~Dent to Ribblehead~
11th January 2014
Dentdale
Scroll down for photos and a description of the walk....
Hellifield Railway Station
It's the first S&C walk of the year ... and it didn't quite go as planned. The decorators have been in and the station paintwork has been spruced up - the minor details, such as the "MRs" and the "Wyverns" look as new, once again. Izzy the Dog is with me. We are heading for Dent Station to catch the bus to Sedbergh, for a walk back to Dent village.
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Dent Station
Can you imagine anywhere more remote to be stranded when your public transport link fails to show up? The bus, it turned out, had a flat battery and hadn't left the yard. However the star of the show was one of the bus staff (assumed) who came up in his car to tell me and another chap about the problem. And he offered us a lift to Dent, which seemed like a good idea. So two walkers, both with dogs got in his car and went to Dent. I left my camera in his car, but luckily the driver didn't leave straight away and I rushed over to retrieve it!
Sun Inn, Dent
So, now it's a walk from Dent - without the sandwich which I would have bought in Sedbergh. Luckily there is a post office / shop in Dent which had various foods and a coffee machine. I bought a flapjack, a bottle of drink and a very welcome coffee.
Dent and Middleton Fell
Sadly, just as I was taking this photo, my coffee fell off a neighbouring wall and the lid was jettisoned. Bugger!
Dentdale
The plan is now to walk over to Ribblehead Station, in a very leisurely manner. With a dicky knee, it was always the intention to keep it simple today and avoid scrambles. With map in hand, it was easy to plot the route out of Dentdale and up on to the "Craven Way".
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A leafless tree; Izzy chews a stick. Further misfortune was to follow. I put the map down to get the poles off the rucksac and fifteen minutes (uphill) later, I discovered I was mapless.This was an old "yellow" OS map with rips and tears, so I'll put the Yorkshire Dales (North) map on my birthday list. Luckily, I had a reasonably good idea as to where I was going.
The Craven Way to Ribblehead
Looking Back into Dentdale
This view extends deep into the Lakeland Fells, what about that then? Great views all around...
Great Coum
Great Knoutberry Hill
The Cold Bit
It was quite cold up on the higher reaches. The fell on the right is Whernside and this track joins up with the main route up said fell, still quite a long way off until that point.
Arten Gill Viaduct
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Dent Railway Station |
Lunch Spot |
From high up, Dent Station is clear to see with forestry of various ages in the background. The flapjack was eaten in the old lodge.
Blea Moor
Blea Moor Tunnel
Just two weeks now before the steam action starts again. Unfortunately, most charter trains are running southbound (on the S&C) in the early part of 2014, which means it will be relatively late in the day before they come through the tunnel and over the viaduct.
Blea Moor Signal Box
Ribblehead Viaduct
The long shadow of the arches was cast across Batty Moss and threw up a photo opportunity. I was rather hoping a train might come along, but it didn't.
Whernside and The Ribblehead Viaduct
So, there we are. A walk from Sedbergh to Dent, er, I mean Dent to Ribblehead.
Ribblehead Railway Station
Arriving with 30 minutes to spare, I thought it would be nice to get some light refreshments from the "Friends of the Settle & Carlisle" 's visitor centre. However, it is closed until March.
Ingleborough Sunset
Return Train
Walkers: Izzy The Dog and Me
Route: Dent, Church Bridge, River Keld, Double Croft, Bridge End (where my map and I were separated), the Craven Way over to Little Dale and onto Ribblehead.
Time taken: 4 hours 25 minutes over a distance of about 8 miles.
Greetings: I passed one walker on the remote parts of the Craven Way.
Weather: Bright and sunny. Cold on the higher reaches.
Railway Furniture
All photos copyright Richard Ratcliffe 2014 ©
Take me back to the start ....