Nine Standards and Whitsun Dale
9.5 miles
6h 45mins (including lunch stop)
425m gross ascent
On a clear
day the Nine Standards offers a 270° panoramic view of the surrounding hills. To
the east the lakes are visible and to the north you can see Cross Fell and the
white domes of the NATS installation on Great Dun Fell. My ideal would be to
leave the car at Ravenseat and start the walk from there but if you are worried that the weather might deteriorate then drive along the road from Keld to Kirkby Stephen until just after you cross the border with Cumbria. A foot path sign marks the start of the path. It is a good track that takes you through some limestone pavement, past Dukerdale Pots and on up to a prominent cairn and shelter on the skyline. Up to this point you have been following the green alternative of the Coast to Coast. A couple of hundred yards further the Coast to Coast turns left, at a sign, and descends but keep straight on along a clear path that is not marked on any maps. This brings you in a straight line to the viewing point on Nine Standards Rigg. Turn right here to follow the blue route of the Coast to Coast. The going becomes very boggy and shortly you have to negotiate a deep cleft after which the Coast to Coast divides. Take the path to the left (the blue route) and follow it with the help of marker posts. Once Whitsun Dale comes into view the worst of the bog is left behind. Enjoy the remoteness of the dale as you follow the path along Whitsundale Beck to Ney Gill. This used to be a delightful spot but in 2006 the landowner built a hardened area to feed his sheep and now it is totally spoilt and the gill polluted with run-off from silage. No longer a spot for a well earned break! Turn right up a sometimes indistinct path to follow the gill up to a shooting hut. A track takes you from here down to the road. If you have the luxury of two cars then you could leave one here otherwise a 1.8mile walk follows up the road to return to your car.
Tracklog and Route