Parking
Nearest to start point. layby on Park Lane by Cray Gill
Parking Day Rate
At time of walk. 0
Nearest Shop
White Lion Inn at start of Walk
Nearest Pub
White Lion Inn at start of Walk
Nearest Toilet
none
Challenging Terrain
The summit of Yockenthwaite Moor is made of peat hags and is often very boggy. Even after extended dry periods the crossing can be hazardous. It is not recommended to attempt this walk alone unless you have an understanding of peat hags and how to avoid becoming trapped in the deep peat sections.
Difficult Navigation
The walk generally is on open ground will little to no path. Whilst in good visibility this was not a problem, if attempting in poor visibility ensure you are confident in your navigation techniques.
We thought we would try and squeeze this in an evening walk as we had seen an extended dry period, and the summit is well known for its challenging terrain due to the peat hags and boggy ground.
Lots of variable terrain and beautiful views, although it was still quite challenging on the summit plateaux, ( I was so busy concentrating on my route I forgot to take the traditional summit photo!.
We took a different route to the standard one, mostly due to road closures, we thought it would be quicker to do this route than navigate the diversions.
Full description of walk after the map:
After discovering both forks of the road to Stubbing Bridge were closed we opted to start the walk from just before the White lion Pub, slightly longer than planned but starting at a higher elevation, so the thought the two changes might cancel each other out.
The initial walk is well signposted from just north of the pub, following a farm track down to a footbridge over Crook Gill (we did encounter some beautiful Red Belted Galloway bullocks in the field before this, and so as Nikki is terrified of cattle we navigated around this field, which was simple enough, passing to the right of the barn.
From crossing the Gill we left the track taking an east to east-north-east route up the hillside – no paths exist here.
I’m always mindful of correctly passing from field to field by avoiding climbing and potentially damaging walls and fences so we sort a route by using gates we could see as we gained hight.
Time was limited and so about halfway Nikki decided to step back to give me a chance to summit, she took in the evening rays by a sheep fold marked on the OS map, allowing me to leave my bag with her and hurry to the summit, if hurrying is possible! (Note to self – still take water next time!)
from here i took a diagonal path aiming for a stone wall where the route up Strans Gill that we had planned to use, could be joined.
Despite the long period of dryness, the land even down here was wet underfoot and soft, this only became more so as we gained more hight, crossing to the West of the fence/ wall at one of a few gates that could be used.
As the climb started to level out the peat hags started to take over, great care was required to cross them without risking sinking into them. The route i chose from here was a weaving one, in an attempt to stick to higher more firm ground. Still not easy to do!
Summit bagged and returning back in a similar route to my ascent, i managed to find a piece of bog in where I was up to my knee on one foot before I could catch myself! This wasn’t the peat hags but moving away from these, in a more grassy area, a quite surprise, I can tell you!
I continued to retrace my steps to Nikki and from there back to the car.
Useful Tip
A little trick for you, i use OutdoorActive for my mapping, which allows you to take photos from within the app, it then automatically tags them to your map. To ensure I could find Nikki, I took a photo at her location to make it very easy to find on the way back!
