Oven Mouth is that part of Whitsun Dale that opens into a shallow gorge, funnelling the Whitsundale Beck into an ess shape as it is compressed between folds of rock around Reynoldson Sike and the sheer cliff face of Oven Mouth, where Foul Sike finds passage to the Beck. Reynoldson Sike and Foul Sike each converge with Whitsundale Beck directly opposite to each other.

The Coast to Coast path traverses the top of Oven Mouth and Foul Sike. Wall and stone barriers warn of the perilous cliffs below.

Whitsundale Beck escapes Oven Mouth's gorge as it gushes through the narrowed channel around the nearside riverbank of Barney Brow and Lamb Paddock Scar, and finds itself racing directly towards the swishing waters of the River Swale.

Reynoldson Sike springs from the elevated hills on the west riverbank, close to Harker's House. It bites deeply into the soft ground creating a short but dramatic gulley to guide it to the Whitsundale Beck.

From the west bank of Whitsundale Beck the view across to Oven Mouth is impressive. The deep gulley created by Foul Sike is the mechanism that created Oven Mouth.