The highest of the Yorkshire Three Peaks, a long grassy whaleback above the great arches of Ribblehead Viaduct
Open accesson open access land, where the right to roam applies
Whernside is the highest point in the Yorkshire Dales at 737m and the tallest of the Yorkshire Three Peaks, the trio of hills that walkers link together in a single long day. It’s a broad, grassy ridge rather than a dramatic pointed summit, a long whaleback with a trig point and a drystone wall running along the top, but the position is superb, with long views down over the sweep of Ribblesdale and the railway that crosses it.
The best-known way up starts near Ribblehead Viaduct, the twenty-four-arch Victorian railway bridge that is one of the sights of the Dales in its own right, and climbs steadily beside the line before turning up onto the ridge. The paths on the popular routes are well made and mostly easy to follow, but this is high, open moorland with little shelter, so it catches the wind and weather and the top can be cold and clagged in even when the valley is fine. Take a map, and boots that cope with boggy ground.
Plenty of people tackle Whernside as part of the full Three Peaks circuit with Ingleborough and Pen-y-ghent, which is a serious 24-mile day, but there’s no need — it makes a satisfying half-day walk on its own. The Station Inn at Ribblehead and the pubs in the village of Dent over to the north-west are the handiest stops afterwards.
More at hill-bagging.co.uk
