Whernside

About Whernside

Rising as the highest point in Yorkshire, this broad, whaleback ridge is the crown of the Three Peaks. The ascent from Ribblehead is a steady, well-pitched slog, rewarded at the summit by a narrow ridge walk overlooking the deep trough of Dentdale and the iconic arches of the Ribblehead Viaduct.

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Did You Know?

• •The name derives from the Old Norse 'quern', meaning millstone, and 'sidet', meaning a hill slope. This indicates the fell's flanks were a historical source of stone for grinding grain.
• •As the highest of the Yorkshire Three Peaks, it is a mandatory checkpoint on the popular 24-mile challenge circuit, usually tackled second in the sequence between Pen-y-ghent and Ingleborough.
• •The summit ridge offers a unique perspective on the Settle-Carlisle Railway; from the trig point, you can look directly down on the 24 arches of the Ribblehead Viaduct, which appears surprisingly small from 400 metres above.
• •Alfred Wainwright, in his 'Walks in Limestone Country', described the view towards the Howgill Fells and the distant Lake District peaks as 'the finest in the district', specifically naming the distinctive shapes of Great Gable and the Scafell range visible on clear days.
• •Though often approached from the south, the northern descent into Dentdale reveals a much steeper, more dramatic side of the mountain, dropping away sharply toward the village of Dent and the River Dee.
• •For a mountain of its stature, the summit is remarkably narrow; the drystone wall running along the ridge serves as both a handy windbreak and a literal marker of the boundary between North Yorkshire and Cumbria.
• •The path up from Ribblehead is so heavily reinforced with stone flags that it's effectively a two-mile staircase, installed to stop the mountain from dissolving into a peat bog under the boots of 200,000 annual visitors.