Trigs 99 - Visit 3

Wednesday 7th September 2022 

Lister House  (High Barn)  SE 336 724     72m

Summerbridge (SW of)      SE  210 610   191m

High Crag                           SE 165 628    331m

Harper Hill                         SE 205 700    256m

Oak Bank                           SE 225 774     215m

Ellingstring Plantation       SE172 830      259m

Arklow Hill                        SE184 878     160m

There are differing names for trigs at various sources and differing heights between OS 1:25 and 1:50

Visit One ticked off 5, Visit Two, 6 and this visit 7. There is no way that apparently logical extrapolation will continue. 

I have now visited 19 out of the 29 total, so 10 left to do. Of those there is a group of three which will be done in one hit and will involve the last access from the north via the A66 and Scotch Corner, a route  I have rapidly tired of, especially as it involves uninspiring trips down the A1(M).

After that the remainder can be accessed via the A49, then Grassington and Pateley Bridge. Those trigs mostly cover the higher ground around Nidderdale and lend themselves to separate walks of six miles or so, each in their own right.

Brother RR who comments, nay, generally admonishes here, has taken me to task for ignoring the gift of eccentric place names. Well I can't do much with the plain speaking High Barn, except to wonder at the fate of Low Barn. A handy lay-by a few hundred yards up the road gave a perilous approach before access to the public bridleway through the farm and an arrow straight climb on the  track to the trig. Steely blue cloud cover with hints of silver provided a broody light for decent views of the surroundings.

A slip road into a caravan site on the road south of Hartwith Hil (S. of Summerbridge)l provided good parking. A short walk following a boundary wall up a grassy field led to the trig. The stone walling now uses sqaureish blocks of what I think is millstone grit reminiscent of shredded hands and fingers after a day's climbing at Almscliffe, not very far away. The trig had been decapitated. That would seem to have been done by idiots extracting the surveyor's mounting bracket, to what purpose? It is not obvious but a tube about a foot long extends from the bottom of the bracket down into the cast concrete so if you want to get the bracket out decapitation is the only way. I say "bring back hanging."

Continuing with my recall of rock climbing days High Crag is situated only a few rope lengths away from Guise Cliff which I have a vague memory of visiting once but fifty plus years dims the memory. A pleasant level walk across moorland heather in bloom  took me to an area of rocky boulders, the trig posing on top of one. Wainwright remarked on something similar in Wet Sleddsale saying "On no account should anybody over seventy try to climb this." Of course I heeded not. On descending I sat and shuffled off the edge grazing two of my fingers, one gets more stupid with age. Across the road from my parked car OS informs of Old Wife Ridge. I guess so named sarcastically by New Wife?

Harper Hill involved backtracking. The first approach terminated in a gateless field with a high wall topped with barbed wire. As I retraced I could see a gate giving access to the adjacent field and then another exit gate from there leading to the field containing the trig. To get to that first gate I had to thrash through chest high bracken fearing the worst from ticks and eventually arriving sweaty and bothered but the problem was solved. The trig was hidden again, as many seem to be, in a wood requiring a tricky stride over a barbed wire fence which had obviously been savaged to some extent by earlier trig baggers. I can only presume the wood was not there when the trig was founded.

Oak Bank tested my navigation when I missed the turn off the main path involving more backtracking. Yet another low and savaged barbed wire fence had to be negotiated but 'twas no great problem.

Ellingstring Plantation was the most straightforward of the day. A lay-by opposite a fancy pumping station building gave good parking. An open gateway into the trig field was a gift and a short there and back had this one sorted within less than fifteen minutes. There is a plaque on the trig from The Yorkshire Volunteers - they are an organisation for Territorial volunteers. Internet gives some information. I could find nothing about what I think is an erstwhile permission from Ordnance Survey to "adopt" a trig point. I think it was discontinued.

I had read of difficulty of getting to Arklow Hill on TrigpointingUK website because it is on private land with a house in proximity of the field but the field not owned by the resident so he can't give permission. Having said that one is stumped to access from what would be the most convenient point. I parked at a barn further up the road with gate access to the trig field. There were about twenty cows in the field with the odd calf. I skirted round walking slowly and calmly never advancing directly towards any animal. As I closed in on the trig the cows started following me but in gentle and curious manner only. They watched me taking my obligatory photo - I think it was the highlight of their day. I returned to the car without incident.

I pressed the sat nav in my car for "home. Bearing in mind I was located in a maize of minor single track roads with  many options for getting back to civilisation and good roads the sat nav took only about two seconds to calculate the route of around a hundred miles and its prediction of arrival time turned out to be within two minutes. How does it do that?

These photos do benefit from click to enlarge

On the way to Lister Hill. The trig was just at the top 

Lister Hill trig with the broody sky

From the caravan site car park for Summerbridge

A change from the limestone drystone walls

The vandalised trig at Summerbridge, and general view therefrom below

Starting point for High Crag

High Crag trig, and below

Harper Hill - outward route red arrow to the wall and return blue, see map below

Harper Hill trig in its wood 

Oak Bank  - I had to climb the barbed wire fence to the left.

Strange pumping station building at the start for Ellingstring Plantation

Ellingstring Plantation

No specific info. about this found on the Internet

Arklow Hill, "Are you looking at me"

NB shortcut over stubble field on the return

Guise Cliff across the way

Pink shows road journey