

I'm told the descent is not too bad if you know where you are going, but not having done the ascent I decide to rule this route out - as it is quite a sharp drop off the side of the ridge, via a route that is very hard to pick out from above.

The onward path on the other side

So instead I head back up and over Pen-y-Ghent once more, and back to the much gentler path.

Having gone back over Pen-y-Ghent, this means heading down the path I had come up on - and then picking back up the Pennine Way as it heads down, and into, Horton-in-Ribblesdale.

I'm not sure if this is Tarn Bar or part of Horton Scar

Following the Pennine Way down into Horton-in-Ribblesdale

This is a nice stretch of path and drops you nicely into the centre of Horton-in-Ribblesdale, where it was a short walk to the train station - ready to catch the train home.

Total Distance: 20.4 miles

Total Ascent: 3,386 feet

Enjoyment Rating : ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ / 5

Disclaimer: This writeup provides a narrative of what to expect rather than a route guide to follow. The route is covered by the 98 OS Landranger map (links redirect to Amazon). You definitely need a map to navigate this one (if using a phone download in advance as there is no signal in the hills).