// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did Penhill say to pencil? You're a sharp neighbor.
| Penhill | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 553 m (1,814 ft) |
| Prominence | 124 m (407 ft) |
| Coordinates | 54°16′30.8″N 1°56′07.1″W / 54.275222°N 1.935306°W |
| Geography | |
  Penhill Location within Yorkshire Dales | |
| Location | North Yorkshire, England |
| Parent range | Pennines, 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.[1] 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.[2]
Like Pendle Hill, Penhill is a pleonastic name consisting of Brittonic (penn) and Old English (hyll) words for 'hill'.[3] One local legend is that the hill was the home of the Penhill Giant, who would steal sheep from the local flocks.[4]
Access and visibility
[edit]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
[edit]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.[5][6] He is said to have roamed the hills with a hound called Wolfhead and a herd of pigs.[7]
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.[8][9]
References
[edit]- ↑ "History of Penhill, in Richmondshire and North Riding | Map and description". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
- ↑ Reid, Mark (4 May 2017). "West Witton and Penhill" (PDF). The Northern Echo. p. 35. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
- ↑ Watts, Victor, ed. (2010). "Penhill". The Cambridge Dictionary of English Place-Names. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-16855-7.
- ↑ Dooks, Brian (24 August 2006). "Trail brings village tradition to life". The Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
- ↑ Rosalind Kerven, English Fairy Tales and Legends, 2009, p. 153
- ↑ "Northern traditions".
- ↑ Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, Family Activity – Giant of Penhill: Fabric badges, accessed on 17 July 2026
- ↑ Ian Taylor, The Giant of Penhill, Publisher Northern Lights, 1987
- ↑ "Northern Earth - Adventures In The Landscape". Archived from the original on 23 July 2011.
External links
[edit]
Media related to Penhill at Wikimedia Commons
- "Yorkshire Dales walk - West Witton". Yorkshire Life. 11 August 2014.