Simon's Seat

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
Elevation485 m (1,591 ft)
Prominence102 m (335 ft)
Parent peakGreat Whernside
ListingHuMP
Coordinates54°02′04″N 1°52′49″W 
Geography
Simon's Seat
OS gridSE079598
Topo mapOS 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

There 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
  1. "Simon's Seat". Yorkshire Dales National Park. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  2. "Valley of Desolation & Simon's Seat". Bolton Abbey Estate. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  3. "Simon's Seat from Howgill". My Yorkshire Dales. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  4. Smith, A.H. (1961). The Place-names of the West Riding of Yorkshire. 6. Cambridge University Press. p. 62.
  5. "Simon's Seat, Skyreholme, North Yorkshire". The Northern Antiquarian. Retrieved 18 October 2018.

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