North Pennines
Cleasby Hill
511M
1677FT
About Cleasby Hill
Rising as a broad, heather-clad shoulder above the upper reaches of Arkengarthdale, Cleasby Hill offers a quiet Pennine experience. The summit provides a sense of immense isolation, looking out across dark peat moors toward the high peaks of the northern Dales and the nearby roof of the Tan Hill Inn.
Key Statistics
Rank
176th Highest in Region
Parent Range
Yorkshire Dales
Prominence
?
20m
Nearest Town
North Yorkshire
Geology
You are walking over layers of sandstone, siltstone, and mudstone. These foundations are topped by a coarse, gritty sandstone and a hard, flint-like rock called chert.
Classifications
Find It
OS Grid Reference
NY979078
Latitude
54.4656°N
Longitude
2.0339°W
Did You Know?
- •The name is a relic of Norse settlement, combining the Old Norse personal name 'Kleis' with 'by', meaning a farmstead or village. Like many hills in the northern Dales, it takes its name from the local landholding rather than a descriptive topographical term.
- •The summit sits just over a mile east of the Tan Hill Inn, the highest pub in the British Isles, making it a quiet alternative for those looking to escape the crowds on the nearby Pennine Way.
- •To the west, the summit offers an excellent profile of the Nine Standards Rigg, while looking south-east provides a clear perspective of the entire length of Arkengarthdale as it winds toward Reeth.
- •Though the summit itself is relatively undisturbed, the surrounding slopes were part of a major lead mining field for over a thousand years, leaving behind a landscape marked by old spoil heaps and water-cut 'hushes'.
- •Given its proximity to the highest pub in England, the hill is frequently climbed by walkers whose navigation becomes noticeably more erratic on the return leg to the valley.