Beamsley Beacon
Alluring landscapes over Lower Wharfedale
Summary
Beamsley Beacon (also known as Howber Hill) is a prominent landmark in the Lower Wharfedale area and lies on the boarder of the Yorkshire Dales. The summit is visible by a large stone mound that has said to have been built around 4,500 years ago, it is 11/12 meters across and has superb views across lower Wharfedale with Addingham & Bolton Abbey nestled in the valley below. However, the views from the beacon are to be admired on the last leg of the hike, providing a gentle climb via Denton Moor to the summit (unless it is extremely windy, which it was for us). Along the way, be sure to find the summit of Lippersley Pike, a large cairn with some excellent 360° views where you can be sure to see the large golf balls on RAF Menwith Hill just outside Harrogate. They are owned by the ministry of defence and used as a spying system!
Golf balls in the distance
The landscape here is truly superb!
The Hike
We began the hike parking on a nearby layby on the hill of Laneshaw bank, it was a gusty start to the day, and I knew the higher we were to climb the gustier it would become! I couldn’t help but wonder what the day would entail? From here, we climbed gradually on the tarmac road before forking left along a gravel road that was sign-posted “No Through Road” As we meandered onwards along the gravel trail, the sparse and wild moorland opened up from all directions. A sea of grass and heather, all different shades of greens, browns and yellows surrounded us, with the sky a delicate shade of blue as sunlight dazzled over the ever-changing landscape. Along the trail, we had to navigate over bogs and streams and found ourselves passing numerous shooting shelters covered with thick moss. Only on the moorlands in England would you find these types of features, as it is one of the few areas that has plants such as heather that can tolerate such hostile conditions. It is home to the red grouse where they use the environment for nesting and cover! I have jumped out of my skin many of times from a red grouse that has popped out of the heather. Not ideal. Whilst stopping besides one of the shelters to take in the landscape, I couldn’t help but think “hmm, it looks really squidgy and soft to touch”. I began to prod and poke the green marsh. “It’s well soft!”
Meanwhile, after poking and prodding the moss, we came to a gate that had a large apex stile. Over the stile, we walked through a plantation of trees before trundling ourselves up a steep grassy path onto a long wind-swept moorland plateau, to where we would find the first trig summit of the day. Lippersley Pike!
The fierce wind was howling, as we waded our way over the moorland “I think we turn left here, there should be a hill called Dearcomb Hill up there” as I shouted over the wind.
Alongside us, the valley started to open up below, offering pockets of sunlight dotted over the colourful vast landscape. It was a welcoming sight to say the least! Upon arrival of the summit of the hill, there wasn’t much to see “I think we are here” I said, “Oh is that it?” as Charlotte said in an unimpressed tone of voice. Thankfully, the views made up for the disappointment.
Re-tracing our steps, we walked back towards the path that headed up to Lippersley Pike. With every step, we pushed our way up through the wind, whipping itself around our faces until we emerged at the large cairn mound. The cairn looked like you could sit inside and shelter from the wind, so we both climbed inside whilst perching on the rocks, preparing to have our lunch. We could hear the wind swirling around the mound, as we hid protected from the elements. It made such a difference to shelter whilst we tucked into some food.
Suddenly we heard “I’m the king of the castle, I’m the king of the castle” a head appeared over us “yeah, so are we!” I said “Oh my god! You scared me!” The person said. This gave us both a laugh, as we heard him talking to his friends saying not to look into the mound as there are people in there. Others passed and looked inside too and saw us both sat there, I felt bad as this was, it was the only sort of shelter around, and we had taken it.
It was a great lunch spot though!
Lippersley Pike
After lunch, we stood up and felt the full force of the wind, slapping us in our faces. It felt extremely cold, we had to keep on moving. Onwards, we followed the trail towards the last leg of the hike and the most rewarding. We didn’t speak much, heads down, concentrating hard as the wind zapped our energy levels whilst ploughing our way over the sparse terrain, treading carefully past boggy peat. After a while, I had enough and decided to try and go through, not knowing how deep it was! “Bloody hell!” I found myself knee deep in the stuff. “Yak” I thought to myself, as Charlotte was stood there laughing hysterically. With one leg a thick dark brown colour, we carried onwards, along the never-ending path. We could see the summit, but it felt like a mirage, it seemed to go on forever and never seemed to get any closer. We climbed gently on Denton Moor and eventually, the large stone cairn of Beamsley Beacon came into view. It definitely didn’t disappoint! We had great views south across lower Wharfedale and the surrounding area, looking into the distance at the ever-enticing, undulating, Yorkshire landscape. It was a great way to end the hike, before descending sharply down a rocky path back to the car.
This may be one of my favourite hikes in the area, and one I will most definitely come back to do again.
Gallery
