How do I find the fox memorial on Buckden Pike?

The memorial cross with the bronze fox head sits south of the summit, near the trig point and cairn. The most common walking route starts from Buckden village and follows a clear path up the valley side.

Did the fox really guide the Polish airman down the mountain?

Józef Fusniak never wavered from his account that he followed fox tracks in the snow to safety, and he spent decades commemorating it. Whether he actually saw the fox or simply followed its tracks through the blizzard, something got him off that mountain alive when he had a broken ankle and was disoriented in a snowstorm.

How many crew members died in the 1942 crash on Buckden Pike?

Five Polish airmen died—four instantly in the crash and Sergeant Jan Sadowski from his injuries before help arrived. Only Sergeant Józef Fusniak, the rear gunner, survived.

Aircraft Lost on the Hills

The Fox and the Airman of Buckden Pike

After a Wellington struck Buckden Pike in a snowstorm, one badly injured Polish airman was left alone on the mountain. His remarkable account of following a fox to safety later inspired one of the Yorkshire Dales’ most distinctive memorials.

28 August 20269 min read