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Pen-y-ghent

Coordinates:54°09′19″N2°14′59″W/ 54.15528°N 2.24972°W/54.15528; -2.24972
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Pen-y-ghent
From the path fromHorton
Highest point
Elevation694 m (2,277 ft)
Prominencec.306 m. (1,004 ft)
Parent peakWhernside
ListingMarilyn,Hewitt,Nuttall
Coordinates54°09′19″N2°14′59″W/ 54.15528°N 2.24972°W/54.15528; -2.24972
Naming
English translationHill on the border
Language of nameCumbric
Pronunciation/ˈpɛnɪɡɛnt/
Geography
Pen-y-ghent is located in Yorkshire Dales
Pen-y-ghent
Pen-y-ghent
Location of Pen-y-ghent in the
Yorkshire Dales National Park
LocationYorkshire Dales,England
OS gridSD838733
Topo mapOSLandranger98

Pen-y-ghentorPenyghentis afellin theYorkshire Dales,England. It is the lowest of Yorkshire'sThree Peaksat 2,277 feet (694 m);[1]the other two beingIngleboroughandWhernside.[2]It lies 1.9 miles (3 km) east ofHorton in Ribblesdale.[3]It has a number of interesting geological features, such as Hunt Pot, and further down, Hull Pot. The waters that flow in have created an extensive cave system which rises at Brants Gill head.

In 2004 the body ofLamduan Armitage,dubbed by the media the "Lady of the Hills", was found near to the entrance of Sell Gill Hole.[4]

Etymology

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In theCumbric language,exactly as in today'sWelsh,penmeant 'top' or 'head', andyis most likely the definite article (the), exactly as in Modern Welshy(comparePen-y-berth'end of the hedge/copse', orPen-y-ffordd'head of the road/way', etc.). The elementghentis more obscure, it could be taken to be 'edge' or 'border'.[5]The namePen-y-ghentcould therefore mean 'Hill on the border' (compareKent).[6]Or else, the final element may begïnt,meaning "a heathen, a gentile" (<Latingentis;c.f. Welshgynt), presumably in reference to Scandinavian pagans.[7]

It is also acceptable to write the name asPen y Ghentrather thanPen-y-ghent.

Geography

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Hull Pot Beck spilling into Hull Pot. Taken looking north-westwards

Pen-y-Ghent is made up of a millstone grit top upon a bed of carboniferous limestone.[8]The summit acts as a watershed with water flowing east into theRiver Skirfareand on through to theHumber Estuary,and water flowing west dropping into theRiver Ribble,to ultimately flow into theIrish Sea.[9]The distinctive rakes that adorn the hillside (particularly on the western edge of Pen-y-Ghent) were revealed during a great storm in July 1881. The ferocity of the water cascading down the hillside removed the topsoil and revealed the rakes beneath.[1][9]

Hull Pot Beck rises on the western side ofPlover Hilland flows into Hull Pot, which is the largest natural hole in England.[10]Hull Pot measures 300 feet (91 m) long by 60 feet (18 m) wide and 60 feet (18 m) deep.[11]The water then flows under Horton Moor before re-appearing just east of Horton in Ribblesdale as Brants Ghyll Beck, where it flows into the River Ribble.[12]Local legend has it that the waters from Hull Pot and Hunt Pot cross each other underground without mi xing. This is said to have first been noted when a sheep wash was undertaken in one stream thereby making it muddy, and the husks of oats being dropped into the other stream and both having exited into the Ribble without mi xing together.[13]

Hiking

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ThePennine Waylinks the summit to the village; the route is around 3.1 miles (5 km) in length as the Way curves initially to the north before turning east to reach the summit.[11]The more direct route that traverses the southern 'nose' of the hill is the route usually taken by those attempting the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge, as the walk is usually (but not exclusively) done in ananti-clockwisedirection starting and finishing inHorton in Ribblesdale.The other mainhillwalkingroute on the hill heads north from the summit to reachPlover Hillbefore descending to join Foxup Road, a bridleway at the head ofLittondale.[3]

Pen-y-ghent is one of the mountains on theYorkshire Three Peaksroute.[14]

Apanoramic imageof Pen-y-ghent viewed from the west, on the footpath fromHorton in Ribblesdale,January 2012.Plover Hillis the lower, more distant hill to the left.

References

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  1. ^ab"Picture Post: More snow forecast for Pen Y Ghent".The Yorkshire Post.24 January 2016.Retrieved29 May2017.
  2. ^Fletcher, Terry (17 May 2017)."Yorkshire Dales walk - Pen-Y-Ghent and Plover Hill".yorkshirelife.co.uk.Retrieved29 May2017.
  3. ^ab"OL2" (Map).Yorkshire Dales - Southern & Western Area; Whernside, Ingleborough & Pen-y-ghent.1:25,000. Explorer. Ordnance Survey. 2016.ISBN9780319263310.
  4. ^"'Mail order bride' theory in body mystery ".BBC News.30 October 2018.Retrieved25 November2018.
  5. ^Bibby, Andrew (2008).The backbone of England: landscape and life on the Pennine watershed(1 ed.). London: Frances Lincoln. p. 120.ISBN9780711228252.
  6. ^Ekwall, Eilert (1960).The concise Oxford dictionary of English place-names(4 ed.). Oxford: Clarendon Press. p. 363.ISBN0-19-869103-3.
  7. ^James, Alan G."A Guide to the Place-Name Evidence - Guide to the Elements"(PDF).Scottish Place Name Society - The common Brittonic Language in the Old North.Retrieved25 October2018.
  8. ^"BBC - Seven Wonders - Three Peaks".bbc.co.uk.Retrieved29 May2017.
  9. ^ab"Pen-y-ghent".yorkshiredales.org.uk.Retrieved29 May2017.
  10. ^"Weekend Walk: Hull Pot".The Yorkshire Post.14 January 2017.Retrieved29 May2017.
  11. ^ab"Walk 33; Pen-y-ghent from Horton"(PDF).nationaltrail.co.uk.Retrieved29 May2017.
  12. ^"Brantsghyll Beck".Environment Agency.Retrieved29 May2017.
  13. ^Speight, Harry (1892). "XL; All about Pen-y-Ghent".The Craven and North-West Yorkshire Highlands(1 ed.). London: Elliot Stock. p.391.OCLC650329471.
  14. ^"Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge".National Three Peaks Challenge.Retrieved17 October2018.

Bibliography

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