Walking the hills of England & Wales

  • Ribblehead Viaduct

    Ribblehead Viaduct carries the Settle-Carlisle railway across the upper Ribble Valley. It is 400 metres long, and 32 metres high at its highest point. It consists of 24 arches, each 14 metres wide. The viaduct was built between 1870 and 1874. British Rail attempted to close the line in the 1980s, but a public outcry led to…

  • Ingleborough

    SD 74125 74587 Height: 724m (2375 feet) Drop: 427m Classification: Marilyn, Hewitt, Nuttall Ingleborough is the second highest hill in the Yorkshire Dales, and one of the Yorkshire Three Peaks. it has a distinctive appearance, consisting of horizontal layers of limestone, interspersed with gritstone. Geology These layers of limestone were laid down in the Carboniferous period (340 – 300…

  • Whernside

    SD 73849 81416 Height: 736m (2415 feet) Drop: 408m Classification: Marilyn, Hewitt, Nuttall, County top Whernside is the highest hill in North Yorkshire, and lies on the border with Cumbria. It is also one of the Yorkshire Three Peaks (usually the second to be walked). It is most commonly ascended from Ribblehead Viaduct, which lies 2½ miles…

  • Pen-y-ghent

    SD 83854 73383 Height: 694m (2277 feet) Drop: 306m Classification: Marilyn, Hewitt, Nuttall Pen-y-ghent is frequently walked for two reasons: it is one of the Three Peaks of Yorkshire (usually the first to be climbed), and it lies on the Pennine Way. It’s distinct profile makes it easily recognisable from a distance. Summit Pen-y-ghent is topped by a…

  • Barkhale Neolithic Camp

    Sometimes, it is obvious that a landscape has some history attached. At other times, history leaves little trace and has to be gleaned from secondary sources. Such a place is Barkhale Camp. In the photo above, it is just about possible to discern the line of an embankment curving into the distance. Originally, this would have been…

  • Beachy Head cliffs

    One of the most iconic views in southern England, Beachy Head is the highest chalk cliff in Britain, rising 162m (531 feet) above the sea. Even those who have never been here might well recognise the cliffs from such films as Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and James Bond: The Living Daylights. What, for me, makes these…

  • Hastings Pier

    Following the passing of the Bank Holidays Act the previous year, the first ever August Bank Holiday took place on 5th August, 1872. And this was the date chosen by Hastings Council to open its first-ever pier. Designed by Eugenius Birch, who had previously designed piers at Margate, Brighton, and Blackpool, the new pier was 910 feet long, and consisted…

  • Bradgate House

    The ruins of Bradgate House are to be found in the grounds of Bradgate Park, a few miles north-west of Leicester. Who might have lived here? The mansion was completed in 1520, and was one of the first great unfortified country houses in England. It was also one of the first buildings since Roman times…

  • Normanton Church

    St Matthew’s Church in Normanton is probably unique in being semi-submerged in a reservoir, such that only the top half is accessible. It is thought that there has been a church on this site since the thirteenth century. We do not know much about the original church, which would have served as the parish church for Normanton,…

  • Froswick

    NY 43521 08525 Height: 720m (2362 feet) Drop: 75m Classification: Hewitt, Nuttall, Wainwright, Birkett In the photo above, Froswick is the nearest hill. Behind it lies Ill Bell which, at 757m, is nearly 40 metres taller. Behind Ill Bell, a little to the right, is Yoke (a little  shorter at 706m). All three of these fells are overshadowed…

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