Wild Boar Fell is one of the best hikes I’ve discovered this year. I headed there in May 2021, taking the direct train from Leeds and enjoying a completely car-free day out in the Yorkshire Dales. The following serves partly as an account of that day and partly as a rough guide for anybody looking to discover this brilliant hike by train.
This is Matt’s account of a day spent hiking up Wild Boar Fell. As ever, the directions and recollections are based on his own route and memories thereof. Wild Boar Fell is remote, and paths are often unclear. Hikers should carry an OS map and pack for a full day in the hills.
Wild Boar Fell – A Hidden Gem
The wild, dramatic landscapes of the Yorkshire Dales barely need an introduction. Famed throughout the world for its marvellous scenery, rich rural heritage, and picture-perfect villages, it’s the second biggest National Park in the UK and certainly one of the most popular.
Many visitors head to the Dales determined to conquer the ‘Three Peaks’ challenge. This strenuous 26-mile hike takes in Yorkshire’s most popular mountains – Pen-y-Ghent, Whernside, and Ingleborough. Each peak is special in its own way, and all make for excellent ascents. However, their fame and popularity mean that you’ll often share the summit with a crowd of fellow hikers, particularly on a sunny weekend.
I’d been looking for alternatives to the busy Three Peaks when I stumbled across the brilliantly-named Wild Boar Fell. Although technically some of this hike isn’t quite within the boundaries of the National Park, everything about the scenery screams Yorkshire. It’s a Dales classic and accessible entirely by public transport from Leeds – Yorkshire’s biggest city.
Where is Wild Boar Fell
Wild Boar Fell sits on the very edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Yet, despite its proximity to the famous peaks of Ingleborough and Whernside, many visitors have never heard of it.
It sits just to the south of the town of Kirkby Stephen, and looms over the little-explored Mallerstang valley. Wild Boar Fell’s summit offers incredible views not only across the Yorkshire Dales, but also to the Howgills and Lake District peaks in Cumbria.
Despite being so accessible by train, the peak retains a delightful sense of remoteness.
How to get to Wild Boar Fell on the train from Leeds
One of the big attractions of Wild Boar Fell, for me at least, is how easy it is to reach by train. The icing on the cake is that you can enjoy a huge chunk of the world-famous Settle-Carlisle line on your journey. You’ll even get to experience crossing the immense Ribblehead Viaduct, one of the iconic structures of British railways.
To climb Wild Boar Fell from Leeds, you’ll want to take the train to Kirkby Stephen or Garsdale. The train to Garsdale from Leeds will take roughly 95 minutes, whilst Kirkby Stephen is a further ten minutes down the line. It’s a direct service, with no need to change trains. Simply hop on, and enjoy the spectacular scenery.
I chose to catch the train to Kirkby Stephen and hike over Wild Boar Fell to Garsdale. This looked like a more interesting route, with better views of the sweeping cliffs as you approach the summit. The route to Wild Boar Fell from Kirkby Stephen station is easy to follow and begins the moment you leave the platform.
I climbed Wild Boar Fell on a Saturday. The trains to Kirkby Stephen from Leeds departed roughly every two hours, starting just after 6am. The return trains from Garsdale also ran every two hours or so. On a Saturday, the last service tends to be mid-evening. Unless you’re hiking at the height of summer, you’ll want to be finished long before then!
As ever, it’s worth checking the National Rail website for the most up-to-date timetable.
The Wild Boar Fell route from Kirkby Stephen station to Garsdale: A summary
In my head, I split the route into six distinct parts:
- Kirkby Stephen station to the farm buildings on Wharton Lane
- Across the fields towards the start of the ascent up the slopes of Wild Boar Fell
- Climbing up towards Wild Boar Fell’s summit and the mysterious cairns
- Crossing Wild Boar Fell’s summit plateau and reaching Swarth Fell
- Descending Swarth Fell to the road at the bottom of the valley
- Crossing the railway line at Lunds and following the road back to Garsdale station
I found each of these route sections easy enough to follow in their own right. Together they make for an epic adventure in the Yorkshire Dales.
Finding your way from Kirkby Stephen station to Wild Boar Fell
Once you’ve disembarked the train and made your way to the exit of Kirkby Stephen station, the start of the route up Wild Boar Fell is pretty easy to find.
When exiting Kirkby Stephen station, turn left. This will take you along the A685 for a few minutes. There’s no pavement but plenty of grassy verge to avoid the traffic.
After a short while, you will take the left turn for the A683. Despite its status as an ‘A’ road, the 683 is decidedly smaller than the A685 and feels like the actual start point for the walk. As soon as you begin the walk down this road, you will spot Wild Boar Fell’s distinctive summit plateau looming in the distance.
After barely 60 seconds of heading down the A683, the route to Wild Boar Fell takes you down Wharton Lane. A dead-end sign marks the entrance to the lane, which leads you down to a handful of farm buildings. It’s unlikely that you’ll come across any vehicles, and this will be the last stretch of road walking until the end of the hike.
Within a few minutes, the farm buildings will come into view. Keep an eye out for a gate to your right, just before you reach the buildings. This will lead you off the tarmac and onto the open fields.
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Leaving the roads and heading out into the open fields
From here, the landscape becomes quintessentially Yorkshire. As you follow the vague path, trodden into shape by hikers and sheep alike, you’ll pass the crumbling shells of abandoned barns and gaze out over the criss-cross of dry stone walls on the distant fells.
Before too long, your goal – the summit of Wild Boar Fell – will dominate the view straight ahead of you. Nevertheless, as you head across the fields to begin the main stretch of ascent, it is worth taking some time to admire the landscapes to your left and right.
Just before you reach the start of the climb, you’ll cross a small lane. This is a perfect place to look over to your left, where the summit of High Seat stands tall across the valley.
Approaching the mysterious Wild Boar Fell cairns
The cairns of Wild Boar Fell drew me to this hike. The haphazard piles of rocks cover the mountains of Great Britain in their thousands. However, I couldn’t recall ever seeing any on the scale of those that stand on Wild Boar Fell’s summit plateau.
Nobody seems to know who built the Wild Boar Fell cairns or why. Cairns typically mark a route across high ground and come into their own on a particularly misty or snowy day. They’ve certainly helped us navigate through wretched conditions in the past, such as on the foggy Cairngorm plateau. They stand like stoic sentinels in a close cluster above the sweeping cliffs of the ‘Nab’ and are visible for miles around.
From a distance, it would be easy to mistake these monoliths for humans, such is their size and scale. Indeed, I occasionally did a double-take when I caught a glimpse of them out of the corner of my eye whilst ascending. I can only imagine how eerie they would look looming out of the fog on a dark winter’s day.
Across the boggy plateau, a trig point marks the true summit of Wild Boar Fell. Although the cairns are the stars of the show, it is worth making the detour across to the trig. The views of the rolling Howgill Fells are spectacular, and on a clear day, you should catch a glimpse across to the peaks of the Lake District.
Continuing from Wild Boar Fell to Swarth Fell
The hike over the top to Swarth Fell is a fine way to continue the adventure. A well-trodden path follows the ridgeline away from the cairns, and it’s not long until another fine view reveals itself.
The sweeping ridge across to Swarth Fell straddles a depression in the landscape, which looks almost like a cauldron. I followed the path along the ridge as far as I could. Eventually, after descending and ascending once more, I reached a small heap of jagged rocks.
Somewhat less conspicuous than the solid trig point of Wild Boar Fell (or, indeed, the gigantic cairns), these rocks marked the summit of Swarth Fell. The views back to the Nab and towards the Dales were immense. I was less thrilled about what I saw when I turned my gaze west towards the Lake District. The sky had turned jet black, and an ominous wall of grey was making its way toward me. I was about to get very wet.
No sooner had I begun fumbling around in my rucksack for my waterproofs than the heavens opened. A small summit shelter provided me with some brief respite from the worst of the downpour whilst I tried to untangle my sleeves and throw on my jacket.
Heavy rain eventually gave way to a moderate, albeit relentless, drizzle. After a few minutes spent huddled in the shelter – barely big enough to fit one person – I decided to press on with the descent.
Descending Swarth Fell to Garsdale Station
Upon leaving the summit of Swarth Fell, the route to finish off this marvellous hike up Wild Boar Fell becomes somewhat less clear.
Garsdale station, with its connecting trains to Leeds, is visible for much of the descent. However, this doesn’t necessarily make it more straightforward to find your way there. The name of the game is to reach the B6259 road – this will take you to the A684. Once you reach the A684, it’s a brisk ten to fifteen minutes to reach Garsdale station.
My route, which admittedly didn’t involve much planning, took me further along Swarth Fell. Keeping the valley of Mallerstang always in view on my left, I pressed on in the direction of the station. Occasionally I followed what looked like tractor or quad-bike tracks. Otherwise, it was a case of stepping wherever looked least muddy.
After following a wall and fence on my right for a while, I eventually crossed over and made sure to keep it to my left. Once the wall and fence are on your left, it’s just a matter of following it as you descend further from the fell.
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Finding the best route from Swarth Fell to Garsdale Station
I suspect there are several options for making your way to the road from this section of Swarth Fell. I chose to wait until a gate in the fence on my left. From here, the path took me down to a footbridge over the railway at Lunds. Easy to spot, it’s a straightforward descent through the fields and then on to the road.
The Moorcock Inn is en route to Garsdale Head station for those who have worked up a thirst. But, unfortunately, I’d left myself precious little time before the next train to Leeds and had to reluctantly waive my post-hike pint.
I almost instantly regretted my decision to forego the warmth of a country pub. Just minutes before reaching the platform, the heavens opened once more. By the time the train arrived, I was thoroughly drenched. This mattered little, however. Wild Boar Fell had been an epic hike through some truly stunning Yorkshire Dales scenery. The wretched weather served only to complement the moody drama of this most spectacular landscape.
