Horton in Ribblesdale to Malham

After a night plagued with guilt after chickening out of Great Shunner Fell yesterday (well, mildly bothered maybe), I decided to make up for it by following the Pennine Way religiously as it loops back north to take in Pen-y-Ghent, one of the Yorkshire Three Peaks.

It was a well worn and occasionally steep climb that took me out of Horton, up the flanks of the hill and onto the wind swept summit plateau. This featured a fantastic little round shelter in which I watched the clouds rush past and collected myself before heading off directly into the jet stream.

After descending to a remote lane, I was faced with the other hill of the day, Fountains Fell. It was another steep ascent and I found the kids from yesterday resting about half way up. They had obviously been doing something productive while I had been stuffing myself with a full cooked breakfast (this is rapidly becoming one of my favourite parts of the walking day). They accused me of stalking them, so I had no option but to crack on with the ascent and put some distance between us. I was out of breath by the time I rounded the shoulder of the hill and headed down the grassy path which winds its way between piles of rocks and old mine workings.

Eventually this reaches Malham Tarn, unusual for being a natural lake in a limestone landscape. Without much more walking to do today, I strolled around the shores of the lake before heading over to admire the tourists as they admired the classic spectacle of Malham Cove. With accommodation easy to find in the village, it was time to finish this short but scenically captivating day.