Yorkshire Dales Walks
Great Whernside
Date: 11th September 2005
Distance: 5.6 miles
Ascent: 1708 feet
Time: 2 hours 55 mins
With: On my own
Start Grid Ref: SD967722
Walk Summary:
A short but fine walk to Great Whernside, one of the giants of the Yorkshire Dales.
Route Summary: Kettlewell - Dowber Gill - Providence Pot - Hag Dyke - Great Whernside - Hooksbank - Kettlewell
Pictures:
1. One of the attractive waterfalls in Dowber Gill
2. Dowber Gill
3. Dowber Gill
4. The covered entrance to Providence Pot
5. The summit of Great Whernside
6. Looking down to Kettlewell from the top of Great Whernside
7. Looking north east into the upper reaches of Nidderdale
8. Buckden Pike
9. Looking down into the upper reaches of Dowber Gill
10. Another view down into Dowber Gill
Walk Detail: I didn't initially plan to go walking this weekend, I had a cold and wanted to save myself for the Yorkshire Three Peaks the following weekend. However as it approached Sunday lunchtime I began to get restless, especially as the Ashes was getting too tense for me.
So after a quick walk to the bottom of the road to assess visibility I decided, pretty much on the spur of the moment, to go to Kettlewell and climb Great Whernside. It proved to be a fortunate decision as by the time I got to Kettlewell the weather had started to come out rather nice.
I decided to follow the path along Dowber Gill all the way to Providence Pot. The beck scenery was particularly lovely with Hooksbank on the left and the slopes of Langcliffe on the right. Looming ahead was Whernside Pasture while behind were the impressive terraced scars of Middlesmoor Pasture above Kettlewell.
Somewhat disappointingly Providence Pot turned out to be nothing more than a manhole cover in the middle of the beck. Compensation for the latter was made by the climb up through the bracken to Hag’s Dyke which after the confines of Dowber Gill brought some refreshing views. From Hag’s Dyke I walked along the flat marshy area to begin the final pull up to the summit.
Whether it was the heat, or the effects of my cold, but this section proved to be quite tiring. Still it was nice to reach one of the major Dales tops and find I had it all to myself. I ate my lunch by the trig point but in the end had to hurry along due to the unwanted attention of a rather large bee.
I made my way back to Hag’s Dyke from where I took the path I had enjoyed so much on my last visit along Hooksbank all the way back to Kettlewell. It had been a nice little ramble with the best parts being the route to and from Hag’s Dyke.
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