Pennine Way Day 8 Malham to Horton in Ribblesdale 26/06/24

 Best nights camping since I have been using the Lanshan. Nice campsite, even gound , short grass, and no wind.....perfect. I had a decent sleep and was awake for 4:30. I was packed up and ready to leave by 5. This was the plan , so I could get some miles in while the temperature was cooler, as there was a yellow weather warning for high temperatures.

The PW runs past the entrance to the campsite , and within 15 - 20 minutes I was at Malham Cove.

Malham Cove

When I got to the top of Malham Cove I couldn't find where the trail picked up away from the limestone pavement. As a result it took anout 20 - 30 minutes of forwards and backwards before I found the trail leading to the dry valley Watlowes.

It was a lovely time of day to be walking , and after a couple of enjoyable miles I arrived at Malham Tarn. 

Stopped here for breakfast -  a bowl of meusli. This worked quite well with the mixed in dried milk. The morning was starting to warm up as I left the tarn and followed the trail towards Tennant Gill farm, where the climb up Fountain fell started. There was lots of signs warning about 'disued mineshafts - keep to the footpath' on Fountains Fell moor.

Fountain Fell summit is about 1/2 a mile from the Cairn on the PW.

As I started decending from Fountain Fell Pen Y Ghent came into view through the low cloud on the other side of the valley.

The next section of the walk involved dropping down to the valley bottom and then climbing up to the ridge line that joins up with the nose of Pen Y Ghent.

The route to the summit was the same as the 3 peaks walk I did a few years ago. It looks imposing but it just takes a 15 - 20 minute slog and you are at the top.

I thought the descent into Horton would be easy, but I was tired and it was mid day and hot. The navigation was easy as the trail followed the three peaks route before turning left down Horton Scar Lane into Horton. I have to admit I was running on empty for the last couple of miles. Surprised that there are no shops in Horton and the pub was closed. Took me a while to figure out where the station is. There wasn't a train to Leeds for 3 hours but on advice I got a train 1 stop to Ribblehead where there was a Leeds train saving me a two hour wait in Horton.

Day 8 Video Clips

What an epic walk. My favorite day so far on the PW. 15 miles