Ascent of Ingleborough 2440 ft from Clapham 12 miles

The Church of St James in Clapham

Early mornihg mist hovers over the lake alongside the Igleborough Estate nature trail.

Every estate owner had to have a grotto, and here was no exception.

After coming out of the wood, it is only a short distance to Ingleborough Cave. (Well worth a visit). Although due to Corona Virus there is not a guide on duty. Anyone going into the cave has to be their own guide.

             From here on, the path is a bit more rugged

A few hundred yds further on from the cave, after crossing a stile on the left the path leads into this gorge, a popular spot for rock climbers, but there were none this morning.

At the end of the gorge, an easy scramble leads out onto a rugged path, alongside a wall.

                          Looking back down the gorge.

On reaching a stile which needed to be crossed to get to Ingleborough, the cloud cover left a lot to be desired, so decided to have a brew and wait for it to clear.

Brew over the cloud had still not lifted so headed in the opposite direction to explore some potholes in the vicinity. On returning the

view was looking much more favourable

                               Social distancing stiles.                                        

Before starting the ascent a short diversion leads to the cavernous mouth of Gaping Gill.

The water plunges a staggering 98 mts to the cathedral like cavern below. The only pic of me today, is my shadow on the opposite wall

The way ahead now looks clear

                       The last stretch to the summit.

               There were some great views from the top

If ever I needed a reminder of how fast the weather can change when

up at cloud level, this was it. The white cloud just coming into view on the right of the picture, was drifting across at speed. Within a matter of seconds, the clear view ahead had vanished.

For the next twenty minutes or so this was the scene, until I got below the cloud.

 Almost back in Clapham. The atmospheric mist over the lake had dissipated, leaving a calm and clear aspect. 

                                               The End