Manchester Weekend Walkers lead public transport walks into fantastic countryside all year round.
Train-based walk
Leader: Mary
Meet Point: Near the ticket barriers, or on the platform, at Victoria station. Alternatively, meet the group on the train or at the station in Horton-in-Ribblesdale.
Transport to Walk Start: 08:15 train from Manchester Victoria (final destination Ribblehead).
Suggested Ticket: Off-Peak Day Return to Ribblehead £25.
Walk Start: Horton-in-Ribblesdale railway station at 10:15. Drivers please note the station car park here is very small, so you may need to use the pay-and-display car park in Horton in Ribblesdale and allow extra time to get to the station to meet the group.
Waypoints: Brackenbottom, Pen-y-ghent, Pennine Way, Hunt Pot, Sell Gill Hill, Pennine Way, Ribble Way, Nether Lodge, Gauber Road (B6479).
Return Services: From Ribblehead: 16:15 (if walk has finished by this time, change at Leeds), 18:05 (direct), 19:48 (change at Leeds).
Extra: No dogs please, other than registered assistance dogs. Map for this route is Ordnance Survey - Explorer OL2 (Yorkshire Dales - Southern & Western Area). Toilets at walk start - please use those in the car park at Horton in Ribblesdale and please refrain from using the one toilet at Horton-in-Ribblesdale Train Station’s café, as this is for customers only. No toilets en route. We should hopefully finish the walk in time to call at a local pub where the beer garden has a lovely view of the famous viaduct.
Pen-y-ghent - one of Yorkshire's iconic Three Peaks - in the wonderful limestone country of the Yorkshire Dales is visible from the start of the walk and most of the way around.
The walk will be undertaken at a steady pace and Pen-y-ghent is a good introduction to mountain walking. On the other hand, it is still a mountain, so a good level of fitness is required for this walk.
The paths are well-made (often comprising flagstones and gravel) and easy to follow in good visibility, as the majority of the walk is on the Pennine Way. The ascent is largely gradual, but there are two steeper climbs just before reaching the summit, one being a short scramble to reach a plateau towards the trig point.
After taking in the beautiful vista at the top, we will make the gradual descent on the gravel/paved path and take a short detour to Hunt Pot’ - a large collapsed cavern of interesting geological features and reputed to be the largest natural hole in England - where we will stop for lunch.
From Hunt Pot, we retrace our steps back to the four-way signpost. From there, we take the path to meet the Pennine Way path towards our final destination - Ribblehead Viaduct. Unfortunately, right at the very end we will have to walk along a B road but it shouldn’t be too busy.
Please carry plenty of food and water to sustain you for a long day. There should be the opportunity to buy something to take away from the cafe when we start.
If you want a shorter walk, there is an option, if you have a map, to leave the group and head back to Horton in Ribblesdale at the crossroads near Hunt Pot or further down when we reach the Pennine Way. Please be advised though that there will only be one direct train all day to get you back to Manchester, and this will not leave until after 18:00.
