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I have long neglected the Howgills, prefering to head past to the Lakes or opting for a walk in the Yorkshire dales instead. Today however I rectified that situation by doing a walk that ranks amongst the best I've done outside the Lakes.
I'll start by saying that the weather was excellent throughout with the sunshine for most of the day.
I parked up at the Cross Keys inn at Cautley and walked the level mile to the base of Englands highest series of waterfalls with the impressive Cautley Crags to my left and the steep slopes of Yarlside's Southern slopes to my right. It is here that the hardest part of the walk begins. It is a steep 700 ft climb up the path which closely follows the waterfall to where the stream levels out above Swere Gill. From here you can take your pick as to which way to go to get to the summit of the calf with many following Red Beck gill to Calders before heading North to The Calf. The best option in my opinion is to follow the path along the top of the crag, with fantastic views to the valley below the Spout, until reaching Great Dummacks. From here it is a level walk west for half a mile to the summit of Calders and my first Hewitt of the day. In perfect conditions the views would be far reaching but the haze stopped me seeing Morecambe Bay and the Lakeland Fells. In fact anything more than around 20 miles away was either a silhouette or non existant but hey, let's not get picky!!!
From Calders (2211ft) to the Calf the path is excellent it being almost wide and even enough for a car to use and in next to no time I was on the summit of The Calf at 2,218 ft. The summit commands an extensive panorama, although foreground detail is obscured by the extreme flatness of the plateau. A twenty-mile skyline of the Lakeland peaks can be seen, as well as the Yorkshire Three Peaks and many of the nearer Howgill Fells.
It is also from here that you get to appreciate the complexity of the Howgills. In a relatively small area there are many ridges, hidden valleys and summits to be explored.
Having stuffed myself with country slices I headed off the summit to the North East on the path which eventually leads into Bowderdale. As I wanted to include Yarlside In the day I made a beeline down the steep but easy slope to Bowderdale Head before an equally steep 600ft re-ascent to the ridge path which took me to the unassuming summit of Yarlside at 2096ft. That was the hat trick of Hewitts for the day. On a warm sunny day there's I've always had a reluctance to leave the last summit of a walk. It marks the beginning of the end of the challenges Ive set and every step is a step back to the realities of everyday life, often forgotten about when wandering the hills. After a final look round at the route I'd taken I made the steep descent North to the saddle seperating Yarlside and Kensgriff. Others might disagree with me but I found Kensgriff to resemble Great Gable's Wasdale face in a way, It even had it's own set of crags below the summit. The path back to Cautley followed what I term as a "mid level traverse" under the Eastern slopes of Yarlside in a beautifully secluded valley through which the interestly named Backside Beck flowed, 600ft below me. This is a lovely mile of level walking and I stopped several times along the way just to sit there and take in how quiet it was. Perfect silence, even the sheep were quiet. Having just experienced walking heaven I was now overlooking Cautley and the valley leading up to the Crag and spout so I took ten minutes out to savour the view before dropping down to the path and the car.
Those wanting to reflect on their day over a pint will be out of luck as the Cross Keys is a Temperence Inn so no alcohol is served but you can get a cuppa and a meal. Those who wish for something stronger must head for Sedburgh or the Fat Lamb which is 6 miles up the road toward Kirkby Stephen. As it's easier to get your foot out of a giant clam than get me to pay over the odds for a cup of coffee I just waited til I got home before downing several coffees in quick succession.
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- Cautley Spout, lower fall
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- Cautley Spout, upper falls
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- Cautley Crag
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- Bowderdale
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- Cautley Crag from Bowderdale Head. If Cautley crag's Western slopes were as steep as it's other faces it would be regarded as one of the finest hills in England. In reality it is merely the abrupt end to the flat upland area of Great Dummacks which, despite it's height, cannot claim to be a Hewitt that accolade belongs to Calders a level half mile to the West.
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- Kengriff
