Our final day left us with a decision to make. Where to walk before our long drive back down to Plymouth? The weather was due to be pretty good, lots of sunshine with occasional showers so we now needed a walk near to a decent A road running towards the M65 and importantly, running south. Pendle Hill was a possible destination, but that was outside of the Yorkshire Dales so we plumped for a walk from Settle and a look at some pointy looking hills around a place called Attermire Scar. As it was this place is packed with stunning scenery and lots of stuff to see, with waterfalls, caves and bit of limestone pavement and a huge cliff (scar). We could have added on a second waterfall at Catrigg Force, but as we left Winskill Stones the rain started and then the thunder, so we turned at Winskill Farm back towards Langcliffe. This didn’t spoil the walk at all and put us back in Settle at a nice time to allow us a fish and chip tea before the drive home. There are some really special places on this walk, managing to have a little walk into a couple of caves was a nice bonus but the end dropping down by Langcliffe Scar was brilliant, with a patchwork of fields below and the cliff edge to our right. It was a fabulous way to finish our short stay in the Yorkshire Dales, and with so much more to do here, we will be back.
Start – Settle
Route – Scaleber Force – Attermire Scar – Victoria Cave – Jubilee Cave – Winskill Stones – Winskill – A Pennine Journey – Langcliffe Scar – Langcliffe – Settle
Distance – 9.5 miles Start time – 10.45am Time taken – 5hrs 15mins Highest Point – Victoria Cave 440 metres
The day before our walk around Settle we had a day driving around the area, looking in the odd record shop and a bit of a rest after two decent days walking. We ended up in Skipton, having had a brew we had a walk around the town, first up the churchAnd inside the fantastic buildingNext door is the castle it was about to close so we didn’t have time for a look around, but as with all good castles you don’t get to see the best bits only the gateway. Its a brilliantly preserved medieval castle built in 1090 and I seem to remember coming here in primary school for a visit from St Helens, so it must be good.Climbing up the cobbled streets in SettleSettle below us as we climb one of the lanesThats Sugar Loaf Hill on the left and Rye Loaf Hill over to the right, we are walking parallel to a road which we will head over to in a bit.Here we are on the road and Sugar Loaf Hill up on the right, we will walk up to the right of that in a bitFirst we did an out and back to Scaleber ForceNow we’ve walked a very short section of the Pennine Bridleway before turning off for the Attermire area, Attermire Scar is ahead in the centre of the photo and the cave is up there and the scenery is superb as we head into herePendle Hill in the distance as I look backBit of a wide angle shot of the whole areaI probably should have took more photos in here but I was too busy staring with my mouth open, the cliffs, sheer faces of rock, scree slopes, caves and paths that seemed to wriggle up and down each gully. We would head downhill through the gates and around to the right to follow the valley up and around all thisA good path takes us towards Victoria Cave which can be seen above the people ahead of us in the side of the hillHere it is Victoria CaveLinda in the Victoria Cave, it was discovered in 1837, the year of Queen Victoria’s coronation and once excavated inside they found bones of hyena, hippo, elephant and rhino from around 130,000 years ago, when it was a bit warmer!From the cave entrance looking south to the back of the scars and hills four photos upAnd north to some lovely blue skiesWe found another tunnel as we left Victoria CaveAnd the view outGlorious viewsOnwards north towards another cave, it was getting pretty warm walking along hereSelfie, note that we are down to t-shirts now, which isn’t bad for mid-March. That’s Jubilee Cave behind usLinda looking for the boogie man in Jubilee Cave! You can see shafts of light back there showing other entrances.A lovely vista from Jubilee CaveA short walk around the back of Jubilee Cave gives this fantastic view to the Yorkshire 3 Peaks, Pen y Ghent on the right, Ingleborough is far left and Whernside is behind thatWe doubled back on ourselves to drop down to the road, through a large patch of snow from the previous day, hiding against a wall out of the sun. Langcliffe Scar is ahead here and we are heading up the road to the right towards Winskill StonesAs we walked the road we turned to see an ominous looking band of rainAt the Winskill Stones, a small area of limestone pavement. We stopped here for a brew, only to hear a rumble of thunder away over the Victoria Caves areaThe rain started heavily as we left Winskill Stones, with the thunder behind us. We made quick progress to Winskill and the farm itself and decided to turn towards Langcliffe at this point, rather than going down to Catrigg Force. As we’d headed further west the rain had stopped, clouds to the left here were very black and we were treated to this lovely view down towards Settle and LangcliffePassing Langcliffe Scar we get this stunning view out. There is a long green lane running through the middle of all those fields into LangcliffeLangcliffe Scar from the start of the long lane, Ingleborough is away in the distance looking a bit black, to the left of that the dark pointy fell is Smearsett ScarThe lovely church at Langcliffe, plenty of daffodils in the yard.And insideLittle lambs by the road as we walk back into SettleWeir on the River Ribble as we reach SettleWe were parked by this church in Settle and with the chippy across the road we were all set for the long drive home after a superb few days in the Dales.
Another classic walk! You really did pick some superb outings for this trip. The crags and caves around there are superb and dramatic. If you’re interested here’s my post from a similar walk a few years back
Love your write up on that, I did visit Wet Cave as well, and found the whole area superb. I’d never heard of the place/area before and only walked from Settle as a place with a decent A road to get us south. But its a brilliant area. Any other recommendations for walks in the Dales would be much appreciated, a return visit is a certain
So many great walks around there. The area around Crummack Dale is superb and very quiet. Pen y Ghent via Hull and Hunt Pots. There is also a route to Ingleborough from the north with a path that skirts along the NW facing edge that I love. You can look all these up on my blog as I’ve posted about most of them
treksandtors 
What a great walk. Gorgeous views and the cave is so nice.
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The caves are a real bonus, so many of them to see
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We keep meaning to go and see those caves – must get round to it.
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Plenty of caves to choose from in that area, these two are very accessible from the path
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Thank you – looks grand,
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Thinking of a trip up there later in the year. South Dartmoor is our view and the Commandment Stones were great yesterday
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Always a good view from Buckland Beacon down to the River Dart
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Definitely one of my favourites – we sat there a while and plus point was a coffee van in the car park !
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Yes have seen the guy at Cold East Cross a few times now, very useful in the winter months
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Beautiful photos and views. Victoria Cave looks very impressive 😍
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Really lovely place for a walk, I’d never heard of any of the caves but they were very good
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Another classic walk! You really did pick some superb outings for this trip. The crags and caves around there are superb and dramatic. If you’re interested here’s my post from a similar walk a few years back
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Love your write up on that, I did visit Wet Cave as well, and found the whole area superb. I’d never heard of the place/area before and only walked from Settle as a place with a decent A road to get us south. But its a brilliant area. Any other recommendations for walks in the Dales would be much appreciated, a return visit is a certain
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So many great walks around there. The area around Crummack Dale is superb and very quiet. Pen y Ghent via Hull and Hunt Pots. There is also a route to Ingleborough from the north with a path that skirts along the NW facing edge that I love. You can look all these up on my blog as I’ve posted about most of them
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That Pen y Ghent route sounds superb
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