Ribblehead is the area of

moorland Moorland or moor is a type of Habitat (ecology), habitat found in upland (geology), upland areas in temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands and the biomes of montane grasslands and shrublands, characterised by low-growing vegetation on So ...

at the

head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple ani ...

of the River Ribble in the area known as

Ribblesdale Ribblesdale is one of the Yorkshire Dales in England. It is the Dale (landform), dale or upper valley of the River Ribble in North Yorkshire. Towns and villages in Ribblesdale (downstream, from north to south) include Selside, North Yorkshire, ...

, in the Yorkshire Dales National Park,

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Ribblehead is most notable for Ribblehead railway station and

Ribblehead Viaduct The Ribblehead Viaduct or Batty Moss Viaduct carries the Settle–Carlisle railway across Batty Moss in the Ribble Valley at Ribblehead, in North Yorkshire, England. The viaduct, built by the Midland Railway, is north-west of Skipton and s ...

on the Settle to Carlisle railway. It is in

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

with its nearest town being Ingleton. It has some accommodation catering mainly for hikers and a small local population. It is also a point on the Dales Way and

Yorkshire Three Peaks The mountains of Whernside (), Ingleborough () and Pen-y-ghent () are collectively known as the Three Peaks. The peaks, which form part of the Pennines, Pennine range, encircle the head of the valley of the River Ribble in the Yorkshire Dales ...

walks, in sight of major local peaks including

Ingleborough Ingleborough () is the List of peaks in the Yorkshire Dales, second-highest mountain in the Yorkshire Dales, England. It is one of the Yorkshire Three Peaks (the other two being Whernside and Pen-y-ghent), and is frequently climbed as part of ...

and Whernside.

History

Roman road

The

Roman road Roman roads ( ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Republic and the Roman Em ...

across Batty Moss crosses the railway line just north of Ribblehead station, just before the viaduct begins and past the Station Inn. The modern B6255 road follows its line. Plans to update Cam High Road, a smaller Roman road, to allow for commercial forestry are being opposed.

Viking farmstead

Archaeological research revealed the presence of a Scandinavian farmstead, with three large buildings around a paved farmyard, including a longhouse and a smithy, and suggesting that the present weathered conditions date from later than this farmstead of around the 9th century.

Settle and Carlisle Railway

The viaduct across Batty Moss was constructed between 1870 and 1874 by the

Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 in rail transport, 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had ...

as part of the Settle-Carlisle Line.

Community

The area is part of the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

of Ingleton. The ecclesiastical parish is St. Leonard, Ingleton, and there is a small church dedicated to St. Leonard at Chapel-le-Dale. The area is served by Ribblehead railway station, and Summer Sunday DalesBus routes 830, 831, 832 from

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...

Morecambe Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district of Lancashire, England, on Morecambe Bay, part of the Irish Sea. In 2011 the parish had a population of 34,768. Name The first use of the name was by John Whit ...

stop at the station.

References

External links

{{commons category, Ribblehead
Ribblehead, at the head of Ribblesdale on the Settle Carlisle Railway
Geography of North Yorkshire Ribblesdale