Plover Hill

Hills and Mountains

11 Mar

Written By Anthony Ackers

The summit of Plover Hill, viewed from Pen-y-Ghent in the Yorkshire Dales, under a dark, stormy sky — The summit of Plover Hill in the Yorkshire Dales, set amongst a dramatic backdrop, on approach from Pen-y-Ghent

Location: SD 849 752

Getting there: Easiest approach is via Pen-y-Ghent, parking and train station in Horton-in-Ribblesdale

Height (near cairn on summit): 680m

Prominence: 51m

Map: OS Explorer OL2 Yorkshire Dales South and Western areas

OS Maps API | Basic Map ZXY (EPSG:27700) | Leaflet

The lesser-known child peak of Pen-y-Ghent, visiting the often-bypassed Plover Hill can make for a quieter and more rewarding walk than the more standard routes.

The summit of Pen-y-Ghent viewed from the summit of Plover Hill, under a brooding, cloudy sky — Looking back at Pen-y-Ghent from the summit of Plover Hill

Named after the plover family of birds, the variety of wildlife on offer on this quiet hill, especially in spring months, add to the peaceful feeling you get when leaving the hordes descending the Yorkshire Three Peaks path at Pen-y-Ghent.

On the surface, it’s easy to see why Plover Hill is often overlooked - a broad, featureless and particularly boggy approach from Pen-y-Ghent seems less than inspiring, but actually a lot of the hill’s attraction lie in some of its hidden details.

Boggy peat hags on the approach to the summit of Plover Hill in the Yorkshire Dales, under a cloudy, stormy sky — The boggy climb to the summit of Plover Hill

First, similar to its neighbour, it is flanked on three sides by steep, rocky slopes, with the famous Pen-y-Ghent pinnacle actually a feature of this hill’s crags.

But one of the main draws are the views of the remote, verdant head of Littondale, with the villages of Foxup and Halton Gill snuggled within.

The easiest way to visit the summit is to head north from the summit of Pen-y-Ghent, following the path along the broad ridge between the two hills, taking in the view of both sides of the valley, before heading across the bog to the summit. From here you can continue to descend the northern slope which becomes quite steep (though never quite as epic as that on the southern approach to Pen-y-Ghent), before either looping west back to Ribblehead.

The northern slopes of Plover Hill, under a stormy sky, with Whernside and Ingleborough in the background — Perched on the northern slopes of Plover Hill

If you have more time I’d definitely recommend exploring to the east, and heading back via Halton Gill - with a pleasant and surprising valley walk between the slopes of Plover Hill and Fountains Fell yielding a number of caves, rocky outcrops and a waterfall.

An abandoned and ruined pumping station in Halton Gill, set into the rocks, at the foot of Plover Hill — There’s plenty to explore in Halton Gill

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Hi, I’m Ant…

I offer guided adventures and walkshops, for individuals and teams, to get people out of the office, and into the outdoors, giving you the time, space and inspiration to spark extraordinary thinking in extraordinary landscapes.