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Regions - Trip reports, destination advice, recommended routes, etc. => Yorkshire Dales & Moors => Topic started by: richardh1905 on 18:07:24, 05/03/20

Title: TR - Howgills from Sedbergh
Post by: richardh1905 on 18:07:24, 05/03/20
Winder, Arant Haw, Calders, The Calf - 04/03/2020

We took advantage of some good weather this week to go for a walk in the Howgills, only a 45 minute drive to our starting point in Sedbergh. Plenty of free parking on the side road near the cemetery on the west side of town.

(https://i.ibb.co/2YKBPvN/00-Map.png)

We cut up onto the hill using a useful short path that runs beside the Spar shop, and a permissive path to Lockbank Farm, after which we were on open land. A track zig-zags pleasingly up onto the slopes of Winder (473m), views of the town unfolding behind us in the morning sunlight. We followed this track, which climbs across the face of the hill, before taking a more direct route up steep grassy slopes to the summit. The sun was warm, and I realised that I was rather over-dressed in my fibre pile salopettes - I soon got a sweat on!

(https://i.ibb.co/tJymvKn/01a-Sedbergh.jpg)
Sedbergh

Winder is a modest hill, but the summit is an excellent viewpoint.  Sunlit Wild Boar Fell and Swarth Fell looked particularly fine to the east, and we could see into the Yorkshire Dales to the south east. The view west towards the Lake District was spoilt by haze and clouds on the fell tops, though - we had made a good decision in heading east. Arant Haw (605m) dominated the view to the NE, our next port of call.

(https://i.ibb.co/SnmwYf8/02a-Winder-Summit.jpg)
Winder summit - Arant Haw to the left, Wild Boar Fell and Swarth Fell in the distance

(https://i.ibb.co/Q9dtQr5/03a-Arant-Haw.jpg)
Arant Haw ahead, Fell Head to the left

The walk along the broad grassy ridge was very pleasant, warm sunshine and skylarks - and a buzzard. It was a bit of a slog up to the summit of Arant Haw, but nothing too demanding. Once again, the views were magnificent, but we could see cloudier weather creeping in from the SW.

(https://i.ibb.co/XW3wk8J/04a-South-From-Arant-Haw.jpg)
South from Arant Haw. Calf Top in the distance, Winder in the foreground to the right.

(https://i.ibb.co/hcWV1XV/05a-Calders.jpg)
Calders ahead, Bram Rigg Top and The Calf to the left.

There was some snow on the northern slopes that Tess, our spaniel, delighted in rolling in - I was so hot that I decided to join her!

(https://i.ibb.co/42vgbq9/06a-Enjoying-The-Snow.jpg)

We walked northwards towards Calders, the ground to the west dropping away steeply to a lovely isolated valley.

(https://i.ibb.co/hHvvH50/07a-Interlocking-Spurs.jpg)
Looking west, Fell Top to the right.

More snow as we climbed the zig-zag path to the top of Calders (674m), where we stopped for lunch, a brief stop as the sun had faded and a cool breeze had sprung up.

(https://i.ibb.co/BBms6LT/08a-South-From-Calders.jpg)
The view southwards towards Arant Haw from Calders

(https://i.ibb.co/28MQcd6/09a-North-From-Calders.jpg)
North towards The Calf

(https://i.ibb.co/MnLFLQp/10a-Feral-Ponies.jpg)
Tough feral ponies

(https://i.ibb.co/fNgBsMh/11a-The-Calf-Trig-Point.jpg)
The Calf trig point, looking north

After an easy walk across the moors to The Calf (676m), the path skirting Bram Rigg Top, we doubled back and took a path that traversed the steep northern slopes of Bram Rigg Top - so steep in fact that we took great care on the snow covered path. We descended the west ridge down to Bram Rigg Beck, which was troublesome to cross. The valley above looked very enticing, and is probably rarely visited. The weather was starting to improve again, a watery sun making an appearance. The views back up to the fells were lovely; bracken covered rounded hills.

(https://i.ibb.co/mNTsK4P/12a-The-Way-Down.jpg)
The way down - we descended the ridge to the left

(https://i.ibb.co/ZMrH3PT/13a-Bram-Rigg-Beck.jpg)
Bram Rigg Beck, with Bram Rigg Top and Calders beyond

(https://i.ibb.co/gm846mG/14a-Bram-Rigg-Top.jpg)
White Fell Head, The Calf, Bram Rigg Head and Calders above bracken covered slopes. We descended the ridge.

(https://i.ibb.co/Bs2540h/15a-Fell-Head.jpg)
Fell Head to the north


The track, now a decent farm track, traversed around the shoulder of a ridge, before dropping down through farmland to meet the minor road that runs down the eastern side of the Lune Valley. This took us back to Sedbergh, primroses and daffodils, newly laid hedges, and some new born lambs.

10 miles total, an excellent short day out on hills that have a special feel to them - the Howgills really are quite unique.

Route on Viewranger HERE (https://my.viewranger.com/route/details/Mjg5MzgxNA==)
Title: Re: TR - Howgills from Sedbergh
Post by: April on 05:23:03, 06/03/20
Fab pics and report Richard  O0

I'm still chuckling at you rolling in the snow  :)

I have never been to the Howgills. It is on our list for this year now  :)
Title: Re: TR - Howgills from Sedbergh
Post by: vghikers on 10:25:56, 06/03/20
A great day there, even blue sky and a bit of snow  O0

Quote
the Howgills really are quite unique.

Yes, unique as a gruelling test for leg muscles in our experience!. We found the relentless grassy ups and downs far more tiring than anything in the rocky mountains.
Title: Re: TR - Howgills from Sedbergh
Post by: karl h on 12:52:57, 06/03/20
Lovely pics once again Richard O0
But please can we have no more pictures of you rolling around.  Remember the fells are for miserable grind and exertion not the place for having fun ;D
Title: Re: TR - Howgills from Sedbergh
Post by: ninthace on 13:23:11, 06/03/20
Fab pics and report Richard  O0

I'm still chuckling at you rolling in the snow  :)

I have never been to the Howgills. It is on our list for this year now  :)
I you are looking for a wild camping location try the Bowderdale valley, an absolutely unspoiled valley - not even a stone wall in sight.  You can easily tie it in with a trip to the Calf and then carry on along the ridges to drop down to Tebay
Title: Re: TR - Howgills from Sedbergh
Post by: richardh1905 on 13:57:25, 06/03/20
Fab pics and report Richard  O0

I'm still chuckling at you rolling in the snow  :)

I have never been to the Howgills. It is on our list for this year now  :)

Thanks April. I'm surprised that you haven't been to the Howgills - they are lovely hills sitting on the border between the craggy Lakeland Fells and the limestone country of the Yorkshire Dales, yet with a unique feel to them. A look at the OS map reveals how corrugated, steep and complex they are. You will not be disappointed.

Ninthace's suggestion of a Bowderdale wild camp looks like a good one, although I haven't been there myself, and Langdale to the west looks even more remote. The Bram Rigg Beck valley that I mentioned is also very appealing, although no guarantees of a decent pitch higher up the valley!

… and at 58, I'm still not too old to play the fool! Some would say that it comes naturally......
Title: Re: TR - Howgills from Sedbergh
Post by: ninthace on 14:35:25, 06/03/20
One of the things that makes the Howgills fun is for a lot of the time you are walking on whale-backs which can make the navigation interesting.  You can see the hills across the valleys but very little of the hill you are on.  There are also quite a lot of faint shepherd tracks that are not on the map.  This can make route finding challenging once you get away from the honeypot areas of the Sedbergh and Cautley Spout routes up to the Calf.
If anyone likes a steep climb, try Yarlside from almost any direction but especially from the east or west.
Title: Re: TR - Howgills from Sedbergh
Post by: Ridge on 15:52:54, 06/03/20
Great pics but I don't want to be thinking about you in sweaty salopettes when I've just had my lunch thanks.
Title: Re: TR - Howgills from Sedbergh
Post by: richardh1905 on 15:57:02, 06/03/20
A great day there, even blue sky and a bit of snow  O0

Yes, unique as a gruelling test for leg muscles in our experience!. We found the relentless grassy ups and downs far more tiring than anything in the rocky mountains.

Yes, unrelentingly steep in places. But living in Grange-over-Sands is good training for the leg muscles!

The snowy traverse across the north face of Bram Rigg Top was 'interesting', to say the least - the ground is particularly steep there, and it is a convex slope.

Title: Re: TR - Howgills from Sedbergh
Post by: richardh1905 on 15:58:05, 06/03/20
Lovely pics once again Richard O0
But please can we have no more pictures of you rolling around.  Remember the fells are for miserable grind and exertion not the place for having fun ;D

Thanks Karl - sorry for just enjoying the hills - not the done thing in these days of peak bagging and speed records, I know ;)
Title: Re: TR - Howgills from Sedbergh
Post by: richardh1905 on 15:59:30, 06/03/20
One of the things that makes the Howgills fun is for a lot of the time you are walking on whale-backs which can make the navigation interesting.  You can see the hills across the valleys but very little of the hill you are on.  There are also quite a lot of faint shepherd tracks that are not on the map.  This can make route finding challenging once you get away from the honeypot areas of the Sedbergh and Cautley Spout routes up to the Calf.
If anyone likes a steep climb, try Yarlside from almost any direction but especially from the east or west.

Yes, they are an unusually complex group of hills. I will try the northern approaches next time around - it will be new territory for me.
Title: Re: TR - Howgills from Sedbergh
Post by: richardh1905 on 16:00:13, 06/03/20
Great pics but I don't want to be thinking about you in sweaty salopettes when I've just had my lunch thanks.

Thanks Ridge - too much detail, I know.
Title: Re: TR - Howgills from Sedbergh
Post by: richardh1905 on 14:16:09, 09/03/20
Langdale in the northern Howgills looks like an incredible place for a wild camp.


https://www.bing.com/maps?osid=b4530bf0-b310-4e80-8284-2a61cf9dadfb&cp=54.405979~-2.516341&lvl=17&style=h&v=2&sV=2&form=S00027


Looking at bus times to Tebay.....
Title: Re: TR - Howgills from Sedbergh
Post by: April on 17:17:55, 09/03/20
I'm surprised that you haven't been to the Howgills

I don't think there is any public transport getting there?

Now we have a car we can get there very easily  O0
Title: Re: TR - Howgills from Sedbergh
Post by: ninthace on 17:22:17, 09/03/20
I don't think there is any public transport getting there?

Now we have a car we can get there very easily  O0
Train to Kirkby Stephen, bus to Tebay, get off en route.  Now you have a car, much easier.  If you look at my routes into the Howgills fom the N, they all start at parking spots.
Title: Re: TR - Howgills from Sedbergh
Post by: richardh1905 on 18:31:21, 09/03/20
There's an obvious route onto the hills directly from Tebay too.
Title: Re: TR - Howgills from Sedbergh
Post by: Islandplodder on 19:35:18, 09/03/20
Nice photos, which really show one of the best things about the Howgills - you nearly always have them to yourselves.  Though I do remember being mugged for my sandwiches by one of the local sheep once!
Title: Re: TR - Howgills from Sedbergh
Post by: richardh1905 on 19:42:19, 09/03/20
Thanks Islandplodder - the sheep kept a respectable distance as we has our dog with us!
Title: Re: TR - Howgills from Sedbergh
Post by: andybr on 10:02:21, 10/03/20
There's an obvious route onto the hills directly from Tebay too.


And, as an added bonus, the views of the Howgills from the M6 approaching the Tebay turn off from the south are absolutely stunning.
Title: Re: TR - Howgills from Sedbergh
Post by: richardh1905 on 08:56:51, 13/03/20
Really tempted by a wild camp in the northern Howgills -  Langdale or Bowderdale - been looking at the map in detail.


Anyone any experience of wild camping in the Howgills - attitude of farmers in particular. Not that they would be likely to disturb me in Langdale!
Title: Re: TR - Howgills from Sedbergh
Post by: vghikers on 09:29:05, 13/03/20
Quote
Anyone any experience of wild camping in the Howgills - attitude of farmers in particular.

We've never seen a farmer anywhere on our Howgills trips, we have a couple of short backpacks in the area. The hills are generally excellent for pitching though, nice and grassy but with no craggy bits or walls to give shelter if it's windy.
Title: Re: TR - Howgills from Sedbergh
Post by: ninthace on 10:00:14, 13/03/20
I have never met a soul on any of the northern ridges or in the valleys.  There is some evidence of quad bike tracks but it looks to just be shepherds so any traffic would be infrequent and daytime.  I have never walked in Langdale but Bowderdale is an unspoiled area, not even a stone wall and there are flat areas near the beck.
Title: Re: TR - Howgills from Sedbergh
Post by: Mel on 12:30:29, 13/03/20
Nice write up and pics Richard  O0


I'll be staying in Dent this summer and am looking forward to exploring some of the less popular fells.


Cheers for posting.




Title: Re: TR - Howgills from Sedbergh
Post by: ninthace on 12:46:52, 13/03/20
Nice write up and pics Richard  O0


I'll be staying in Dent this summer and am looking forward to exploring some of the less popular fells.


Cheers for posting.
Here's one for you Mel, https://my.viewranger.com/route/details/MjY3NTg3MA==?ref=54.27834603776458|-2.416738499999993|13
Also available on the OS app under 140820 Aye Gill Pike
Title: Re: TR - Howgills from Sedbergh
Post by: richardh1905 on 19:27:25, 13/03/20

Thanks Mel. The Howgills are unique - well worth a visit.

Dentdale is lovely - stayed at the excellent Sportsman's Inn at the head of the valley a few times - many years ago, I might add!
Title: Re: TR - Howgills from Sedbergh
Post by: sunnydale on 21:03:46, 13/03/20
Excellent report/photos Richard O0
Title: Re: TR - Howgills from Sedbergh
Post by: richardh1905 on 07:28:20, 14/03/20
Thanks Tracey :)