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This video shows a circular walk from Horton in Ribblesdale to Ingleborough, one of the Yorkshire 'Three Peaks'. This picturesque Yorkshire Dales walk passes through Sulber, Trow Gill, Gaping Gill and Little Ingleborough along the way. The entire walk has been filmed in 4K, allowing walkers to see the entire route, including where to park, eat, and drink.
Today's walk is Ingleborough via Sulber, Trow Gill, Gaping Gill and Little Ingleborough from Horton in Ribblesdale in the Yorkshire Dales. From the car park, you can see Pen-y-ghent. Before we start, let's have a quick look at where we are walking today. We leave Horton in Ribblesdale by passing over the train tracks that form part of the Settle to Carlisle railway.
We then pass through fields and through some limestone outcrops before heading along the path towards Sulber, which affords views of Ingleborough ahead.
At Sulber, we turn left, where shortly over to our left, there are views over Thieves Moss and Moughton Scars, with Pen-y-ghent visible on the horizon. We then head on to and through Trow Gill, a narrow, steep-sided limestone gorge. Then we arrive at the crater around the top of Gaping Gill, a 98-metre deep pothole, and one of the most famous caves and largest underground chambers in the UK.
This is quickly followed by a steep climb up towards Little Ingleborough. From Little Ingleborough, Ingleborough is now visible directly ahead again, so we just continue along the path to arrive at the trig point and the weather shelter on the top of Ingleborough. Ingleborough, at 724 metres high, is the second highest of the Yorkshire Three Peaks behind Whernside. Ingleborough summit on a clear day provides views of the Lakeland Fells to the north, and as far away as the Snowdonia range to the south.
Wandering the edges provides excellent views across to the Howgills, Whernside and the Ribblehead Viaduct. The return route is across Simon Fell Breast and then on through some limestone pavements and outcrops near Nick Pot. From Sulber, we follow the path back to Horton in Ribblesdale, which this time affords views ahead of Pen-y-ghent for most of the way back.
Stay watching until the end so you can see where to eat and drink after the walk. Back in the car park, we exit the car park by the path that goes down the side of the toilet block.
We then pass over the wooden footbridge over the River Ribble, before turning left to head a couple of hundred yards along the pavement. As the road bends round to the right, we leave the road to head straight on into Horton in Ribblesdale train station. Horton in Ribblesdale train station is on the Settle to Carlisle railway line, which is a very picturesque journey.
There are steam trains that go on that route on certain days of the year. On reaching the platform, as the sign says, Stop, Look and Listen. If clear, carefully cross over the train tracks and head up the path opposite between the fence and the wall. Pass through the gate and head away from the wall. Pass through this next gate. Just continue ahead.
Again, just pass through the gate and continue along the wide path. Pass through the next gate, just through which there is a sign informing you about Ingleborough National Nature Reserve.
Continue ahead on the well-defined path as it winds its way through bits of limestone outcrops. The route of today's Ingleborough walk from Horton in Ribblesdale is set out on an Ordnance Survey map along with a GPS download for your phone or GPS device on our Walks4all website, the link for which is down in the description below. There are also some of these wooden way markers that mark the path's route. Over this one, you can see across to Pen-y-ghent on the horizon.
The path then passes through the gap in the wall. Then shortly afterwards, at this Three Peaks footpath sign, we keep straight on following the Ingleborough three and a half mile sign. Pass through the next gate, where, if you look behind, it frames Pen-y-ghent quite nicely. Walk away from the wall, walking along the intermittently flagged footpath.
The path does provide views ahead towards Ingleborough on the horizon. If you enjoy these videos, please click the like button, subscribe to our channel and hit the notification bell so you know when any new walks have been uploaded. It's free to subscribe, and your likes and comments really do help our channel.
On reaching the next signpost, we are going to turn left following the Pennine Bridleway sign towards Clapham. Straight on here is our return path down from Ingleborough. The signpost, though, is sadly missing its fourth finger that used to point towards Ingleborough.
For now, just turn left to head along the wide grassy path, where you soon pull in to a wall ahead. Pass through the gate, and then, before we continue on, take time to look over the gate on your left. Over the gate, you can see Pendle Hill on the horizon, then Moughton Scars and Thieves Moss. If you want to explore Thieves Moss and Moughton Scars further, check out our Thieves Moss, Moughton Scars, and Norber Erratics walk from Clapham.
On the horizon, you can also see Pen-y-ghent in the distance. For now, just continue along the wide path on the right-hand side of the wall. As you walk alongside the wall, take time every so often to stop and look again across Moughton Scars, this time from a different angle. Keep on along the grassy path as it leaves the wall. At the wooden waymarker, keep on the main path to the right.
This section of the walk is part of the Pennine Bridleway, which is a 205-mile trail from Middleton Top in Derbyshire to Ravenstonedale in Cumbria, with its full length officially opened in 2012 by Martin Clunes, the then-president of the British Horse Society.
At this next wooden waymarker, just keep straight on; there's a path that comes in from the right. We are now heading for the cairn, just visible on the horizon. At the next wooden waymarker, you can take either path as they meet further on, but we'll take the left-hand path because we want to go via the cairn.
We are going to continue along the main path, but for now, we'll just take a short diversion. Head up to this cairn. From the cairn, the near wooded area ahead is Trow Gill gorge that we will visit shortly and then looking around to the right, we can see around to Little Ingleborough and Ingleborough itself. Further around, over the path we've just come up, you can see Pen-y-ghent on the horizon.
From the cairn, just drop down to rejoin the main path that we were walking on before and follow that as it starts to slowly descend. At the path junction, we just keep straight on the path. Coming from the right, here is the one that took the right fork wooden waymarker that we passed earlier. Pass through the gate, and again just continue straight on along the grassy path. The path pulls into the top of Long Lane, which will go through shortly on the way down to Trow Gill.
Before going through the gate, if you wanted to miss out Trow Gill and not lose as much height, over to the right here, you can drop down and then follow the path of the far side, and then I'll show you where we'll meet that path later on. But for now, though, we'll just return to the gate and pass through it to enter Long Lane.
Head down Long Lane now for a couple of hundred meters until you reach a stile on the right-hand side. Pass over the stile, where, down below, you can see the next stile over the wall ahead.
It is quite a reasonable drop over this stile, quite a steep stile, so if you didn't fancy climbing it, you could go the alternative route I mentioned a couple of minutes ago. Head down now to the stile in the next wall. Pass over the stile, and we reach the track coming up from Ingleborough Cave from your left. If you want a walk that goes by Ingleborough Cave, check out our Ingleborough walk from Clapham.
From the stile, we turn right to head slightly uphill along the track. Pass through the gate and then just continue straight on along the track. Shortly after, you then reach Trow Gill, which is a limestone gorge. Just noticed, as I was passing, a couple of brave sheep there, hiding under that large, massive overhanging rock. At the top of the initial climb, just continue straight on.
The path follows the right-hand side of the wall. Keep on the path now for about three-quarters of a mile until just when you can see Ingleborough over to your left, you reach two wooden gates in the wall stile. This path is part of A Pennine journey. A Pennine journey is a 247-mile trail, starting and ending in Settle in the Yorkshire Dales.
It is based on a 211-mile walk Alfred Wainwright undertook in 1938 and then later wrote a book about it called The Pennine Journey: The Story of a Long Walk in 1938. The book was eventually published in 1986. Looking around from the stile that we will cross shortly, you can see the path that we just walked up and then another path.
If you took the alternative path I mentioned at the top of Long Lane, this is where you would rejoin the walk. For now, just head over the stile and then follow the path directly away from the wall. Little Ingleborough and Ingleborough lie ahead of us now, as the path bends slowly around to the right. At the path junction, the left-hand path goes up Little Ingleborough, and we'll be joining that path shortly.
For now, we'll take the right-hand path, which heads over towards Gaping Gill. Gaping Gill is then soon reached. Gaping Gill is one of the largest underground chambers in the UK. Fell Beck runs into the Gaping Gill pothole, which we can see here, and falls 98 meters to the floor of the chamber, forming the highest unbroken waterfall in England.
Take note of the signs that tell you to keep yourself, your children and dogs well away from the top, as it's unfenced and it's a sheer drop. Very sadly, people have died at Gaping Gill. If you do feel the need to explore it further, twice a year, Bradford Pothole Club for a week in May and Craven Pothole Club for a week in August, set up a winch above it, and you can be lowered down it in a chair.
More information about the charge, what to wear and when it takes place is available on their respective websites. For now, we'll just head the short distance back along the path by the side of the fence, and then this time just branch off to the right to meet the path that starts to head up Little Ingleborough. Turn right now, on this path, to start to head up the hill. Stop every so often, just have a look around and take in the views.
Over to the right, you can see Simon Fell Breast that we'll be walking back down, and then over on the far horizon, you can see Pen-y-ghent and more in the foreground, the path that we just walked up. Then again, on the horizon, the distinctive outline of Pendle Hill. You then arrive at the cairns on Little Ingleborough, which is 639 meters in height.
Over the cairns, you can see the outline of the Lakeland Fells and then around to Morecambe Bay out to the west. Further around, you can again see Pendle Hill and then following around again, you can see Pen-y-ghent with Fountains Fell just to the right of it. For now, just continue on and head back onto the main path that starts to climb up onto the plateau itself.
The path narrows and steepens just before it reaches the summit plateau on Ingleborough. Then the path suddenly gets a lot flatter from this cairn. If you look around now, you can see the path that we're going to walk down over there on Simon Fell Breast with Pen-y-ghent again on the horizon. And then if you look further around, you can see the path that we just walked up from Little Ingleborough.
For now, though, we're going to go diagonally left from the path that we came up, past the next cairn to head on towards the trig point and weather shelter on the summit. In bad visibility, you should always take a compass bearing from here to the summit. At 724 meters high, Ingleborough is the second highest of the Yorkshire Three Peaks behind Whernside.
Ingleborough on a clear day provides views to the Lakeland Fells to the North and as far away as the Snowdonia range to the South. Over the cairn here, you can see out to the sea at Morecambe Bay, and then as you look around to the right, you can see the faint outline of the Lakeland Fells, and then to the left, to the weather shelter, you can see the top of Whernside and on the far horizon, the Howgills.
And then as you look around, you can again see the outline of Pen-y-ghent, and then further around, just to the left of the trig point, you can see the faint outline of Pendle Hill again on the horizon. We start the descent now by heading over to the weather shelter. The four-sided weather shelter makes sure that, whatever the direction of the wind, there is somewhere to shelter.
And then if you carry on in the same direction, the main path is slightly to our right at the minute, you soon find the edge of Ingleborough, where you pick up a clearer path. Wandering the edges of Ingleborough does provide some additional views. Down below, you can see the Ribblehead Viaduct and then again around to Whernside.
For now, though, we'll just continue on along the path that keeps quite close to the edge. After passing a couple of cairns, you need to look out for where the path starts to branch off left downhill. Then just head slightly left of this boulder. From this large boulder, you again get the great view down towards Ribblehead Viaduct and Whernside.
Just continue on down now along the rough path - hands may be needed on odd little sections until you reach the stone marker. The left-hand path here heads down the other side of Ingleborough towards the Hill Inn at Chapel le Dale, but for now, we're going to take the right-hand path that heads across Simon Fell Breast. Ingleborough, along with Pen-y-ghent and Whernside, make up what is known as the Yorkshire Three Peaks.
The Yorkshire Three Peaks walk is approximately 24 miles long and takes in just over 1500 meters of climbing. Pen-y-ghent is the shortest at 694 metres, Ingleborough is 724 metres high, and Whernside is the highest at 736 metres. The Yorkshire Three Peaks walk will be the next walk we add to our Walks4all website and YouTube channel. Over to the right, now you can see Little Ingleborough and around to Ingleborough that we've just walked over.
Eventually, you reach a wall stile. Pass over this and just continue straight on towards Pen-y-ghent. If you're new to hiking or just want ideas for walking gear to wear and take on the walk, check out our kitlist recommendations down in the description below. At one point, you pass over some wooden boards that keep you out of the marshy area underneath. Just after a short flagged section, you then pass by a disused shooting hut, which is shown on the Ordnance Survey map.
The path then crosses a small stream, and straight after, passes through the wooden gate. There is a signpost at that gate showing two and three-quarters miles back to Horton in Ribblesdale. Head away from the wall, and then at the path junction by the wooden waymarker, we take the left-hand path following the yellow arrow. We then walk along between the wall and the limestone pavement, which is near Sulber Pot. I have walked this route quite a few times in winter, and this bit can get a little bit boggy.
Pass through this next gate and then just continue straight on along the path. Where we had the views of Ingleborough on the outward path, on our way home now to Horton, we have the views of Pen-y-ghent now for most of the way back. We then arrive at the three-fingered signpost that used to be four-fingered that we passed earlier on the walk.
This time we just continue straight on following the footpath sign for Horton in Ribblesdale for two miles. As you walk along through the limestone, you may notice a lot of these yellow and purple flowers. I'm not the greatest with flora, but I think the yellow flowers are the common rock rose, and the purple ones are bloody cranesbill. If that's not right, though, just let me know down in the comments below. Just before the view disappears, we'll look back around again for one last time to see where we've walked today.
Pass through the next gate and just continue straight on. Pass by the signpost we passed earlier, following the Horton in Ribblesdale sign for one mile. Continue back along the outbound path heading through the bits of exposed limestone, then through the gap in the wall. Pass back through the gate by the side of the information board and then pass back through this next gate and head straight on, continuing across the fields. Pass again through this next gate.
You can now see Horton in Ribblesdale just down below us. Pass again through the gate from which you can see the platform of Horton in Ribblesdale Station just down below us, and then once through the gate, head down the side of the fence, watch out for any coming trains and then cross over the train track, taking great care yet again.
Once over the track, pass through the next gate, and then head back down to the road, and then continue straight across until we meet the road at the bottom. Upon meeting the road, just continue straight on along the pavement. At the end of the pavement, just before the hedge, turn right to pass back over the wooden bridge we walked over at the start of the walk.
If you look over to the left from the bridge, you can see the Crown Hotel, which is one of the two pubs in Horton, along with the Golden Lion. Once over the bridge, we head back into the car park. As promised at the start of the walk, before we end for today, we'll have a look at where you can eat and drink nearby.
The first place is the Crown Hotel, which we just saw from the footbridge. So to get there, we turn left out to the car park and just wander along the road, and it's just over the bridge. As of July 23, I believe the Crown is still open, but as you can see from the sign, the business is currently up for sale.
It serves food and drink, but on reading some online reports, I've been in for a while, I'm not sure whether it's dog friendly, so it's probably best just to check first. Instead of turning left out of the car park, if you turn right and head along the road for a couple of hundred meters, you reach the Golden Lion Hotel.
Again, this serves food, drink and has accommodation. I believe dogs are allowed in the bar and in the tap room. It also offers all-day parking. I've no footage of this one, but there is also the Blindbeck tea room in Horton, which, when you come out of the train station, you turn left. The tea room is about 400 meters along the road on the right-hand side, which, according to the website, serves hot and cold refreshments and has its own car park. It does, though, say that dogs aren't allowed in the tea room.
Everyone will have their own favourites, but my preferences nearby, if you've got a car, are Middle Studfold Farm Tea Room and Helwith Bridge Inn, both within two miles heading along the road to Settle. I like Middle Studfold as it is off the main road with views. It serves homemade food, sandwiches, all-day breakfast, toasties and cakes, along with a range of alcohol, teas and coffees.
I did stop for a little bite today and had a coffee after today's Ingleborough walk. Just further on, just off the road to Settle is the Helwith Bridge Inn. They serve good food and also eight real ales on the bar, many brewed locally. It is on the side of the River Ribble, and there's the Settle to Carlisle railway line running right past it. It's also dog-friendly.
If you need more choice, there is a wider range of pubs, restaurants and takeaways in nearby Settle and Ingleton. Just before ending today's walk, we've put together a short flythrough created using the Ordnance Survey app, the link to which is in the description below, to show you where you've been and give the walk and area a little more perspective.
We left the car park by the footbridge and turned left along the road to head to and then through Horton in Ribblesdale train station. We headed across the fields and then through the limestone before picking up the path that afforded views of Ingleborough, which was then directly ahead. On reaching the signpost at Sulber, we turned left. You can see our return path coming into the signpost here off Ingleborough.
Then on our left-hand side, we had the views over Moughton Scars and then over to Pen-y-ghent. As we approached the top of Long Lane, you could see the trees ahead at Trow Gill. We then dropped down to pass through Trow Gill, the limestone gorge. On reaching the two wall stiles, where the alternative pathway rejoined us, we turned left to head on towards Gaping Gill.
After looking at Gaping Gill, we turned left to start the steeper climb up to Little Ingleborough. After stopping to look and admire the views from Little Ingleborough, we then carried on towards the Ingleborough summit plateau itself. From the summit, after exploring the panoramic views from around the trig point, we headed past the weather shelter to pick up the path off the edge that afforded the views of the Ribblehead Viaduct and Whernside. After a short downhill section where the path splits, we took the right-hand fork to start heading across Simon Fell Breast.
We then passed the ruins of the shooting hut and through the limestone to reach the signpost at Sulber, which we passed on the outward route. This time we just go straight on and then start heading down the path ahead with the views afforded from that towards Pen-y-ghent. We passed again back through the train station to drop back into Horton and then turned right back over the footbridge to reach the car park. That ends our walk for today.
In the transcript of the video, when any mention is made of the 'description below', it refers to the description shown beneath the video on YouTube. If you wish to access any of that information, click 'watch on YouTube' on the video above, and the description will be there, on YouTube, just below the video.
