Ingleborough and the Roman Road (8 Miles)

This is my preferred route to climb one of the legendary Yorkshire Three Peaks - Ingleborough. It's a gentle(ish) climb of 1900ft with plenty of great views (weather permitting) and often walking against those doing the Three Peaks Challenge. This walk is suitable for intermediate walkers given some steep sections particularly on the descent.

THE WALK

Despite already completing another 8 mile walk just a couple of days previously I found myself with an unexpected free Saturday and we decided to revisit Ingleborough after realising our last visit was back in 2017. The route itself has three distinct sections, the ascent, the descent and the roman road - all with photo opportunities throughout.

There are several free parking options in lay-bys off the B6255 - our preferred parking spot can be found here - right next to the footpath to the start of your ascent. After the usual checks and set up of technology we are through the small stile and on our way. Passing through a couple of fields you soon pick up Fell Lane which is part of the "A Pennine Journey" route. This is a great track and provides some wonderful views across the dale. The rock path gives way to grass as you arrive at the foothills of Ingleborough with the summit (on a clear day) right in front of you. It looks quite daunting but very achievable.

Follow this very clear path for about a mile and soon the path becomes stone steps winding their way up the side of the mountain. Remember slow and steady wins the race and after a short while you find yourself at the summit and the obligatory tap of the trig point. The 360 degree views are simply stunning and definitely worth the climb. Sadly the views are weather dependent and for us the summit was in heavy cloud. On a clear day its great to explore the summit and enjoy the views. There are some stone benches to sit and take in some refreshment if needed, given the weather we decided to head on to the descent.

There are several paths to descend - to pick up our path we head 250m to the North East across the rocky but mainly flat terrain. The path down starts off relatively straight forward but there is a steep section that can feel daunting for some. The path is very easily negotiated and the short steep section is soon past. It's here that you can enjoy views of Whernside to the north and the Ribblehead Viaduct to the east. Follow the path down past the Braithwaite Wife Hole and then through the Southscale Scars. You soon arrive at a crossroads of paths - take the left path to Chapel-le-Dale.

Continue to descend down through farmland and cross the B6255 and into the hamlet of Chapel-le-Dale itself. The name derives from Old French and literally means Chapel in the valley. Here you follow the road (an actual old Roman Road) for the next 2 miles. The road enjoys views of limestone scars on both sides of the valley, disused quarries and the White Scar Cave complex. After a couple of miles you pick up a path across fields at Dale Barn.

The path takes you across some stepping stones over the River Doe and after a mile into to some woods and past Ingleton Quarry. The quarry is still active and has permission to continue until 2025. There is a quarry viewpoint that is well worth a short visit, here you can find some information boards about the owners plans to turn the quarry into a nature reserve and lake. Once you have visited the the viewpoint rejoin the path and the short walk back to your start point.

An enjoyable and sometimes challenging walk but well worth it.