Great Whernside
704m (2310ft)
The Southern Dales Area, The Yorkshire Dales, North Yorkshire, England
The summit of Great Whernside is marked by an Ordnance Survey Trig Point.
You can find Great Whernside & all the walks that climb it on these unique free-to-access Interactive Walk Planning Maps: (click/TAP to select)
1:25,000 scale OS Explorer Map (the ones with orange/yellow covers):
1:50,000 scale OS Landranger Map (the ones with pink/magenta covers):
See Great Whernside and the surrounding tops on our free-to-access 'Google Style' Peak Bagging Maps:
See Great Whernside and the surrounding tops on our downloadable PDF Peak Bagging Map:
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Vital Statistics:
| Length: | 10ml (16km) |
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| Ascent: | 1,771ft (540m) |
| Time: | 5½ hrs |
| Grade: |  (Moderate) |
Route Summary:
Kettlewell - Dowber Gill Beck - Providence Pot - Hag Dyke (hostel) - Great Whernside - Black Hole Dike - Nidd Head - Little Hunters Sleet - Tor Dyke - Starbotton Road - Top Mere Road - Kettlewell
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Vital Statistics:
| Length: | 11.5ml (18.5km) |
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| Ascent: | 1,913ft (583m) |
| Time: | 6.25hrs |
| Grade: | (Moderate) |
Route Summary:
Nidderdale - Scar House Reservoir - Nidderdale - River Nidd - Carle Fell Road - Wench Gill - Little Whernside - Nidd Head - Black Dike Hole - Blackfell Top - Great Whernside - Stone Beck - Angram Reservoir - Scar House Reservoir - Nidderdale
Fellow go4awalkers who have already walked, climbed, summited & bagged Great Whernside
Tony Halliday walked up Great Whernside on October 11th, 2020 [from/via/route] started & ended from campsite in kettlewell circular [with] sally halliday jimmy boo and George our 3 dogs [weather] cloud cover but dry good visability & views then a massive downpour soaked - camped at kettlewell weather couldn't quite make its mind up started off nice then massive downpour realised we need better waterproof clothing to take with us this time of year kettlewell is an excellent base to walk from
Shaun Moss climbed Great Whernside on August 30th, 2020 [from/via/route] Kettlewell [with] Jeanette [weather] cloudy
Angela Moroney has bagged Great Whernside [with] Cath 3 peaks 2019 - 2017 / 2019
Stephen Leathley has hiked Great Whernside [from/via/route] Part of Wharfedale 3 peaks [with] own [weather] iffy
Allen Andrews summited Great Whernside on June 19th, 2012 [from/via/route] From Kettlewell [with] Work colleague [weather] Low cloud
Michael Naylor conquered Great Whernside on January 3rd, 2019 [weather] Overcast
Simon Boddy scaled Great Whernside on February 23rd, 2019 [from/via/route] Kettlewell [with] My girlfriend [weather] Fair
Christine Shepherd walked up Great Whernside on August 14th, 2009 [from/via/route] Walked from Kettlewell [with] Jenny [weather] Windy - A great day to choose as we saw all the scarecrows in Kettlewell. Climbed again from Scar House Reservoir on 27.9.2018. The descent from Great Whernside isn't easy. Stone Beck makes route finding easy but there are very few paths, uneven ground & reeds which came up to my thighs. Hard going & not to be attempted in poor weather.
Margaret Richards climbed Great Whernside on March 21st, 2016 [from/via/route] ny117 Little Whernside & Great Whernside from Scar House Reservoir [with] Don [weather] clear day - got a bit lost
Andy Jakob bagged Great Whernside on July 15th, 2017 [from/via/route] Kettlewell to Middleham [with] AFWC me and Colin [weather] very misty & damp - e
Kevin Foster hiked Great Whernside on July 27th, 2017 [from/via/route] Tor Dike on Great Hunters Sleets (Middleham-Kettlewell road summit) [with] Just me and my labrador Henry [weather] Light rain turning heavier for a while then clearing out by mid-afternoon then sunny. - After a proper soaking on Buckden Pike I almost gave up on climbing Great Whernside. Just past the road summit I found a sheltered spot behind the wall that runs along the top of Tor Dike & as the rain had now stopped I had all of my packed lunch figuring I wouldn't be stopping again until I finished. The weather improved enough for me to reconsider doing Great Whernside & I'm glad I did. After a few tantalising glimpses of the summit rocks on my ascent the clouds finally parted for good & the views really opened up on the top. After scrambling about (carefully) on the wet summit boulders & taking a few photos I headed back down to Kettlewell via the Hag Dyke route. The last 4 miles along the Dales Way back to Buckden were in glorious sunshine in complete contrast to my morning. The river Wharfe was in spate after all the rain & looked really impressive as it meandered through the meadows & now flooded pastures of upper Wharfedale.
Mark Davidson summited Great Whernside on February 21st, 2005 [with] Mike [weather] Quite sunny for February but very cold on the summit. - My aquapac water drinking tube froze solid.
Tony Rogerson conquered Great Whernside on September 9th, 2012 [from/via/route] From Kettlewell [with] Diane [weather] High cloud & sunny periods
Caroline Winter scaled Great Whernside on August 8th, 2015 [from/via/route] Buckden Pike to Top Mere, Black Dyke, Gt Whernside, Hag Dyke, Dowber Gill Beck, Kettlewell [with] Friend [weather] Sunny & clear skies, southerly wind - Climbed with school friend following Buckden Pike. My energy levels low after descending to road, but a rocky road bar & swigs of water saw me right to climb up to Gt Whernside. Karen was amazing- first time in Fells. Lizzy, our hostess at Pennycroft named me "the tigress of the Fells". Ooh, I rather like that!
Chris Faulkner walked up Great Whernside on May 30th, 2014 [from/via/route] 3 peaks. Simon on Streets [with] Michelle Chandler [weather] Dry. Hot. - All team from work.
David Congreave climbed Great Whernside on April 12th, 2014 [from/via/route] Little Whenside [with] Nephew and sister [weather] Rainy, windy & generally awful :-)
Trevor Williams bagged Great Whernside on October 29th, 2013 [with] Paul [weather] Rain, wind & sunshine
Ray O'hara hiked Great Whernside on June 28th, 2013 [from/via/route] NY138 [weather] cloudy from somewhere under 2000' - I resorted to good old fashioned map & compass to get me to the summit. There are supposed to be nice views from the top, but unfortunately the cloud prevented me from seeing them
Lee Senior summited Great Whernside on May 26th, 2012 [from/via/route] Kettlewell-Hag Dyke-Great Whernside- pile of stones,road,walden rd, Buckden Pike via memorial cross & down Buckden rake to Buckden car park [with] myself [weather] Glorious hot sun all day with a stiff Easterly wind. - Great views from leaving summit of Scar House reservoir & Nidderdale & N Y Moors
Fiona Wales conquered Great Whernside on June 7th, 2011 [from/via/route] Circular Walk from Kettlewell [with] Tom
Denis Mcallister scaled Great Whernside during 2011 [with] Dales
Patrick Rogozinski, Howard Wright, Wendy Sockett, Kevin Devine, Stephen Stott, Jeanette Coward, Darren Mortimer, Paul Booth, John Edwards, Jo White, Matthew Thomas, Chris Turner, Rob Barklamb, Les Wrightson, Nick Bennett, Ben George, John Reynolds and Stephen Millington have all walked, climbed & bagged Great Whernside.
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More Photographs & Pictures of views from, on or of Great Whernside
One of the many streams that flow into Stone Beck on the lower slopes of Great Whernside
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