Buckden Pike
Buckden Pike is 702m (2303 ft) high, and is
situated at grid reference
SD960787. It is classified both as a
"Hewitt" - that is a hill in England,
Ireland or Wales over 2000 ft
high and with a relative height of at least
30m - and as a "Marilyn" - that is a
peak with a relative height of at
least 150m. It is the fourth highest peak in
the southern Dales behind
Whernside, Ingleborough, and Great Whernside, but
ahead of
Pen-y-ghent.
While nowadays the Pike is frequented largely by
sheep and walkers, between the
16th and 19th centuries, the western slopes were
an industrial landscape; the
remains of Buckden Gavel lead mine and Buckden High
Smelt Mill can still be
seen, and though it is now some 130 years since the
workings were abandoned,
the impact on the landscape can still be appreciated.
The mine is at a height of
some 560m, and life for the miners must have been
extremely tough. For safety
reasons, visitors should on no account attempt to
enter the abandoned workings
.
The Pike is a popular destination for walkers, the
principal routes to the
top starting
in either Buckden or Starbotton; from Buckden car park the usual route initially
follows the path up Buckden Rake, although there is an alternative
route taking
the path across Buckden Beck and following the path towards
Starbotton before
doubling back and making for the summit past the lead mine.
From Starbotton,
the route either follows the Walden Road before branching off
towards the memorial
and the summit, or follows the lower path from Starbotton
towards Buckden, and
then picks up the route past the lead mine. More details of
these walks can be
found in the leaflets available in the National Trust Barn in
Buckden or on websites such as www.goforawalk.com
or www.walkingbritain.co.uk.
On a fine day there are excellent views from the summit - Great Whernside can be
seen to the south, while Pen-y-ghent and Ingleborough can be seen across Birks
Fell on the opposite side of the dale. From Buckden Rake there are fine views of
Hubberholme and up into Langstrothdale.
Near the summit of the Pike can be seen the
memorial, erected to his comrades, by
Polish pilot Joseph Fusniak - the
rear gunner in a Wellington bomber which crashed in
a snowstorm in January 1942.
The full story can be found at www.buckdenpike.co.uk
Buckden Pike is the setting for the annual
Buckden Pike Fell Race which is held
on the Gala day in
mid June. This 4 mile race with a 1500 foot climb starts on the
Village Green
and finishes on the Gala field. The race this year (the 25th) was won
in
stifling conditions by Rob Jebb with a time of just 33mins 25 secs. The
race record
was set by Colin Donnelly in 1988 with a time of 30:51; the women's
record is held by
Carol Greenwood who ran 36:32 in 1996. Click
here for more details.