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The Pennine Way | |
| Introduction Edale Crowden Globe Farm Slack Top Ponden Thornton Malham Horton Hawes Tan Hill |
 Penyghent (694m) from Fountains Fell |
Bowes Middleton Langdon Beck Dufton Garrigill Alston Greenhead Twice Brewed Bellingham Bryness Uswayford |
This was one of the more interesting starts to a day on the PW. From my hotel, it was a quick trot uphill along a road to where the path took me into the fields leading to Malham Cove - a 80 metre high limestone cliff. The PW branches off the path to climb up the hill to one side of the cliff. However I first followed the path right to the foot of the cliff - well worth the diversion! The path to the cliff-top is steep but short. I spent some time on the limestone pavement on top of the cove wandering around looking in the various crevices and taking in the view over Malham with other PW walkers.
The PW climbs over a stile and goes uphill to climb through Trougate (a miniature ravine) to the moorlands above. However I took an alternative route up Watlowes valley to enjoy the stony karst (limestone) landscape (recommended by A. Wainwright). At the head of the valley, a rocky path zigzaged around Dean Moor Hill and along a gully to the moor top. The path then followed a stone wall to a road just before Malham Tarn - a fairly bleak setting for a lake. On the way I passed where the stream from the tarn sinks into the limestone rock to reappear at Aire Head Springs. I left the road at a bridge over the stream to take a moorland path that quickly joined the PW proper.
This point was a good spot to appreciate the scenery to the north. Across the tarn the white curtain of Highfolds Scar was gleaming above the green woodland around Malham Tarn House. The PW passes closely beneath another limestone cliff (Great Close Scar). The estate has literary connections - Kingsley wrote his novel Water Babies while living here.
A gravel path quickly took me around the tarn, through a nice woodland and past Malham House to a gate on the right where a new grassy path lead northwards. One of the limestone boulders around here provided a good seat for my morning break. The path lead through various fields and over a road to Tennant Gill Farm where it climbed up to the open fells (Fountains Fell) - and became muddy and wet. After a steep climb, the path levelled off and went to the right. Past Tennant Gill, I just followed the group in front of me and they decided to go straight up the hillside - the PW actually avoids the steepest ground by traversing across the slopes. We ended up on the plateau containing Fountains Fell Tarn (near the disused weather station) and had some fun winding through the bog to the summit of the fell. This gave excellent views of the tiered slopes of Penyghent. This area is slightly dangerous since there are many disused coal pits.
I had lunch at the summit and then proceeded steeply downhill over a ladder stile to rejoin the PW as it followed a wall down easier slopes to a road. The road was followed past the buildings at Rainscar and to a parking area and the track to Penyghent. This is actually an old road to Horton. Churn Milk Hole (a large sink hole) was a bit of a disappointment in just being a large green depression in the landscape. Just past Churn Milk Hole, the PW branched off as a gravelled path leading gently up along a ridge to the base of Penyghent. I was then at the base of the first step that you can see on the left of the photo above. Two rough scrambles up the steep sides of the limestone and gritstone steps lead to the grassy path to the summit. The scrambles gave a good excuse to down my pack and drink in the views - a bit gloomy (lots of cloud) but extensive. I could almost see all the way back to Thornton-in-Craven.
From the summit a rocky and eroded path lead across the slopes until the PW headed steeply down on a gravelled path - rather hard on the knees and feet at the end of the day. Once on more level ground, I passed Hunt Pot where a beck disappears into a slot 5 metres by 2 metres to fall 65 metres (well described by Wainwright as "an evil slit"). An interesting detour is to head north from the gate onto the green road for a few hundred metres. This brings you to the gaping chasm of Hull Pot (90 metres long, 20 metres wide and deep) with Hull Pot Beck sometimes vanishing into its depths after heavy rain.
However I immediately joined the green road that lead down to Horton between dry stone walls - the glimpses of the dry valley on my left made the walk especially interesting. Unseen on the right is Brants Gill Head where the waters that vanish into Hunt Pot emerge to form Brants Gill. A couple of woodland plantations signalled the end of the lane with the Pen-y-Ghent Café and Crown Inn (my abode for the night) to the right. The café is the local information centre and holds the record book for the Three Peaks walk (24 hours to conquer Whernside, Ingleborough and Penyghent all about 700 metres high) as well as a log book for the Pennine Way. There is plenty to occupy a summer evening including walking south for less than 500 metres to Horton Bridge with its interesting church (and another pub).
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