Ingleborough
Yorkshire Dales National Park
What is it?
One of the three peaks of the Yorkshire Dales (the others are Whernside and Pen-y-Ghent), you’ll find the remains of buildings and fortifications now thought to date from the Bronze Age at its peak.
Why it is special?
Apart from the view from the 723m flat-topped peak, this summit is surrounded by a stone rampart between three and five metres thick.
Inside are 20 circular structures ranging from five to eight metres wide. Until recently these were thought to be the remains of an Iron Age hill fort that would have been used for prestigious social rituals or possibly occupied seasonally.
But the latest analysis shows the structures are probably over a thousand years old and the remains of Bronze Age ring cairns. The site was probably chosen for its commanding views.
www.yorkshire-dales.com/ingleborough
Tell us something we didn’t know
Documents from 1803 show Ingleborough was at the end of a line of fire beacons, part of a communications system to alert volunteer regiments and local residents about a possible Napoleonic invasion.
What else can I do here?
Beneath Ingleborough lies White Scar Cave where you can take an underground walk to see waterfalls, streams and stalactites. The attraction is open daily from 10am.
Tel. 01524 241244
How to get there
It’s three miles from Clapham which is off the A65 Leeds-Skipton-Kendal road, about six miles north of Settle. It’s 19 miles east of junction 34 on the M6 at Lancaster.
By rail to Settle then take the Dales bus.
