Great Shunner Fell

A 9.2-mile / 15-km out-and-back from Hardraw to the 716 m / 2,349 ft summit of Great Shunner Fell, the third-highest top in the Dales, following the Pennine Way up and then retracing the same line back down. Allow about 5 to 5.7 hours at a walking pace with pauses. Total ascent is roughly 455 to 459 m, spread over a long, easy-angled gradient rather than anything steep or technical. We rate it 6/10: navigation is simple, but the distance, climb and open moorland make it a full day on the hill.

• Leave Hardraw on the signed Pennine Way, passing between stone walls on a clear track.
• Climb steadily across open moorland, through a short wall-lined stretch, then onto a steeper upper gradient.
• Flagged path carries you over the final broad shoulder to the summit.
• Return by the same corridor, which gives a long, gentle descent with Wensleydale ahead of you.

The top is a wide, stony plateau with a cross-shaped summit shelter where you can get out of the wind to eat. On a clear day the view opens out to the North Pennines, the Lake District fells and much of the Yorkshire Dales, including the Three Peaks. The moor near the summit was worked for coal until the 1880s, and the ground still carries traces of that industry.

Expect a good, well-marked path for most of the way, with flagstones on the upper section and wet, peaty or rough ground in places elsewhere. Boots with ankle support and waterproof footwear are the sensible choice. The hill is exposed and remote once you leave the walls behind, with few facilities beyond Hardraw, so carry your own food, water and windproof layers.

The Pennine Way is clearly marked, but the broad summit dome gives little in the way of landmarks, so take a map and compass, know how to use them, and take extra care in poor visibility. Because the route out and back is the same, turning around early is always a straightforward option if conditions or energy do not favour the top.

• Limited roadside parking at the west end of Hardraw, grid reference SD865912, near the Pennine Way sign. There is no dedicated trail car park.
• Use only legal, marked spaces and do not block the village road.
• This is a public Pennine Way route across open moorland with public rights of way.

Dogs are welcome on this public route, but they must be kept under close control, and a lead is sensible and required where the land manager's guidance applies, particularly around livestock and ground-nesting birds on the open fell.

Great Shunner Fell can also be climbed from Swaledale, and stronger walkers sometimes extend the day toward Lovely Seat, but those are longer, separate outings and are not part of this Hardraw out-and-back.