Whernside
4 classifications here — Current County/UA Top, Marilyn, HuMP and Simm — belong to lists OpenFell holds only part of, so they have no list page. See how far the coverage goes.

- Height
- 736.6 m · 2,417 ft
- Prominence
- 408.3 m
- Grid reference
- SD 73893 81545
- Coordinates
- 54.22895, -2.40198
- County / area
- North Yorkshire/Westmorland and Furness
- County top
- Highest point of North Yorkshire/Westmorland and Furness
- Region
- Central Pennines
- OS Landranger
- 98
- OS Explorer
- OL2W
- Summit feature
- ground by path 140m NNE of trig point
- Key col
- SD 7936 9253 (328.4 m)
About Whernside
Whernside is the highest of the Yorkshire Three Peaks, ahead of Ingleborough and Pen-y-ghent, and the high point of the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire as well as the historic West Riding. Its summit lies on the boundary with Cumbria, and it ranks fifteenth among England's most prominent hills.
In form it is a long ridge aligned roughly north-north-east to south-south-west. Ingleton lies 10 km to the south-east and Horton-in-Ribblesdale 10 km to the south.
Background written from facts in the Wikipedia article on Whernside (CC BY-SA 4.0). Heights, prominence and grid references come from the Database of British & Irish Hills, not from Wikipedia.
Access rights here
Conditional Right to roam: Right to roam only on mapped CRoW open access land.
Permission needed Wild camping: Needs the landowner's permission — the Dartmoor commons are the only exception in England.
General position for England — local byelaws, seasonal restrictions and closures can override it. Full details: access rights in England ·check another location.
Daylight at this summit today
- Sunrise
- —
- Sunset
- —
- Daylight
- —
- Civil twilight ends
- —
Computed astronomically for 54.229, -2.402. Plan your finish with the daylight safety planner.
Summit weather live
Loading forecast for the summit (737 m)…
Forecast adjusted to summit altitude. Weather data from MET Norway (CC BY 4.0).
Long-distance paths past this hill
2 waymarked long-distance routes run within 2.5 km of the summit — useful if you are linking this hill into a longer walk, or want a made path for the approach.
| Route | Total length | From summit |
|---|---|---|
| Three Peaks Walk | 38 km | over the top |
| Dales High Way | 144 km | 2 km |
Route lines © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL); distance from the summit computed by OpenFell.
Reaching Whernside by train
2 National Rail stations sit within 8 km of the summit — close enough to make a car-free day of it. Distances are straight lines, not walking routes.
| Station | From summit | Summit lies |
|---|---|---|
| Ribblehead | 3.7 km | NW of the station |
| Dent | 6.4 km | SW of the station |
Each station page lists every hill in its reach, long-distance paths from the door and a live-times link — see all stations with hills in reach. Station positions from NaPTAN (OGL v3.0).
Get food nearby
3 places to eat or drink within 10 km of the summit, rated under the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (Scotland runs its own Food Hygiene Information Scheme, a pass/fail equivalent).
| Place | Type | Rating | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Philpin Foods - Cafe | Restaurant/Cafe/Canteen | 5 out of 5 | 3.7 km · S |
| The Sportsmans Inn | Pub/bar/nightclub | 5 out of 5 | 5.6 km · NE |
| Stone Close Tea Rooms | Restaurant/Cafe/Canteen | 5 out of 5 | 6.4 km · NW |
Classifications and ratings are the local authority's own and can be coarse — this is a lead, not a guarantee of opening hours or that food is served to non-residents. Follow a name through to the official rating page to check, and confirm before you rely on it.
Food hygiene data from the Food Standards Agency and Food Standards Scotland (Open Government Licence v3.0). Distances and directions computed by OpenFell from the summit.
The Whernside group
One other listed summit sits in the same prominence group, with Whernside as the independent hill at its head.
| Summit | Height | Drop |
|---|---|---|
| Blea Moor | 535 m | 112 m |
Grouping is by prominence alone: a summit belongs to the nearest higher Marilyn it connects to without a deeper intervening col. Over a large massif that can gather hills no one would walk in a single day, and which few would describe as parts of the same mountain — it is a measure of independence, not a suggested route.
Nearest listed peaks
| Peak | Height | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Blea Moor | 535 m | 3.5 km |
| Green Hill | 628.2 m | 3.7 km |
| Great Coum | 686.4 m | 4.3 km |
| Park Fell | 564 m | 5.1 km |
| Gragareth | 628 m | 5.5 km |
| Wold Fell | 559 m | 6.1 km |