Pen-y-ghent

Pen-y-ghent stands in the Yorkshire Dales near Horton in Ribblesdale. It is the smallest of the Three Peaks, rising to 694 metres above sea level. The fell is made of millstone grit on a limestone base, with a clear watershed at the top. Water flows east to the Humber Estuary and west to the Irish Sea. The hillside shows rakes of bare rock exposed by a storm in 1881. The fell has notable geological features such as Hunt Pot and Hull Pot. Hull Pot is England’s largest natural hole, measuring 91 metres long, 18 metres wide and 18 metres deep. In dry weather the stream runs underground before reappearing as a waterfall inside the pot. Heavy rain creates a dramatic cascade over the edge. Local legend claims streams from Hull Pot and Hunt Pot cross underground without mixing. Walkers reach the summit by the Pennine Way or the direct southern route used for the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge. The Pennine Way links the fell to Horton in Ribblesdale in about five kilometres. Another path heads north from the top to Plover Hill and down to Foxup Road. The view from the summit takes in the surrounding dales and hills.