Walk Whernside from Ribblehead Viaduct
The Yorkshire Dales' Highest Point
This 7¾ mile, Grade 5 (Moderate), easy-to-follow, hand-crafted walk, complete with GPS Waypoints, starts at Ribblehead in the Yorkshire Dales & will take you about 4½ hrs to complete.
Detailed walk route map PDF | ||
Vital Statistics: | ||
| Walk No.: | ny109 | |
| Length: | 7¾ miles (12.5km) | |
| Ascent: | 1574 ft (480m) | |
| Time: | 4½ hours | |
| Grade: | ![]() | |
| Walk Type: | High Mountains | |
| Gear Needed: | Full mountain gear including boots, warm layers, waterproofs, food & water, and good weather | |
Route outline for this walk:
Ribblehead - Blea Moor - Force Gill - Grain Ing - Whernside - Broadrake Farm - Ivescar Farm - Ribblehead
Points of Interest/Notes on this walk:
The Ribblehead Viaduct's 24 arches carry the famous Settle to Carlisle Railway Line for 400m some 30m above the surrounding countryside. Considered one of the great engineering feats of the 19th Century, there is a museum dedicated to the history of the line housed in Ribblehead Station.
Peaks, Summits and Tops reached on this walk:
![]() 1 English Mountain |
![]() 0 Wainwrights |
![]() 1 English Nuttall |
![]() 0 English Deweys |
![]() 0 Wainwright Outlying Fells |
![]() 1 Marilyn |
![]() 0 Bridgets |
Peak Bagging Statistics for this walk:
The highest point of this walk is Whernside at 736m (2416ft). Whernside is classified as an English Mountain (Hewitt) (76th highest in England, 131st highest in England & Wales)
Whernside is also known as an English Nuttall (95th highest in England, 162nd highest in England & Wales) and an English Marilyn (25th highest in England, 513th highest in the UK).
The summit of Whernside is marked by an Ordnance Survey Trig Point. Whernside is the highest point in The Yorkshire Dales National Park and the highest point in the county of North Yorkshire.
Be Adventure Smart
If walking in the Lake District (and anywhere else) please be adventure smart.
Ask yourself 5 questions before you set off:
- Am I confident I have the KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS for the day?
- Do I know what the WEATHER will be like?
- Do I have the right GEAR for the day?
- Do I have enough FOOD & DRINK for the day?
- Do I have all the ESSENTIAL ITEMS for the day?
Note that there is no mobile phone or WiFi coverage in many parts of the Lake District
A dedicated GPS Device can be a good navigational aid, but only if you know how to use it properly. See The Myths and Truths about GPS for Walking and Hiking
You can find this walk and other nearby walks on these unique Interactive Walk Planning Maps:
(worth a look if you're new to go4awalk.com & have never seen one of these before.)
1:25,000 scale OS Explorer Map (orange/yellow covers):
1:50,000 scale OS Landranger Map (pink/magenta covers):
Some Photos and Pictures from Walk Whernside from Ribblehead Viaduct
In no particular order . . .
. . . load all 39 pictures & photos from this walk
Send us your photographs and pictures from your walks and hikes
Send them in to us as email attachments (configured for any computer) along with your name/username and where the picture was taken to:
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NB. Please indicate where each photo was taken so we can match it to a walk route.







































