Penhill facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Penhill
Highest point
Elevation	553 m (1,814 ft)
Prominence	124 m (407 ft)
Geography
Penhill Location in Yorkshire Dales
Location	North Yorkshire, England
Parent range	Pennines, Yorkshire Dales

Penhill is a cool hill in North Yorkshire, England. It stands tall at 553 meters (about 1,814 feet) at its highest point. This makes it a noticeable landmark in the beautiful Yorkshire Dales. Penhill is located about 5.5 miles (8.9 km) southwest of Leyburn. It forms a long ridge that overlooks two valleys: Wensleydale to the north and Coverdale to the south.

Exploring Penhill: A Yorkshire Dales Landmark

Penhill is part of the Pennines mountain range. Even though it's not the highest hill, its position makes it easy to spot. You can see Penhill from far away, even from the North York Moors across the Vale of York. It's also visible from many places within the Wensleydale valley.

What Makes Penhill Special?

Penhill has a unique shape. It's like a big, curved bowl. This shape was created a long, long time ago during the last Ice Age. Huge sheets of ice, called glaciers, moved through the area. They slowly carved out the valleys, including Wensleydale, making them U-shaped.

Features at the Top

The top of Penhill is a flat area called a plateau. Here, you'll find a few interesting things:

• A trig point: This is a special pillar used by mapmakers to measure distances and heights. It's 526 meters (1,726 feet) high.
• Small tarns: These are tiny lakes or ponds found on the peaty moorland.
• A beacon: At the eastern end of the hill, you can see a beacon from the valley below. This beacon was part of a huge network built centuries ago. Its purpose was to light up and warn people if the Spanish were invading England.

How to Explore Penhill

You can reach Penhill by following different paths. These paths are open to the public:

• Footpaths: You can walk to Penhill from the village of West Witton.
• Bridleway: There's also a path for walkers and horse riders from a small road between West Witton and Melmerby.
• Open Access Land: You can also explore the hill from the south, as much of it is open access land. This means you can walk freely there.

The Story Behind the Name

The name "Penhill" is quite interesting! It's a "pleonastic" name. This means it uses words from different languages that mean the same thing.

• "Pen" comes from an old British language (called Common Brittonic) and means "hill."
• "Hill" comes from Old English and also means "hill."

So, "Penhill" basically means "Hill Hill"! Another famous example of this is Pendle Hill.

The Penhill Giant Legend

There's a local legend about Penhill. People used to say that a giant lived on the hill. This giant, known as the Penhill Giant, would sometimes steal sheep from the local farms. It's a fun story that adds to the mystery of the hill!