Ingleborough from Clapham Circular walk
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NOTE: Although a lot of care has been taken creating these Maps, they may have discrepancies and could be wrong.
Danger: If you are an inexperienced Walker/Hiker do not attempt this walk in bad weather. Always check the forecast before setting off HERE.
Directions to the carpark here.
Remember to wear appropriate hiking gear, pack enough water and food, and check the weather forecast before setting off. It’s also a good idea to have a detailed map or GPS device to help navigate the route effectively and safely.
| Length of walk | 14.8KM |
| Height Gain | 589m |
| Duration | 4 Hours 40 Minutes |
| Total Elevation | 723m |
Start) Walk out of the car park and turn Right, following the road up a small incline.
1) Pass a play area on your left and continue towards the church of St James, follow the road around to the left and cross a bridge.
2) Take a right immediately after the bridge, following the sign posts to Ingleborough Cave.
3) At the top of the road there is a Nature trail, this costs £2.50 to go through as of 2023, If you don’t want to go through the nature trail, follow the road around to the left, past the old sawmill cafe following signposts for Ingleborough cave and Gaping Gill. after taking the right turn, follow the walled track up to a gate and pass through.
4) Continue on the track until your reach clapdale, continue through the furthest gate on the right, pass through the gate and follow the footpath sign down to the right.
5) Follow the footpath down to a road, this is clapdale Drive, this is where the Nature trail joins with the main footpath.
6) Pass through the gate and turn left.
7) Follow the track keeping the beck on your right until you reach Ingleborough cave.
8) Cross Clapham Beck over the bridge, following the signpost for Trow Gill and Ingleborough.
9) Pass through a gate and follow the track.
10) Pass through another gate and continue towards Trow Gill.
11) Walk up Trow Gill, watch your footing as there are a lot of loose stones, you may also need to scramble a little in places.
12) Continue on the footpath out of the gorge keep the wall on your left.
13) Follow the path for approximately 3 quarters of a mile until you reach two gated stiles in the wall on your left.
14) Head over the stiles and follow the path up directly away from the wall towards little Ingleborough, watching out for pot holes.
Note: These pot holes all connect to Ingleborough Cave and Gaping Gill, it is one of the longest and most complex cave systems in the UK, the connection between Gaping Gill and Ingleborough cave was only discovered in 1983.
15) After a little while the path splits, the right hand route takes you to Gaping Gill, and the other continues up towards Ingleborough summit.
16) Taking the right hand route to go to Gaping Gill, continue following the path a short distance, there is a small wire fence surrounding part of the entrance.
Danger: Lime Stone is very slippery when wet be cautious around the entrance of Gaping Gill.
Note: Gaping Gill is one of the largest underground chambers in the UK, the drop from the entrance is a stomach curdling 100 meters, you can take a chairlift down twice a year in May and August when the pot hole clubs open it up to the public.
17) Head back on yourself a short way rejoining the path and continue right, up the path toward Little Ingleborough.
18) The path begins to climb steeper as your start to reach the summit of little ingleborough.
19) Once at the top of Little Ingleborough which is 639M there are some cairns.
20) Follow the main path up towards Ingleborough summit.
21) The path follow around to the left of a small incline, and continues up to the main plateau.
Note: Even in good weather its easy to lose your bearings at the top of Ingleborough there are cairns dotted around the place to help you find your way back down the mountain.
22) The Trig point is found at the furthest side of the plateau
23) Not far from the Trigpoint there is a weather shelter, In bad weather take the compass baring of east north east from the weather shelter. Beware of the steep drops to the north edge of the summit plateau.
24) Once you’ve reached the north edge follow it right (east) until you reach a large boulder, drop down and follow the path around to the left of the boulder.
25) Keep heading East North East until you reach the flagstone path.
26) Once on the flagstone path, continue down to a stone marker.
27) Take the path to the right of the stone marker.
28) Continue walking over towards Simon Fell breast keeping Simon Fell and Lord’s Seat on your left.
29) After a while you will reach a gated stile in a wall, pass through it and continue away from the wall and along the path, slowly descending off the mountain and taking a bearing of east south east.
Note: on a clear day you should now see Pen-y-ghent ahead in the distance
30) Pass by an old shooting hut marked on the OS Map
31) Continue on the path away from the hut, parallel to a wall.
32) Pass through a gate and continue down the path a short way until you reach a split in the path, take the right hand route, the path pulls in next to a wall for a short way, then heads over grassland.
33) Continue on the path through the Limestone area, and back over the grassland.
34) Pass over the ruined and fallen down wall, and continue on the path.
35) Once you meet another path, turn right and head towards a cairn, ignoring the path on the left.
36) Shortly after you will reach another fork in the path, taking the left hand path to get to the cairn and the right hand path if you want to bypass the cairn. (Skip at step to Bypass cairn)
37) From the cairn, continue down the path.
38) The paths will now meet back up, continue in the direction of some trees in the distance, if you are unable to see the trees, continue towards a gate in a wall.
39) Pass through the gate and continue away from the wall on the path.
40) At another gate in a wall to your left, pass through it, you will now be on Long Lane.
41) Follow the walled path a short way until you reach a stile, if you paid for entry into the Ingleborough Nature trail, you can now take a stile on your left, if you didn’t, continue on the path, keeping the wall on your right.
42) Pass through another gate and continue on the path, it should now be walled at both sides
43) Once you reach a crossroads, follow the signs for Clapham to the right, and continue on passing through woodland, either side of the track.
44) Pass through two tunnels, watching your step as the floor is uneven.
45) Immediately after the tunnels, follow the road around to the left, and continue down the walled path, on your right will be the St James Church that you passed earlier in the day.
46) Follow the track, taking a right, onto the road, at the road take a left and follow it down, back to the carpark on your left.