free to be able to rate and comment on reports (as well as access 1:25000 mapping).
We parked the car at the picnic area at Bowlees, hoping it was a reasonably safe spot. A couple getting out of another car commented that we’d need plenty of sun screen, which we had already put on.
The route crosses a footbridge over the Bow Lee Beck and ascends a few steps and a short way along a rough track before dropping down alongside the Bowlees Visitor Centre (an old Methodist Chapel) and entering the hamlet of Bowlees.
The footbridge leading out of Bowlees car parkLower down, at the main road, there’s a gate on the opposite side and a few yards to the right and once through here there’s a good gravel track all the way down to the river Tees. The woods between the fields and the river had a strong aroma from the carpets of wild Garlic growing under the trees. There’s a narrow suspension bridge across the river, leading to the Pennine Way, but before crossing, it’s worthwhile detouring 50m or so upstream to get your first good view of Low Force.
Low Force waterfall from the North bank of the river Tees.Further excellent views can be had from the bridge, particularly from the South side of the bridge where the route joins the Pennine way.
Low Force from the South side of the footbridgeLow Force from the Pennine WayTurn right here and you stay on the well way marked Pennine Way all the way to Cauldron Snout.
Between Low Force and High Force (about 1.5 miles further on), the path closely follows the river most of the way, with many good views of the Tees and grassy banks to sit and picnic on. We found a nice grassy area with an excellent view of a very blue looking Tees and had a quick snack.
The river Tees above Low ForceThe couple from the car park passed by and said they hoped we had a nice walk…we never saw them again on our walk. The path itself was good, hard and gravelled, but I would imagine it could be wet during rainy spells.
A small waterfall between Low Force and High ForceThere were lots of wild pansy’s growing in places and the meadows near the path had Peewits performing aerobatics above.
Wild Pansies - these really are very tiny in comparison with the garden varieties One pair of Peewits seemed very agitated and gave us a bit of close attention, so we looked closely from where we stood, and spotted some chicks next to one of the adults, only 20 or 30m from the path.
Peewit with chicksA mile or so West of Low Force, another footbridge crosses the river and shortly after that the path climbs, passing through various gates and winding through prickly Juniper bushes to reach the area next to High Force, which can be seen from a viewpoint only 20m from the path.
High Force from close to the Pennine WayI should point out that this walk is an exercise in dealing with lots of gates and stiles of all types and by the end of the day, each set of steps seemed like a mountain.
Oddly enough, there were no other people to be seen at High Force, on either side of the river, above or below the falls. I’ve been there when you couldn’t take a photo without getting people in the frame.
Looking upstream from near the top of High ForceAbout half a mile past High Force, we could hear and then see the enormously noisy and ugly stone quarry on the North side of the Tees…notices warn you not to proceed when certain sirens go off, in case of flying debris while blasting. The route though is now a grassy track across stony meadows, with plenty of rabbits running in all directions. Opposite the quarry is a lovely little waterfall, Bleabeck Force, which falls from the fells to the South.
Bleabeck Force Before the quarry is out of sight (and sound), the route passes over some footbridges and enters an area of enclosures protecting juniper bushes and rises up and away from the river, winding in and out of the enclosures, to reach a hill top with a great view Northwards to the Tees far below.
Upper TeesdaleAfter another short descent and re-ascent the path follows a wall downhill a short way, before seeming to turn left and we nearly didn’t spot the narrow gated stile on our right which takes the Pennine Way through. It should have been obvious because the stone slabs we followed downhill stopped there. One through the wall, the way follows a very rough and stony way down past some crags, to a place at the bottom of the hill where there are a maze of walls, fences and gates, all in one place.
Maze We followed a fairly obvious route to and around Cronkley Farm, where small children played on small electric tractors in the farmyard.
Following the farm road downhill and through hayfields, we crossed the Tees and followed the way marked path upstream, along the river bank. A man was fishing in the middle of the river and I asked if he had been successful. He had caught four 10 inch trout and was enjoying his day in the sunshine. As he said, there’s no political or banking crises in the middle of the Tees.
We stopped nearby for lunch and watched the river, with flycatchers dashing around and trout rising.
Lunch stop view Going onwards, we came across a very odd gate, with a sign to say that it had to be kept shut ….. but there was no fence on one side.
Keep the gate shut...why??Half a mile further on, over yet another stile, we crossed another farm bridge and weren’t too sure which path to take, but followed the one up to Sayer Hill farm and found the Pennine Way marked from there. The way was barely visible as it followed a field edge alongside a fence on which hung the remains of dozens of moles. It’s not a nice thing to see for some folk, but it shows the local mole catcher is good at his work.
The way crosses another nature reserve as it heads towards Widdybank Farm. This stretch is covered in wild wetland flowers and we were treated to the sound of many Curlews and Oystercatchers as well as being dive-bombed twice by Peewits. There are some very wet areas here, crossed by some fairly dilapidated wooden decking. As we neared the Tees again we saw a Ring Ouzel.
Once past Widdybank Farm, the way follows a track as far as a building opposite Raven Scar, from where it becomes a grassy path following the river again. The track is mostly good, with the odd boggy patch crossed by wooden decking, but there are two places where it is enveloped by boulders, fallen from the crags and hillsides above. It’s real ankle-breaking stuff if you’re not careful and it took us a wee while to get across both sections.
Tread carefully I saw a raptor of some kind land and take off again from a ledge on the cliffs….I’m not sure what it was, other than the underside was very light brown and it had narrow pointed wings.
A dead and very smelly sheep lying in a hollow next to the duckboards, was something to get past as quickly as possible. In this area, many of the stone slabs laid to walk on, have sunk below mud level and it’s easier to walk on the adjacent ground in dry weather.
Nearing Cauldron SnoutAn island in the river, covered in bushes (mostly Yew) shows how the land would look if there were no sheep to keep the hillsides cropped.
After what seemed like an eternity, we rounded a corner and got our first view of Cauldron Snout, very impressive and noisy, with a fair bit of fine spray making it difficult to get a photo close up.
Cauldron SnoutWe lingered for a while to eat and take in the atmosphere and I set off up the rocky path to look at the upper falls, but chickened out as I felt very aware of the big drop on my left. I’ve scrambled along many narrow ridges quite happily, but there are times when my eyes and brain don’t connect well with this and today was one of those days.
The upper falls taken from belowWell, it was 3.30pm by now and we had over 8 miles to go back to the car, so we walked back the same route. The same views with the sun in a different direction certainly changes things. There were many times more rabbits around on the way back and opposite the quarry, we saw a black one and various brown and white ones, as well as the hundreds of normal brown ones. Nice to watch, but a pest to landowners.
We arrived back at the car at 7.50pm, a walk of over 10 hours. The car was still intact and there were a couple of motor homes parked up for the night.