Skipton Moor

Rising steeply above the market town of Skipton, this gritstone-capped upland offers a rugged introduction to the Southern Dales. The terrain transitions from enclosed pastures to open, heather-clad moorland, reaching a summit plateau that feels surprisingly remote despite its accessible location and modest 373-metre height.

• •The name derives from the Old English 'sceap' (sheep) and 'tun' (settlement), marking the moor's long history as vital grazing land for the town’s medieval wool trade.
• •From the summit, the view stretches across the Aire Valley to the distinctive twin peaks of Sharp Haw and Rough Haw, while to the east, the sprawling expanse of Barden Moor dominates the horizon.
• •The summit is marked by a trig point set into a substantial stone cairn, a site traditionally used for beacon fires to signal across the valley to neighbouring high points like Beamsley Beacon.
• •Walkers often ascend via the 'Old High Road', an ancient trackway that skirts the moor’s northern edge and once served as the primary packhorse route between Skipton and Addingham.
• •Despite its official classification as a Hump, the moor is most famous locally as a natural weather vane; if you can't see the top, it is raining, and if you can see it, it is about to start.