Gargrave to Horton-In-Ribblesdale Along the Pennine Way
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Gargrave to Horton-in-Ribblesdale along the Pennine Way A weekend walking adventure for London-based hikers 1 of 27 www.londonhiker.com Introduction This long-weekend hiking trip will take in total either three or four days to complete (including travelling time there and back), but it is very much worth the extra days off. It is a fantastic taster of the Yorkshire countryside and Pennine Way and is highly suitable if you haven't been hiking in this area before or want to take a less experienced friend to try to persuade them of the joys of hiking. This trip is a superb walk with a lot of varied scenery, many highlights and interesting sights. The walking is not difficult and the navigation is easy, but the rewards are fantastic as you walk through some of Yorkshire's stunning scenery along some of the best bits of the iconic Pennine Way. A highly recommended option involves staying a third night in Horton-in-Ribblesdale and topping off your weekend by completing all three of Yorkshire's famous 'three peaks'. Along the Pennine Way after Malham Tarn 2 of 27 www.londonhiker.com Summary On Day 1 you will travel from London by train to the pretty village of Gargrave and do a half day, 6 mile walk to Malham, with its many scenic spots and the opportunity to see Gordale Scar. On Day 2 you will follow the Pennine Way for 15 miles all the way from Malham to Horton-in-Ribblesdale via Malham Cove, a limestone pavement, a limestone valley, a tarn, wild, atmospheric moorland and finishing by climbing the distinctive peak of Pen-y-ghent. You will stay in Horton enjoying the hospitality of Horton's welcoming hikers' pubs. On Day 3 you can travel home to London by train, OR you can extend your trip (highly recommended!) and do 13m a circular walk taking in the other two peaks, Ingleborough and Whernside and ending at the dramatic Ribblehead viaduct, traveling back to London that evening or the next morning. Highlights • The Dalesman Café at Gargrave with its vintage interior, jars of sweets and cakes • The drama of Gordale Scar • Malham's friendly, cosy pubs • Malham Cove • The limestone pavement at Malham and the view of the Aire Valley • Fountains Fell and the wild, brown and green moorland • The famous Pen-y-ghent walkers' Café • Climbing Pen-y-ghent • Boggling at the creepy gaping chasm of Hull Pot • Completing Ingleborough and Whernside • The drama and beauty of Ribblehead Viaduct 3 of 27 www.londonhiker.com Options Do it in 2 days (excluding the two peaks walk): Travel from London to Gargrave on Friday morning. Travel back to London in Sunday daytime. Pros: only taking one day off work Cons: miss out on the recommended third day's walk over Ingleborough and Whernside; only walking for one and a half days. Do it in 3 days (including the two peaks walk): Travel from London to Gargrave on a Friday morning. Travel back to London on Monday evening. Pros: can complete your trip by completing Whernside and Ingleborough, make the most of being out in this area of the country. Cons: have to take a day off work. You could also travel back to London on Day 4 instead. As another option, you could reverse the suggested route and start at Horton, meaning on your final day you would walk the 6 miles from Malham to Gargrave and travel back to London the same afternoon. To do this you would have to travel to Horton-in-Ribblesdale the day beforehand as it isn't really possible to get there easily in an evening or half a day. However, I do feel that moving North is more exciting and ending and the two peaks walk is the icing on the cake to round off a really memorable weekend, so I'd say going south to north is better. Example itinerary This is an example! Do not rely on the times below - always check current times before planning your trip! DAY FROM > TO LEAVE ARRIVE Day 1 TRAIN London Kings Cross > Gargrave (via Leeds) 10:03 13:31 WALK Gargrave > Malham (6.3 miles / 10.8 km) Day 2 WALK Malham > Horton-in-Ribblesdale (14.3 miles / 22.8 km) Day 3* WALK Ingleborough > Whernside > Ribblehead (13 miles / 21 km ) TRAIN Ribblehead > London (via Leeds) 17:42 21:56 * You might consider traveling back on Day 4 instead. 4 of 27 www.londonhiker.com Resources you will need: CHECKLIST In addition to all your usual walking gear, waterproofs etc.: Map and compass. You will only need one map for this trip which is EITHER: • Ordnance Survey 1:25000 OL2 Yorkshire Dales Southern & Western areas OR: • Yorkshire Dales South A-Z Adventure Atlas (this has 1:25000 maps but in a book format rather than a traditional map format). This is the RECOMMENDED option purely because I find the format very practical. Both maps cover the entire trip. OR: • A GPS with the Pennine Way route on it and the Yorkshire Dales National Park area covering Horton-in-Ribblesdale. OPTIONAL: If you have a copy of The Pennine Way guidebook (Aurum Press) this will come in useful as it contains descriptions and information about the area (n.b. day 3 Ingleborough and Whernside walk is not covered in the Pennine Way book, you'll need the map for this). Malham Cove 5 of 27 www.londonhiker.com Getting there and back by public transport You'll be going from London Kings Cross to Gargrave on the way out (changing at Leeds), and returning from Ribblehead back to London Kings Cross (changing at Leeds). You can get a train from Kings Cross which gets you into Gargrave for about 1.30pm. This should leave you with enough time to complete the afternoon 6 mile walk to Malham without rushing. Travel time from London to Gargrave is approximately 3.30 – 4.00 hours (including changing/waiting time at Leeds). Travel time from Ribblehead to London is approximately 4.00 hours (including changing/waiting time at Leeds). Note that trains from Ribblehead are very infrequent so book and plan ahead. (For example on a Monday morning there is only one at about 10.24am that gets you into London at about 14.30pm). And the last train leaves at about 17:42 so you'd have to finish you walk by then! When looking up ticket prices I found it was slightly cheaper to get two single tickets rather than a return, but you should try checking a few options before booking. The majority of the journey (between London to Leeds) will be via East Coast trains so you should see if you can get any discounts by booking directly through their own website as they do have cheaper 'web only' fares available. When booking anything other than an open return obviously you do have to make sure that you get that specific train; but with this trip it is not really a problem as you would be travelling back to London the morning after all your walking is finished, so you won't be in a rush to catch the train and it will be a relaxed journey. TIP: Before you book your train tickets make sure you can get accomodation first! Suitable time of year Any time of year is fine although it may be a bit boggier during winter and if it's snowy and icy, obviously conditions will be difficult and could be dangerous, more difficult to navigate and you should take extra care. However, this walk is fairly low level and all the paths are pretty clear and easy to follow. This walk is actually quite nice to do in a quieter time of year such as Spring or Autumn as the area around Malham and Horton can get extremely busy and full of tourists, school groups and so on especially on weekends and bank holidays. When we did this walk in March, we had Malham Cove all to ourselves, which was wonderful, but quite rare. There is certainly something to be said for walking at odd times of year (the downside of course is a greater risk of bad weather). 6 of 27 www.londonhiker.com Enjoying scones in the Dalesman Cafe Accommodation Due to the popularity of Malham and Horton-in-Ribblesdale especially at weekends and particularly bank holidays, it's a good idea to book everything ahead. As explained below it is best to book Horton-in-Ribblesdale first as there are fewer options there. • Malham: There are many options in Malham including a Youth Hostel, many B&Bs and Pubs. You can find many options by Googling, so I won't list them here. On our trip, we stayed in Beck Hall which was very nice (you can get a four poster bed!). However, accommodation in Malham does get booked up quickly so plan ahead. • Horton-in-Ribblesdale: There are very few accommodation choices here so book way in advance! In fact it would make sense to try sorting out Horton first before booking anything else, including your train tickets! 7 of 27 www.londonhiker.com Here are the choices (apart from camping!): • The Golden Lion (in the pub or 3peaks bunkroom) • The Crown Hotel • Broad Croft House B&B • The Women's Holiday Centre (women & children only – this is a non-profit making collective who provide accommodation primarily for women who might not otherwise be able to have holidays away or feel vulnerable on their own) • The Willows B&B Camping • Camping sites in Malham (there are various) • Camping in Horton-in-Ribblesdale (Holme Farm campsite) Alternatives If you can't get any accommodation in Horton, never fear, there is another option.