Buckden Pike

Buckden Pike
The hill from Tor Mere Top, a mile to the south.
Highest point
Elevation	702 m (2,303 ft)
Prominence	207 m (679 ft)
Parent peak	Great Whernside
Listing	Hewitt, Marilyn
Coordinates	54°12′15.5″N 2°3′32.5″W / 54.204306°N 2.059028°W / 54.204306; -2.059028Coordinates: 54°12′15.5″N 2°3′32.5″W / 54.204306°N 2.059028°W / 54.204306; -2.059028
Geography
Buckden Pike Yorkshire Dales, England
OS grid	SD961787
Topo map	OS Outdoor Leisure 30

Buckden Pike is a fell at the head of Wharfedale, a valley in the Yorkshire Dales, that stands above the village of Buckden. At 702 metres (2,303 ft), it narrowly misses out on being the highest peak in the area, the title instead going to nearby Great Whernside (704 metres). The summit is marked by a trig point.

Routes of ascent

Perhaps the easiest and shortest route up the mountain is a bridleway from Buckden, although this is steep and boggy in parts, and therefore somewhat unsuitable for cyclists and those on horseback.

Another route, on Access Land, follows Buckden Beck as far as the disused Buckden Lead Mine, then joins a Permitted Footpath to the summit.

A longer and more challenging walk is the circular route taking in Buckden, Buckden Pike, Great Whernside and Kettlewell. Walkers can start and finish at either of the car parks in Buckden or Kettlewell - traditionally the leg along the River Wharfe (part of the Dales Way) is completed at the end of the day for an easier finish.

Buckden Pike Memorial Cross

To the south of the summit is a memorial cross, dedicated to the memory of five Polish airmen of the Royal Air Force who crashed their Wellington Bomber on 30 January 1942. The memorial was created by, with help from various locals, the sole survivor of the crash Jozef "Joe" Fusniak, and completed on 8 August 1973. http://www.buckdenpike.co.uk

The view

There are fine views from the summit. The most extensive are to the East and West. To the East is the ridge running from Little Whernside to the summit of Wharfedale's highest peak, Great Whernside. To the West are views into the heart of the Yorkshire Dales, including mountains such as The Yorkshire Three Peaks, as well as closer peaks such as Firth Fell and Yockenthwaite Moor. To be found close to the summit is a large wooden pole, standing vertically; it has a number of large holes focused on different views - this used to be labelled with information cards but is no longer.

Buckden Pike Fell Race

View of Buckden Pike, from the north-west on Kidstones Scar

Every year, Buckden Pike is host to the Buckden Pike Fell Race, which is held on the third Saturday in June and coincides with Buckden village gala. The race was first run in 1981 on a course designed by Peter Jebb. In 1987, Peter altered the course to make it tougher and more interesting and it has remained unchanged ever since and this was the course on which the records were set. It has now become a classic race in the fell runners calendar and this is recognised by the fact that it is regularly selected as an English championship race. The race record is held by Colin Donnelly who, in 1988, completed the course in a time of 30:51. The women's record is held by Carol Greenwood who in 1993, finished with a time of 36:32.

References

"Buckden Pike", Buckden, Wharfedale Community Website
The Buckden Pike Memorial Cross Homepage
Buckden Pike Walk

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Buckden Pike.

Marilyns of Northern England

1. Northumberland	The Cheviot Housedon Hill Long Crag Peel Fell Ros Hill Shillhope Law Sighty Crag Tosson Hill

2. Northern Lakeland	Binsey Blencathra Knott Skiddaw

3. Western Lakeland	Blake Fell Dale Head Dent Grasmoor Great Gable Grisedale Pike High Stile Kirk Fell Lord's Seat Low Fell Mellbreak Pillar Robinson Seatallan Swinside Watch Hill

4. Central and Southern Lakeland	Black Combe Claife Heights Coniston Old Man Hard Knott Harter Fell High Raise High Rigg Holme Fell Illgill Head Kirkby Moor Lingmoor Fell Loughrigg Fell Muncaster Fell Pike of Blisco Scafell Pike Top o' Selside Whitfell

5. Eastern Lakeland	Arnside Knott Fairfield Grayrigg Forest Great Mell Fell Gummer's How Hallin Fell Helvellyn High Street Hutton Roof Crags Lambrigg Fell Little Mell Fell Place Fell Red Screes St Sunday Crag Seat Sandal Stony Cove Pike Tarn Crag Wansfell Whitbarrow

6. North Pennines and Durham	Burnhope Seat Cold Fell Cross Fell Dufton Pike Mickle Fell

7. Northern Yorkshire Dales	Baugh Fell The Calf Great Shunner Fell Hoove Kisdon Nine Standards Rigg Rogan's Seat Wild Boar Fell Yarlside

8. Southern Yorkshire Dales	Aye Gill Pike Birks Fell Buckden Pike Calf Top Cracoe Fell Dodd Fell Hill Fountains Fell Great Coum Great Knoutberry Hill Great Whernside Ingleborough Pen-y-ghent Rombald's Moor Sharp Haw Whernside

9. North York Moors to the Humber	Bishop Wilton Wold Cringle Moor Gisborough Moor Urra Moor

10. Forest of Bowland	Easington Fell Fair Snape Fell Longridge Fell Ward's Stone White Hill

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Wednesday, December 30, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.