Author Topic: Advice Needed. Howgills on Sunday.  (Read 3763 times)

False_Summit_Veteran

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Advice Needed. Howgills on Sunday.
« on: 15:46:34, 11/01/08 »
Thinking about walking out up to The Calf on Sunday.  Looked at the general weather forecast on www.mwis.org.uk for the area, but I'm not a seasoned cold weather walker and was wondering how any of you would feel about being up there in the rain and the wind and the chill?  I'm giving myself three to four hours for the round trip from The Cross Keys Temperance Inn... Should I stay in or go for it?
Any Moel's a goal.

KIDSTYPIKE

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Re: Advice Needed. Howgills on Sunday.
« Reply #1 on: 18:51:26, 11/01/08 »
Thinking about walking out up to The Calf on Sunday.  Looked at the general weather forecast on www.mwis.org.uk for the area, but I'm not a seasoned cold weather walker and was wondering how any of you would feel about being up there in the rain and the wind and the chill?  I'm giving myself three to four hours for the round trip from The Cross Keys Temperance Inn... Should I stay in or go for it?
If your not sure and you doing it alone I'd be wary. The Howgills can be very confusing in mist. I would suggest that if you really want to do it the route from Sedbergh would be better but longer. Theres a couple of walks on my site that end at The Calf . Numbers 62 & 68. Feel free to take a look
Dave
http://www.wainwright-wanderings.co.uk/

mike knipe

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Re: Advice Needed. Howgills on Sunday.
« Reply #2 on: 20:35:41, 11/01/08 »
The Howgills can be notoriously difficult to navigate in clag and it could be fairly orrible up on The Calf in the rain (brrrrr).  --- but, if you walk up the steep path past Cautley Spout and keep following the beck past the fancy sheepfold, you'll hit a very good, clear path which runs from Sedbergh/Calders etc which, if you turn Right on will take you to the trig point in short order. To return to the beck with the sheepfold, either retrace your route (assuming its foggy) or walk on pretty much any bearing between East and North-East to get back to handrailing the beck.
If its clear(ish), there's a good bridleway heading NNE which goes to Bowderdale, but you turn E to hit the Bowderdale Head at Hare Shaw, which puts another reasonably good path underfoot to return to the Cross keys (they do fab sarsasparilla by the  way - have some, its a real treat)  Anyway, the longer option is only about six miles
If its not foggy, then your options open up quite a bit more - Great Dummacks, for instance The forecast for Sunday is dire, though, at the moment.
Pic of claggy trig point below. One of those eejits is me, and another is my dog!
« Last Edit: 21:18:46, 11/01/08 by mike knipe »
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mike knipe

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Re: Advice Needed. Howgills on Sunday.
« Reply #3 on: 21:26:05, 11/01/08 »
Found another pic taken the same day - titled - prophetically - this'll put you off (!) Taken Feb 2006, I think. Its just by The Cross Keys. You'd have to be daft to go for a walk in that stuff....heh heh...
 Why not go saturday....or next week?....Or  Ingleton waterfalls walk (could be spectacular on Sunday!!)

I'm staying in with the papers and a big fire going up the chimney..
« Last Edit: 21:29:04, 11/01/08 by mike knipe »
Some kind of happiness is measured out in miles

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False_Summit_Veteran

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Re: Advice Needed. Howgills on Sunday.
« Reply #4 on: 21:23:10, 13/01/08 »
Well I did it!  Saw a window of opportunity, or put plainly a gap in the clouds.  Trouble is it was a very early start, hit the walk in the dark, at just before 6am after driving for an hour and a half... wet weather stayed off right up until I was back down the approach path.  Wind was a bit hairy at times though, cloud cover was coming in around 600m so the last slog to the top was touching the clouds, met a couple of service men camped up at the trig point... when I say camped, I mean wrestling with their tent like it was a kite.  Wish I'd got a picture of them.  Back down the same route, just to see what the darkness had denied me earlier.  In the car with the last mug of tea by 10:30.  A great start to the day.





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mike knipe

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Re: Advice Needed. Howgills on Sunday.
« Reply #5 on: 10:33:47, 15/01/08 »
You snatched that one! 10 Points for determination eh?
Which way did you go?
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False_Summit_Veteran

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Re: Advice Needed. Howgills on Sunday.
« Reply #6 on: 19:21:08, 21/01/08 »
Up past the spout and straight over the top, missed the path completely at the top of the waterfall, found it and turned left, kept on walking until I hit the trig.  Couldn't see it at all until up close, visibility was below par.  Got the compass out on the way down, following an easterly, came down following the stream got below the cloud again and over the sheepfold.  Once there, it was a breeze, I could have rolled down the hill from there.
Any Moel's a goal.

 

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