High Cup Nick

High Cup Nick is one of England’s most dramatic glacial valleys, a deep gap in the Pennine edge that opens onto a huge U-shaped bowl of tall pillars. A classic ridge walk from the beautiful village of Dufton, walking High Cup Nick gives walkers wide, raw views that are a world away from your standard hiking scenery. Walking High Cup Nick, not only delivers the best of the Pennines, but on a clear day also offers views of the Lake District Fells and even as far as Scotland.

High Cup Nick is a textbook example of a glacially sculpted U-shaped valley. The area of High Cup Nick will be of keen interest to those interested in the history and geology of the area. I am no expert but my mind is literally blown by the idea that the pillars seen in the above picture are formed from Magma that has pushed its way to the surface.

It is also important to understand that across this area of the Pennines Shake Holes are prominent. These deep features caused by the collapse of land can be hidden and therefore my advice would be to stick to the well-defined path.

High Cup Nick Route

The route I am sharing here is an easy route that I took in my Youtube video. This route is an Up and Back route that has a well defined path. I recommend starting this route by parking further out of the village at the start of the walk, as this cuts off the beginning section of road from the village. For me, that first section is fairly dull so if you can cut if off its better.