Penhill

Penhill
Highest point
Elevation553 m (1,814 ft)
Prominence124 m (407 ft)
Coordinates54°16′30.8″N 1°56′07.1″W / 54.275222°N 1.935306°W / 54.275222; -1.935306
Geography
Penhill is located in Yorkshire Dales
Penhill
Penhill
Location within Yorkshire Dales
LocationNorth Yorkshire, England
Parent rangePennines, Yorkshire Dales

Penhill (526 metres (1,726 ft) high at the trig point, 553 metres (1,814 ft) at Height of Hazely) is a prominent hill, 5.5 miles (9 km) south west of Leyburn, in the Pennines, North Yorkshire, England. It forms a ridge that commands the southern side of Wensleydale and the northern side of Coverdale. Its concave shape was formed during the last ice age, when glaciers carved Wensleydale into a U-shape. The summit plateau has a trig point, small tarns on the peat moor, and, visible from the valley floor, a beacon at its eastern end, part of the large network built to warn of a Spanish invasion.

Like Pendle Hill, Penhill is a pleonastic name consisting of Brittonic (penn) and Old English (hyll) words for 'hill'. One local legend is that the hill was the home of the Penhill Giant, who would steal sheep from the local flocks.

Access and visibility

Penhill is accessed by public footpaths from the village of West Witton, by a bridleway from a minor road between West Witton and Melmerby, or over open access land from the south.

Although Penhill is not a very high hill, its position near the mouth of Wensleydale makes it visible from a considerable distance – from the North York Moors across the Vale of York, as well as from many points in the dale.

Penhill Giant

The Penhill Giant is a character found in English folklore and legends. The giant is said to have lived in a fortress on Penhill. There are general legends and tales about the character which claim that he ate flocks of sheep and terrorised maidens in the local area. He is said to have roamed the hills with a hound called Wolfhead and a herd of pigs.

Ian Taylor wrote a book, The Giant of Penhill, in which he claimed that the legends about the giant could have had some basis in fact, and that the giant may be a lost terrestrial figure. Taylor also linked ley lines to Penhill.

References

  1. ↑ "History of Penhill, in Richmondshire and North Riding | Map and description". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
  2. ↑ Reid, Mark (4 May 2017). "West Witton and Penhill" (PDF). The Northern Echo. p. 35. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
  3. ↑ Watts, Victor, ed. (2010). "Penhill". The Cambridge Dictionary of English Place-Names. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-16855-7.
  4. ↑ Dooks, Brian (24 August 2006). "Trail brings village tradition to life". The Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  5. ↑ Rosalind Kerven, English Fairy Tales and Legends, 2009, p. 153
  6. ↑ "Northern traditions".
  7. ↑ Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, Family Activity – Giant of Penhill: Fabric badges, accessed on 17 July 2026
  8. ↑ Ian Taylor, The Giant of Penhill, Publisher Northern Lights, 1987
  9. ↑ "Northern Earth - Adventures In The Landscape". Archived from the original on 23 July 2011.

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