INGLETON, YORKSHIRE DALES
SUNDAY, 26TH SEPTEMBER 2010
Coach Leaders: Ruth Melling & Hazel Anderton
Coach Leaves at 5.30 pm
Please read these coach notes carefully - they will help you to decide which walk will be the most suitable for you. If you have any doubts, do not hesitate to ask the leader for advice. For the safety and enjoyment of yourself and others, please try not to join a walk which is beyond your capabilities.Please respect the wishes of the walks leader and remain with the walk until the end. If you are struggling - inform the walk leader so that he/she can make a decision to shorten the walk, have more rest, etc.
TODAY'S WALKS
Strenuous Leader: Dag Griffiths Distance: 12 miles
From Ingleton we pick up the bridleway across Ingleborough Common to the summit of Ingleborough (724 metres). From the summit we descend to Gaping Ghyll and make our way to Clapham, passing Ingleborough Cave and following alongside Clapham Beck. From Clapham we take paths across fields (likely to be muddy) to Newby and Cold Cotes, before completing the walk on quiet roads.Moderate Leader: Ruth Melling & Hazel Anderton Distance: nearly 9 miles
Although it is a bit longer than usual, it is not very strenuous and has few stiles. We leave town and go along part of the Ingleton Trail (hopefully we will not be charged as we will be going the 'wrong way'. We then make our way to Chapel le Dale along what is known as the Roman road. There's a delightful little chapel here where many of the people, and family members, who where involved in the building of the Ribblehead Viaduct, are buried. We then make our way along the moor where there are some great views including Ribblehead in the distance, before coming down the escarpment and down the road back into town.If the weather is bad with poor visibility we will not be going along the moor as it would be easy to get lost, and also we do not want to lose anyone down one of the deep pot holes which line part of the route. If the weather is wet we will shorten the walk, and take an alternative low level route back to town.
Leisurely Leader: Sully Adam Distance: 6 miles
From Ingleton we go up through disused quarries to the top of the waterfalls (some stepping stones) and back either the same way or along quiet lanes.Easy Leader: Cynthia Prescott & Joan McGlinchey Distance : About 4.5 miles
Ingleton is famous for waterfalls and we walked the designated Waterfall Trail. It is a 4.5 miles long waymarked path which takes you through Swilla Glen, Pecca Falls, Hollybush Spout, Thornton Force, Beezley Falls, Rival Falls, Baxenghyll Gorge, Snow Falls and Swilla Glen. It is an interesting trail on good paths which takes you up one river, across the moorland, through woods, past a café, down along another river and past a disused quarry. The falls are certainly impressive after a lot of rain, even when the water is brown!However, there is a cost of £4 for walking a private section of the route and we found there were many steep steps going up and down which we felt may not suit some ramblers who choose an easy walk. Therefore we had to look for alternative walks and reccied the start of the old Roman Road which runs between the two rivers up to the moor to meet the Trail. It will take you up to the higher falls without costs and with less steps. We also have directions for a walk to the village of Burton in Lonsdale and back along the lower river.
We intend to discuss with the walkers which route they wish to take and can split the group for part of the walk if necessary.
NOTES ON THE AREA
The town was a staging post on the important Leeds-Kendal packhorseway, then on the busy Keighley-Kendal turnpike. By the late 18th century its annual fair was noted for leather and oatmeal. Industry came as textiles in the form of a huge woollen mill. Water from the River Doe powered cotton and woollen mills.
In the market place, opposite the Halifax Building Society, is the ancient bullring, where the bull was tied before being baited by dogs, last used for this purpose in the 19th century. Further along the High Street on the left is an attractive, late 17th century cottage.
The road from Ingleton to Hawes passes White Scar Cave. Here the visitor may penetrate half a mile under Ingleborough. Discovered in 1923, the cave has two underground waterfalls, wonderful coloured stalagmites, stalactites, and grottoes.
St Mary's Church, at the top of the village, suffers from the threat of subsidence, as the result of having been built on a mound of glacial drift. Only the Norman tower, somewhat restored, survives of the original structure, which has been rebuilt at least three times. Inside the church is one of the finest Norman fonts in the West Riding, carved with figures of Mary, Jesus, the Three Magi and the Tree of Life, as well as scenes of Christ's Entry into Jerusalem and the Massacre of the Innocents. The font has had a chequered history. Under Cromwell, it was at one time used for mixing whitewash and mortar.
Ingleton Glens forms part of a private estate. The footpath through them is not a right of way, and a small charge is made for entry. The entrance to the Glens is at the bottom of the village, below the huge disused railway viaduct that carried the former Ingleton-Tebay line. A walk through the waterfalls is easy to follow, but more lives have been lost here in recent years than anywhere in the Dales under or above ground. The gorges are steep and the current swift, and to fall in is to risk almost certain drowning. The paths however are well made and perfectly safe with care.
Above Ingleborough village looms the great bulk of Ingleborough Hill, at 2373 ft the third-highest mountain in Yorkshire. It is one of the heights to be climbed in the 'Three Peaks Race' with Whernside and Pen-y-Ghent. Ingleborough's limestone mass is riddled with great caves and extensive potholes, and is topped with the remains of an' Iron Age fortification, possibly a Brigantian stronghold.
The tiny church at Chapel-le-Dale, St Leonards, is particularly lovely. The Lakeland poet, Robert Southey, wrote in 1847 that "A hermit who might wish his grave to be as quiet as his cell, could imagine no fitter resting place". Ironically in the 1870s, nearly 100 navvies, perishing from accidents, illness and disease in the building of the Ribblehead viaduct and Blea Moor tunnel on the Settle-Carlisle railway line, were buried in an extended graveyard at Chapel-de-Dale. A marble plaque in the church commemorates the tragic deaths.
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
NEXT RAMBLES;Sunday, 10th October 2010. Lyme Park, Cheshire
Leaders: Moderate: Selwyn Williams & Jackie Gudgeon, Leisurely: Joan McGlinchey & Margaret Black, Easy: Derek Lee.
Sunday, 31st October 2010. Cartmel, Cumbria.
Leaders: Sorry, I have no information about leaders yet.
Bookings Derek Lee. Coach pick-up times: Ormskirk bus station 8.40 am, Railway Road, Skelmersdale 8.50 am, Skelmersdale Baths car park 9.00 am.
Will walk leaders please let Jackie have details of their walks as far before the walk as possible. At least a week would be nice. Thanks. Those who have the technology can e-mail your notes - please use the address on the Contacts page.
SKELMERSDALE CHURCHES RAMBLING CLUB
Saturday, 9th October 2010. Grasmere, Lake District.
Coach leaves Ormskirk Bus Station 8.30 am, Railway Road Bus Stop 8.40 am, Skelmersdale Baths Car Park 8.50 am, Upholland Labour Club 9.00 am. Bookings: Jackie Gudgeon. Coach Fare £9 (non-members £10).
RAMBLERS ASSOCIATION WEST LANCS GROUP
Sunday, 3rd October 2010. 9.50 am train from Ormskirk for Liverpool Parks and Gardens. Book a South Parkway return on the train. 8 miles.
Sunday, 10th October 2010. 10.30 am. Wycoller Country Park. Meet at Trawdon Road car park. 8 miles.
Wednesday, 13th October 2010. 1.30 pm. Hunter's Hill from Hilldale car park 1 mile north of Parbold. 5 miles.
Sunday, 24th October 2010. 1.30 pm. Bretherton from Marl Cop in the village centre. Meet by the Old Corn Mill. 5 miles.
SEFTON & DISTRICT FOOTPATH GROUP
Sunday, 10th October 2010. Worthington Lakes.
Walks are between 5 & 6 miles. Tel: Carol or Clare for more details.
CLUB NOTES
COACH BOOKINGPlease ensure that, before boarding your coach on the return journey, you complete your booking for the next ramble. It would be helpful if you could tell the coach booking officer if you do not intend to book for the next coach.
PLEASE TRY TO BE BACK FROM YOUR CUP OF TEA OR PINT IN PLENTY OF TIME TO BOOK THE NEXT RAMBLE BEFORE BOARDING THE COACH. YOU WILL APPRECIATE THAT IT IS NOT FAIR TO THE OTHER PASSENGERS OR TO THE COACH DRIVER IF THE COACH IS LATE IN LEAVING.
REMEMBER COACH FARE IS £10 (£12 NON MEMBERS).
Please make every effort to ensure that, when you leave the bus, you take all your possessions with you. Please check the luggage rack, under the seat, etc, not to mention the boot. Please try not to take anyone else's stuff. Thanks.
If anything is left behind on the bus when we get to Ormskirk, I usually take it home with me (being last to get off) so please ring me as soon as you notice if you are missing anything - Jackie.
© Skelmersdale Rambling Club 2010