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ROUTE 2

Crummackdale

Start/finish	Roadside parking near Austwick: SD 769 691
Distance	12km (7½ miles)
Ascent	325m (1070ft)
Grade	Level 3
Time	2hr
Terrain	A mix of grassy paths, walled lanes and fields
Map	OS Landranger 98: Wensleydale & Upper Wharfedale
Refreshments	Pub and shop in the village of Austwick
Public transport	Buses 580 and 581 from Skipton to Kirkby Lonsdale

This is a hidden gem of a route, featuring one of the best examples of Yorkshire Dales scenery. Crummackdale is often missed in favour of runs up the higher peaks of Ingleborough and Pen-y-ghent. The run is filled with geological interest, passing through the world famous Norber Erratics, as well as limestone pavement and layers of Moughton Whetstone, a banded mudstone used to make whetstones for razors. The run passes places such as Beggar’s Stile and Thieves’ Moss.

The run begins just outside the village of Austwick and climbs up on to the plateau east of Ingleborough, before following a short section of the Yorkshire Three Peaks route. The second half heads south and west, crossing through the limestone pavement of Moughton, before dropping back down to the start using an ancient walled lane.

The moon setting over Norber

1 Take the track W towards Clapham for 30 metres. Turn R over stile and run along the grassy track through the field to a wall. Turn R up to a wall corner. Cross through the small wooden gate and follow the path alongside the wall to the corner. Bear R and climb to meet a path. Turn R and follow the path for approximately 50 metres to a small, flat, grassy area and fingerpost. Turn L, taking a small path up through a short rocky section. Bear R then L, following one of the small grassy paths diagonally N up through the Norber Erratics to a wall corner marked by a ladder stile at SD 765 702 1.2km.

Running through the Norber Erratics (photo: Adrian Dellbridge)

Erratic deposits

The Norber Erratics are boulders of Silurian sandstone deposited by the last ice age. They lie on the surface, overlying the beds of limestone below.

2 Cross the wall and go straight ahead for a few metres to reach a small, stony path. Turn R and follow this path as it contours around the valley. After 400 metres, fork L on a grassy path heading for a notch in the limestone outcrop. Run through the notch and take one of the small paths heading N for approximately 500 metres, to reach a large cairn at Long Scar, adjacent to a grassy bridleway 2.8km.

3 From the cairn, run back to the bridleway and follow it NE to a bridleway junction. Continue ahead, following the Pennine Bridleway markers, to reach a gate crossing the track 4.8km.

4 Pass through the gate and continue ahead to reach the Sulber Nick path/track junction. Turn R, signposted ‘Horton in Ribblesdale’. Continue to follow this path for 1km before the path drops down to a gate. Continue ahead for 200 metres to a path junction and fingerpost 6.5km.

5 Turn R up the grassy path to a wall corner signposted ‘Austwick’. Go through the gate and continue ahead, with the wall on your R, to a stile. Turn R, cross over the stile and follow the path to reach the head of Crummackdale. Descend the grassy path into the valley to reach the intake wall and gate 8.2km.

6 Run down the grassy track and walled lane for 2.5km to a track junction. Turn R and then L after 30 metres to cross the stream, using the lower of the two bridges 10.5km.

7 Follow the path up to the wall. Cross using the stone stile. Continue ahead as the path crosses several fields and stiles, and cross over a small stream using a small bridge. Follow the path up through the field to reach the track just below the starting point. Turn R back to the start 12km.