Horton in Ribblesdale circular walk
A strenuous walk (low hills and fells (below 600m)) in national park Yorkshire Dales in North Yorkshire, England, about 23.20km (14.42 mi) long with an estimated walking time of about 8:30h (1 overnight stay). It is unsuitable for families with children, prams & pushchairs, wheelchairs.
Elevation Profile
Ascent
597m (1958ft)
Descent
606m (1988ft)
Max. Elevation
610m (2001ft)
Altitude Gain & Loss
1203m (3946ft)
Start & End
Horton in Ribblesdale
Distance
23.20km
(14.42mi)
(14.42mi)
Duration
~8:30h
Difficulty
Strenuous
This is a lovely walk in a quieter corner of the Yorkshire Dales. Head along the Pennine Way at the base on Pen-y-Ghent, then up and over the unpathed moor from Swarth Gill Gate to Cosh Knott Well. The route then heads along the ridge, following a wall to Horse Head (keep on north side of wall as you traverse Little Fell). After dropping into Halton Gill and Foxup, you take the Foxup Road back to Horton. The energetic can take in Plover Hill & Pen-y-Ghent and return to Horton via Brackenbottom. The whole route takes in 3 trigs and is a fabulous hike; once past Swarth Gill Gate you'll be (un)lucky to see another soul until Halton Gill. This walk is actually around 16 miles, not 14 as the route shows here.
Walk Functions
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Nearby Walks
Pen-y-ghent and Plover Hill
A moderate, circular walk (mountain (above 600m)) starting in North Yorkshire, England, about 12.20km (7.58 mi) long, duration: ~4:45h.Along the River Ribble
A moderate, walk (riverside) starting in North Yorkshire, England, about 11.50km (7.15 mi) long, duration: ~3:30h.Horton in Ribblesdale to Hawes solo, car free
A strenuous, linear walk (mountain (above 600m)) starting in North Yorkshire, England, about 18.60km (11.56 mi) long, duration: ~6:15h.Walk Map
- $walk->POI array(0)
Waypoints
OS Grid SD808723
Start at Horton in Ribblesdale, which has bus and train links. Head to the Post Office and look for signs to the Pennine Way.
OS Grid SD815731
Follow the Pennine Way on to Horton Moor. Note that the Pennine Way dips into Horton, so the route heads north along two paths; make sure you have the correct one.
About 1.07 km (~0.66 miles) from 
OS Grid SD823743
At Tarn Bar, take the bridleway heading northeast over the moor.
About 1.33 km (~0.83 miles) from 
OS Grid SD836757
Follow the bridleway to Swarth Gill Gate. Here, follow the wall running north to Cosh Knott Well.
About 1.99 km (~1.24 miles) from 
OS Grid SD832778
The wall leads to Cosh Knott Well - a very quiet part of the Dales, perhaps because it is pretty boggy!
About 2.12 km (~1.32 miles) from 
OS Grid SD844785
From Cosh Knott Well, follow the ridge along to Cosh Inside and onwards in an easterly direction.
About 1.35 km (~0.84 miles) from 
OS Grid SD862788
The ridge dips slightly at Eller Carr Moss.
About 1.88 km (~1.17 miles) from 
OS Grid SD887779
The ridge loops round to Horse Head. From here, leave the ridge and drop into Halton Gill, in the far reaches of Littondale.
About 2.55 km (~1.58 miles) from 
OS Grid SD879766
The descent is steep but follows a clear path.
About 1.56 km (~0.97 miles) from 
OS Grid SD871767
A short road walk takes you to Foxup, from where you can pick up the Foxup Road, which leads back to Horton.
About 0.81 km (~0.5 miles) from 
OS Grid SD866761
The Foxup Road climbs onto the lower slopes of Plover Hill. A little way along is a path that cuts right up to the summit, should you be feeling energetic. You can continue from Plover on to Pen-y-Ghent and descend into Horton that way.
About 0.79 km (~0.49 miles) from 
OS Grid SD840758
The Foxup Road leads you back to Swarth Gill Gate; retrace your steps back to Horton.
About 2.69 km (~1.67 miles) from 
OS Grid SD820740
You've been here before ... at least it's downhill this time.
About 2.68 km (~1.67 miles) from 
Back to Horton in Ribblesdale OS Grid SD806727
Return to the village for a bus, train or pint of Yorkshire's finest.
About 1.87 km (~1.16 miles) from 
4 comments... join the discussion!
mac.hawk
Hi PatrikG, I don't possess a GPS (and am not looking to aquire one) as I've never felt the need to have anything other than the OS 1:25000 map and a bit of good old comman sense. Indeed Tim, indeed - really glad it's on the website.
Timwoods
Hi Mac, glad you don't mind, it seemed to good a walk to lose!
patrikG
Hi Mac, good to know the walk is a bit longer than the waypoints make it out to be. As you probably know, the system adds up the distance between each waypoint (presuming a straight line), thus, the longer the walk and more windy the actual path, the more variability there is. Obviously the most accurate way to calculate distances is if a walk is submitted as a GPX-file, then the distance is highly accurate. We have tested our new GPX-walk-submittal feature quite a bit, but if you own a GPS and have a GPX-file handy, try it out (go to Walk Editor, then choose the sub-menu item) - while GPX as a data-format is nicely standardised, it would be good to know if GPX-files from different GPS produce very different results.
mac.hawk
Nice to see you've adapted the walk I previously asked you to remove as the previous distance shown was widely incorrect. I don't have too much problem with this entry except to say that in accuality the route (excluding the ascent of Plover Hill/Pen y Ghent) might well look like 14.2 miles the way CFW calculate but in actuality you will walk something more like 16 miles (as pedomitered by myself and calculated on Memory Map). It is a fabulous walk though.