Simon's Seat is a peak in the Yorkshire Dales in northern England. It is a prominent outcrop of millstone grit on the eastern side of Wharfedale. Although only 485 metres (1,591 ft) high, the extensive views from the summit make it a popular destination for walkers.
| Simon's Seat | |
|---|---|
 Simon's Seat from Skyreholme | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 485 m (1,591 ft) |
| Prominence | 102 m (335 ft) |
| Parent peak | Great Whernside |
| Listing | HuMP |
| Coordinates | 54°02′04″N 1°52′49″W / 54.0345°N 1.8803°W |
| Geography | |
  Simon's Seat Yorkshire Dales, England | |
| OS grid | SE079598 |
| Topo map | OS Explorer OL2 |
Simon's Seat is on private land of the Bolton Abbey Estate. There are no public footpaths to the summit, but the summit is on access land. It is usually reached by a permissive route which leads north from Bolton Abbey across the River Wharfe up the Valley of Desolation.[1] The route leads across Barden Fell, which is a grouse moor, sometimes closed to the public during the shooting season.[2] The summit can also be reached by shorter but steeper paths from Howgill or Skyreholme, one mile north of the summit.[3]
Name
editThere are several explanations of the origin of the name. It was first recorded in 1771, and may have been named after an owner of the estate in a similar way to the nearby crags named Lord's Seat and Earl Seat.[4] A traveller in 1838 recorded a local tale that the crag was named after an infant found there by a shepherd, who named the child Simon.[5] The 19th-century antiquarian Henry Speight thought that it was a high place of Druidic worship, named after the legendary Simon Druid or Simon Magus.[5]
References
edit- ^ "Simon's Seat". Yorkshire Dales National Park. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
- ^ "Valley of Desolation & Simon's Seat". Bolton Abbey Estate. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
- ^ "Simon's Seat from Howgill". My Yorkshire Dales. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
- ^ Smith, A. H. (1961). The Place-names of the West Riding of Yorkshire. Vol. 6. Cambridge University Press. p. 62.
- ^ a b "Simon's Seat, Skyreholme, North Yorkshire". The Northern Antiquarian. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
External links
edit
Media related to Simon's Seat at Wikimedia Commons