Great Whernside
| Great Whernside | |
|---|---|
| File:Great Whernside.jpg Great Whernside from next to Tor Dyke near the road between Kettlewell and Coverdale | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 704 m (2,310 ft) |
| Prominence | c. 288 m |
| Parent peak | Whernside |
| Listing | Marilyn, Hewitt, Nuttall |
| Coordinates | Lua error in Module:Coordinates at line 489: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). |
| Geography | |
Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 411: Malformed coordinates value.
| |
| OS grid | SE002739 |
| Topo map | OS Landranger 98 |
Great Whernside is a fell in the Yorkshire Dales, England, not to be confused with Whernside, some 17 miles (27 km) to the west. Its summit is the highest point of the eastern flank of Wharfedale above Kettlewell. Great Whernside forms the watershed between Wharfedale and Nidderdale, and is on the boundary between the Yorkshire Dales National Park and Nidderdale National Landscape. The River Nidd rises on the eastern slopes of Great Whernside, above Angram Reservoir.
Name
[edit | edit source]The name Whernside, first recorded in 1214 as Querneside, is of Old English origin. It is derived from cweorn 'quern' or 'millstone' and sīde 'hillside', so means "hillside where millstones are found".[1] The upper part of the hill is composed of millstone grit, and there were once quarries on the Wharfedale side. According to one source the name was originally applied to the hillside on the Wharfedale side, and then extended to the whole hill as seen from Wharfedale. The hill as seen from Nidderdale was known as Blackfell.[2] The addition of Great was first recorded in 1771, apparently to distinguish the hill from Little Whernside.[1]
Access
[edit | edit source]Until 1997 no public right of way was established to the summit of Great Whernside. In that year two public footpaths were registered, one from Kettlewell in Wharfedale to the summit and one along the summit ridge.[3] Following the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 large parts of the fell became open access land. Great Whernside can be ascended from Kettlewell,[4] or by a shorter route above Park Rash on the minor road from Kettlewell to Coverdale. It can also be ascended by a longer, less popular, route from Scar House Reservoir.[5] Routes from the East are often boggy even after prolonged dry weather.
Surroundings
[edit | edit source]Little Whernside, 2.5 miles (4.0 km) northeast of Great Whernside, forms the watershed between Coverdale and Nidderdale.
Hag Dyke, halfway between Kettlewell and the summit, is a hostel run by 1st Ben Rhydding Scout Group in Ilkley.
The fell has been the site of several aircraft crashes.[6]
Tor Dike (situated on the north western flank) is an earthwork with ditch and rampart constructed in the limestone.[7] It appears to have been built either by Iron Age tribes, perhaps in the 1st century AD, to protect themselves from the invading Romans,[8] or in the Dark Ages.[9]
References
[edit | edit source]- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value). The Ordnance Survey map still uses Whernside for the western slopes.
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Yorkshire Dales National Park website: Kettlewell Archived 7 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Peak District Aircrashes website
- ^ Photo on Geograph website
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External links
[edit | edit source]Error creating thumbnail: File missing Media related to Lua error in Module:Commons_link at line 62: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). at Wikimedia Commons
