Tried this a couple of weeks ago but struggled to find the secret path across Twistleton. Wasn't close enough to the edge. Enjoyed the Beezleys stepping stones though. Not been there before. Found a nice path back under Ingleborough.

Quote Originally Posted by Fellbeast View Post
Route 6 - Chapel le Dale loop of the scars

9.5 miles and 1,350 feet

I absolutely love this route and it was especially great last year (when I was running fast) done as a speed run - my best elapsed time on strava was 1 hour 32 but, if I can just get my knee 'even betterer' and lose another 10 pounds in weight, that time is dust!

To set the scene a bit, if you are driving out of Ingleton on the Ribblehead and Hawes road, as you pass White Scar Caves on your right a stunning vista of Chapel le Dale opens up before you with beautiful grey/white limestone scars enclosing in on the valley from both sides; Twistleton Scars to the left and White Scars and Raven Scar to the right. With the scars tracking parallel with the road for three or so miles all the way to hamlet of Chapel le Dale.

Above the scars the land nicely flattens off into plateau like shelves before climbing again up to the mountain tops of Whernside and Ingleborough. And its along the top of those shelves that route spends most of its time



So my favourite starting place for this run is on Oddie's lane just by the campsite where the top of the Ingleton Waterfalls trail crosss the road above Beezley Falls. If you track down the lane a little bit there's a nice pull in space for a couple of vehicles and in my experience there's rarely anyone up here parking up - see the red dot on my map. Another alternative place to park would be at the Chapel le Dale end or even one of the lay-by pull ins nearer to Ingleton on Storrs Common.

Assuming you've parked at my spot, the route basically starts off by you following the bridleway up past Twistleton Hall, heading up the lane a bit further through another gate where the track now has access to open fell side, with Twistleton Scar End rising steeply above you to the right. Theoretically here you could just trudge up the wall line to your right (or even follow the proper bridleway zig zagging a really stupidly long way to the top) but what I do is take a straight up the side line aiming for an obvious gap in the crag at the top edge. Once you're up here you'll find a little track heading in the right direction. Again there are options which way to run here but I try and take a diagonal to pick up the wall line on my right - its quite limestoney around here but, apart from one or two mini limestone pavements to cross, not too bad going. After about half a mile of steady climbing, you find yourself on the plateau with undulating, with a relatively well used rolling grass trod ahead of you. There's one or two alternative trails that you come across but basically the name of the game is to keep to the right and nearer to the tops of the scars overlooking the valley. Its fast running and after a while the running becomes even faster as the track becomes a more well used quad bike track. Just belt along here all the way to the track that comes down from Ellerbeck, when you hook right, cross a cattle grid and head down to Chapel le Dale.

You eventually go past Jingle Pot, past the little church and meet the main road where you cross over, go through a stile and take the obvious footpath ahead of you, eventually meeting the main drag up Ingleborough just above Souther Scales. This you follow until you go through the gate, just where the slabbed path starts, which would take you via the Swine Tail up Ingleborough. You don't take the slabs though but instead run along the wall line (keeping the wall to your right), going through a stile after a few hundred yards and into a pasture called Black Shiver Moss. In good visibility you will now have Ingleborough towering above you to your left and limestoney areas mainly to your right marking the edge of the scar over looking the valley. There is a bit of a trod straight ahead of you (heading south west in line with the aspect of the valley) which you take, although after a while this trod sort of heads more to the right than you want and into the limestone - at this point you leave the trod and take to the tussocks for a bit, veering more parallel to Ingleborough. After a couple of hundred yards though, if you're doing it right (and keep enough left ) you'll pick up another trod which after a while becomes a fantastically runnable track. Here again you can put the hammer down and really enjoy some fast open fell top running. The track takes you through the open mainly grassy area called Tatham Wife Moss, always keeping the limestone scars to your right, but don't expect views like you had on the Twistleton side of the valley as you are now running reasonably inland from the edge.

Eventually your path starts rounding to the left and its here that you need to take a line through some crags down to Crina Bottom to pick up the main footpath that heads up Ingleborough from Ingleton. You pick up the track and almost immediately go through the fell gate onto Fell Lane, the rubbly bridleway heading down towards Ingleton. After half a mile or so, soon after the track turns a right angle to the left, you'll see a finger post and a stile heading over the wall to the right. Follow this path all the way down to the main road at Skirwith, cross the road and pick up the footpath through the woods near the quarry. This footpath takes you all the way down to the stepping stones at Beezleys Ford, which you cross and then head up to your starting point on the lane above to finish. A nice mini climb in at the finish to make it tasty.

A fantastic running route then without the need or inclination to go up either of the mountains on offer. And what's more, other than at certain pinch points at either end, I doubt you'll see many other people to trouble you on the route at all