The Great Whin Sill, an igneous intrusion through the regular sedementary geological successions of the Pennines, creates some of their most impressive landforms. It was utilised by Hadrian as the natural foundation for his monumental frontier fortification; it created the spectacular waterfalls of High and Low Force and Cauldron Snout; and it is responsible for perhaps one of the most exciting landscapes in the Pennines at High Cup Nick.
The glaciated valley of High Cup bites deeply into the western scarp of the Pennines above Dufton, but what gives High Cup its unique character is the upstanding horseshoe-shaped frieze of dolerite crags, formed of the Whin Sill, which rims the canyon. High Cup Nick comes as a spectacular highlight on the Pennine Way, and a welcome relief to the weary Wayfarer plodding the long moorland miles from Cauldron Snout across Golden Mea and the soggy valley of Maize Beck. Suddenly the world is at your feet.
Our 10 mile route to High Cup Nick reverses the Pennine Way by starting from the pretty red sandstone village of Dufton, clustered around its green and watched over by conical Dufton Pike in the verdant Eden valley. Head out from Dufton past Dufton Hall as if to take the Pennine Way north, but go straight on where a bridleway sign indicates High Scald Fell. This narrow track leads steadily uphill past Pusgill House on the right, heading directly towards Dufton Pike, one of a line of conical slate hills beneath the Pennine scarp. The track contours right around the back of this shapely l,578ft hill, above the unpleasantly named Pus Gill and past some old pit workings on the left. At the back of Dufton Pike, the now stony track enters the steep defile of Great Rundale, between Bownber Hill on the left and Bluethwaite Hill on the right.
This valley has been scarred by industry in the past when it was the scene of much mining activity for lead and barytes. Various workings, levels and, on the opposite bank, distinctive 'hushes', where water was used to expose lead veins, are visible. Recently, there have been attempts to reactivate this industry, using this old track which has been extended higher up the hillside. However, the valley is silent again now, and a steep climb brings you out through a line of shakeholes in the limestone to the flat of High Scald Fell. Directly ahead (due east) is Great Rundale Tarn, a peaty pool overlooked by an old shelter hut. The tarn, one of several on this boggy plateau, does not, in fact, drain into Great Rundale but sends its waters east into Maize Beck and eventually into the North Sea via the Tees. Follow the outlet to the tarn and head downstream, keeping to the northern (left hand) bank for a boggy mile and a half. Eventually, you will emerge at the footbridge which crosses the northern end of Maizebeck Scar. You then pick up the well-worn track of the Pennine Way through the limestone outcrops of High Cup Plain. Within half a mile the stupendous chasm of High Cup Nick fairly explodes into view at your feet. Strictly speaking, the 'Nick' only refers to the apex of the re-entrant, where the tiny High Cupgill Beck flows down into the yawning gulf of High Cup, flanked on the left by High Cup Scar and on the right by Narrowgate Beacon. The colonnade of dolerite stands up like a collar around the rim, and the view down into the depths of the gill is truly breathtaking. In good weather the view extends across the Eden Valley to the blue, misty hills of Lakeland.
Our return route to Dufton follows the Pennine Way around the northern rim of High Cup by the Narrow Gate path. See if you can spot the isolated pinnacle of Nichol's Chair among the rocks along this side; it is supposed to have been named after a Dufton cobbler who not only climbed to its top, but soled a pair of boots while sitting there.
Hannah's Well, a clear spring on the rocky path beneath Narrowgate Beacon, is the next landmark, and the route leads easily down through outcrops of limestone and shakeholes around the disused Peeping Hill quarry. The walled track bends sharply left across Dod Hill and passes Bow Hall to re-enter Dufton at Town Head by Billysbeck Bridge, where you must turn right to return to the centre of this charming fellside village.