Ingleborough

Ingleborough has a large, almost circular flat summit plateau that ends abruptly on its northern end in the form of a steep drop overlooking some marshy land. To the south and south-east lie two ridges that give easy access to this summit. In ancient times the top was used as a hill fort.

As with Pen-y-Ghent Ingleborough's has a distinctive shape both close up and from a distance. The combination of this with great views and a comparatively managable assent make it's ascent very popular and the summit can get quite busy.

The summit itself however only represents a small part of Ingelborough's surface area. The bulk of this is formed into a massive plateau whose edges are marked by Ingleton, Clapham, Horton in Ribblesdale and Ribblehead.

This represents a huge limestone block and a vast network of caves underlies this area. These caves include gaping gill into which the highest underground waterfall in England falls - don't stand too close to the edge of the waterfall's entrance!

Apart from caves, there are numerous other geographical features. Highlights include: the Norber erratics (boulders perched on small limestone plinths), Trow Gill (a limestone ravine) and numerous limestone scars.

Arguably the most impressive feature however is the massive area of limestone pavement around Sulber Nick, Moughton and Crummack dale. The landscape in this area really is like few other places in the country and will easily repay extended exploration. In wet weather this area should be treated with real caution.