[Closed] Ingleborough

Steps are rideable although not particularly pleasant. Unless you go in an evening or very early, you will be stopping left, right and centre for walkers. Will not be fun.
BW is steep at the top then fast. Is also probably the quietest in terms of walkers of the major summit routes, which is important.
Newby is a tussockfest. As is the line of the 3PeaksCC to Cold Cotes. Not worth the effort, and will piss off landowners (who are generous enough to allow the race) like crazy.

There are a crazy amount of walkers out there right now, and Ingleborough is a honeypot hill.

How are you getting up there?

up from selside via lords seat

OK. You'll be walker-free on the way up then!

BW is steep at the top then fast. Is also probably the quietest in terms of walkers of the major summit routes, which is important.

Is this the BW going down towards Ingleton? I fancy a go now, youve piqued my interest

Plus is this BW downhill down whernside as good as the contours suggest?

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Not really unless it's changed a lot in recent years, the climb up from ribble head is steps, very mudy over the top then double track with some big water bars Iirc.

There's no BW to the summit of Whernside, that's a black dashed line not a red one. The BW across Great Wold is best in the dry, there's a boggy section near the spot height on the very right of your screenshot. It's just about rideable as a climb up from Whernside Manor, really depends on how the farmer's tractor has shifted the stones. I think I've only ever ridden that direction.

Plus is this BW downhill down whernside as good as the contours suggest?

Kinda grassy, then a bit rutty and rocky and wide, then smooth track but steep. I think it's better the other way, although a bit of a bugger of a climb either way. The only advantage of descending into Dentdale is far fewer walkers rather than picking your way down the main 3 peaks track.

It’s just about rideable

I always end up in a sweary push just after the radio mast building thing. It's very stop start, so I normally just stop!

The other issue is what route to reach it. Be very wary of the nice-looking BW which starts at the head of Kingsdale heading west!

EDIT: I thought you meant the Great Wold BW. No legal route over Whernside summit.

The other issue is what route to reach it. Be very wary of the nice-looking BW which starts at the head of Kingsdale heading west!

Oh, yes, avoid Occupation Road!

If based at Ribblehead then there's a couple of variations to get to it: road to Far Gearstones then up the Cam Road to Cam Pastures and down the Pennine Bridleway to Newby Head; or go along the road a little bit further until you come to the farm track leading to High Gayle then follow the BW over Gayle Moor, turn R at the road to Newby Head.

Then follow the PBW over Wold Fell and drop down to the top of Arten Gill. Down Arten Gill to Stonehouses. Now follow the road down the dale to Whernside Manor, this almost all downhill.

It's worth bookmarking geograph.org.uk for photos. Here's some shots of the BW.

Edit:

OP, you said -

up from selside via lords seat

That sounds like the Three Peaks CX route. Please do not go that way it's race day only.

That sounds like the Three Peaks CX route. Please do not go that way it’s race day only.

This, plus...why would you want to?

Yes. I did mean great wold way. I'm not taking my bike up whernside summit

Thanks for replies and sorry for hijack

I rode them all during a bone dry and deserted lockdown, except north to Ribblehead.

Don't bother with Cold Cotes or Newby unless its been bone dry for a month beforehand, they are miserable BOGFESTS.

There is also a diversion in place right now for the steep steps path up from chapel-le-dale which could be interesting as a downhill.

BEST: dales highway towards sulber
Little ingleborough steps (better to bypass trow gill)
Cold Cotes (bone dry)
Bridleway
WORST: Newby (bone dry)

Don't go up from selside its miserable tresspass. Go up the BW or up little ingleborough from gaping gill.

Theres no fun way off Whernside, don't bother.

Oh and midweek non holiday times only, the place is mobbed with walkers otherwise.

I recommend the footpath just north - north west of Clapham.

it's pretty straight down but a) pretty sure it avoids the staircase b) is singletrack and 90% of it is on good ground and the other 10% wasn't at all bad.

EDIT just checked you basically go off right just before the top of the staircase

I've just seen wzzzz post re the route (newby cote), I thought we did it in a not great period / Autumn and the going was good, maybe I'm mistaken and it was after a dry period but we just happened to do it on a single bad day. he also doesn't seem to rate it which I'm surprise about.

i just cribbed the route off a somebody i know on strava, were staying at high bentham, was gonna drive over to clapham and start there. i dont know any of the references made here. it will be this friday afternoon and from what i can make out its an anticlockwise loop from clapham... tunnels, austwick, flascoe lane, felzor nick, white stone lane, crummack, sulber gate, crooke lane, left up to lords seat, simon fell, summit... then blast back to clapham somehow.

recommend the footpath just north – north west of Clapham.

it’s pretty straight down but a) pretty sure it avoids the staircase b) is singletrack and 90% of it is on good ground and the other 10% wasn’t at all bad.

@banana. This the footpath you mean? Ends in newby cotes

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Erictwinge that sounds like tunnels and bridges route. It's a reasonably decent route but about 15 miles so not a big route.
Fingerbang yes the footpath on newby moor to newby cote. But I'm starting to doubt myself given wzzzz post. I recall it as a fairly decent single-track descent, altho it was a bit directly down it wasn't at all a bogfest as wzzzz suggests and I'm pretty sure we didn't do it after or during a prelonged dry period altho it certainly wasn't in winter.

Eric -
Have a look at this thread from this time last year:

https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/ingleborough-2/

The route that Lowey eventually did starts from Clapham, goes down the steps, skirts above Trow Gill and finishes down Crummackdale. You can include the Austwick/Feizor bits fairly easily if you want to do them.

I think that is certainly the best combination of rideability and good descending coming from that direction. I think you'll encounter walkers on the steps pretty much any time, even during the week, but you never know, you might get a clear run. The route is 90% rideable upwards - there are a couple of short carries and a bit of pushing on the main Horton - Ingleborough track.

Different strokes for different folks!

Off Ingleborough is loose and steep and the steps are an interesting feature to ride once or twice but the path below the steps to gaping gill with drainage bars just feels a waste of elevation to me. I like to go up there then down the horton path which is a good mix of features. Then down to thieves moss to join the path down to wharfe.

Maybe Newby was better than the BW actually, it's a grassy sheep path with the occasional bog.

The BW ain't very interesting as a DH, carry down the steps then well graded but steep path, carry over a few gills then wide well driven track to Ingleton.

Newby moss

https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3881214

Look out for the "harry horse stone" if you go this way. Remarkable because it looks nothing like a horse.

horton path

Good thread from last year. I enjoyed reading that and cross referencing with my map. Rock n roll wednesday eh? Thanks for all these contributions, south dales massive 🙂

Rock n roll wednesday eh?

We'll be locked down again by then!

good stuff.

is it worth driving to Clapham from High Bentham or just spin along the road?

ok ive changed my mind reading that other thread... new route looks like ...

long lane to trow gill, long scar, left up shake hole to summit via fell beck head.

descend little ingleborough, gaping gill, back across long scar to sulber gate, theives moss, hunterstyle lane to warfe - then decide whether to return or loop round fezior woods to Austwick.

So from what Ive read the best loop is:

Start from Ingleton, up the BW to summit. Down Dales hway to Sulber Pot, join Martin’s black dash FP at Thieves Moss, follow that to the FP running north/south. Turn right and follow south, join east/west FP and turn right onto that back towards Grouse Butts and Austick Beck Head.

At Dales highway junction either turn NW towards Crummack and then follow round to Long Scar and then S to Long lane, and then into Clapham and back to Ingleton via Old Road (my preference)

OR follow BW back to Wharfe or Austwick and then find way back to Ingleton

But only do it after a dry spell and very early in the morning as there are tonnes of walkers on the FP to Horton

The big unknown is the path going north past Simon Fell and to Park fell?

@erictwinge sorry mate I didn't read your post - I think Im just confusing things now 🙂

Eric - yes, that's what I recommended in the end.

Parking in Clapham can fill up unless you get there early.

Those are the two best routes, I'd happily do either, in fact I do regularly.....dug some stravas out:

Eric Twinge route https://www.strava.com/activities/2910738949

Fingerbang's DH (I went up little ingleborough) https://www.strava.com/activities/3669868452 Had to cut this ride short as I had 2hrs out the house. Always worth thieves moss down to wharfe as above.

Only prob with going up the BW is the road slog back, but if you are starting High Bentham it makes no difference, the ride to Ingleton is pleasant and there is the Nutgill bridleway you can take. Road back to HB from Clapham is up and down moor road.

In fact when are going I could join you....

plan is tomorrow lunch-time-ish...

had a cracking ride. good steady way up and fun descent.

wasnt impressed with thieves moss tho, when described as 'neverending ribbon of singletrack' i expected it to point down hill!! quite enjoyed drop back towards austwick after it, but id sooner have done two laps of the summit and tried an different descent...

also, i was expecting it to be windy, but FFS!! it wasnt even a windy day! and every single walker i met was chirpy and chatty.

Glad you enjoyed. I guess us Dales riders have to take our singletrack fix where we can find it. I've always liked the ambience of Thieves Moss, but I'm a pervert who likes climbing, too.

LOL believe me, thieves moss is total bliss compared to sulber nick in the wet. Cracking day for it.