Fell Head, Simon’s Seat, Uldale Head31st March 2021Lockdown is easing and we are free to travel at last! To celebrate, I arranged to meet with a friend, K, whom I hadn’t seen for a year, and go for a wander in the Northern Howgills.
After coaxing my son’s elderly car into life, I headed up the M6 to Tebay, before doubling back down the Fairmile Road to our appointed meeting place just south of the Carlingill Bridge. Weather gorgeous, if a little hazy. I arrived just after 0900, a few minutes before K.
Our plans were delightfully vague, just head up into the hills and see where our feet took us. The relatively easy north western slopes of Linghaw allowed us to gain height without too much pain, a good opportunity to chat and catch up. The ridge provides a good view into the depths of Carlin Gill, and the views unfolding behind us weren’t bad either, despite the haze. Less welcome were a series of lines carved into the steepest part of the climb – someone has been up here with a scrambler, and has been ripping the ground to shreds.
Looking back towards the Tebay Gorge from the climb up Linghaw. Blease Fell is the steep hill to the right.At the top of Linghaw, we pondered our way forward. I didn’t fancy the path that traverses steep ground above Black Force, as I had the dog with me, and the plod up to Fell Head looked unappealing. Instead we took a track that traversed above the Black Force path, but doubled back up Fell Head when the track petered out. A short climb took us to the top, where we met our one and only fellow walker of the day.
The view down towards Carlin Gill. The view to the North East. Simon's Seat is the prominent hill far right.After a brief detour to peep down into the depths of the Long Rigg Beck valley, we continued easily along the flat top of Fell Head, the sound of the many skylarks at last replacing that of the M6. Decision time again – to continue on to The Calf, or head off into the complex tangle of lesser hills and steep sided valleys to the north. The lure of the unknown proved strongest, so we headed northwards along broad grassy ridge towards Simon’s Seat, an infrequently used quad bike track and gentle gradient making for an easy descent.
The view east from our descent ridge. Randygill Top and Yarlside are the two prominent rounded hills, Coble in the foregroundDescending northwards towards Simon’s Seat, the Northern Pennines lost in the haze.The climb up Simon’s Seat was short and sharp, and I suddenly ran out of steam. K had had the sense to have a snack on the way up Linghaw, but I had not bothered; now it felt as though someone had just turned off a tap. No matter – the skylarks were singing and the south facing grassy slope was an excellent place for a stop, and we really soaked up the atmosphere of these special hills.
Looking south over Coble towards The Calf, from Simon’s Seat. The tangle of steep sided valleys are traps for the careless navigator.After our pit stop, we made short work of the remaining climb and soon reached the summit. The cairn was tiny, but even so, I wondered where the stones had come from amongst the expanse of grass.
The view west from the top of Simon’s Seat.We now had to decide what to do with the rest of the day. The remote Langdale valley, a place that I feel drawn to, was just to the east, temptingly close, but down a steep slope and going that way would commit us to a lot of re-ascent and a long walk back. It was only 11:45 but we could see that we had some difficult ground to negotiate, so we prudently but reluctantly decided to start making our way back.
Two valleys separated us from Illgill Head, from where we could descend down a zig zagging track to the Fairmile Road. We aimed for a low saddle in the ridge on the other side of Churn Gill, and headed off across country before angling down towards the beck. We were now getting the full Howgills experience, cutting down a steep trackless hillside to a remote valley, the only sign of man being an old sheepfold squeezed into the narrow valley bottom – no tracks, fences or walls at all.
Churn Gill really felt like the middle of nowhere.Tess, our English Springer Spaniel, helped me on the climbsWe crossed the stream and climbed the steep slopes on the far side, a rising traverse across the grassy hillside. Tess had been pretty well behaved on the walk, giving me a helpful pull on the climbs, and coming to heel when required, but she rather blotted her copybook when she ate the decaying horns off an old sheep’s skull that she found.
Crossing the saddle, we descended towards Blakethwaite Bottom, an unusually large area of flat land between Uldale and Carlin Gill. Ahead of us lay a steep haul up onto Uldale Head. We stopped for lunch half way up, an opportunity to recharge the batteries and again soak up the atmosphere.
Blakethwaite Bottom, with Fell Head and the scar of Black Force beyondThe top of Uldale Head was pleasant, a broad undulating ridge with a track along it. There was a false summit, but the highest point, marked by a cairn even more insignificant than that on Simon’s Seat, was just a short stroll away. We then followed a track westwards for a while, but had to strike off down a shallow grassy slope when the track took a turn northwards. I wasn’t quite sure where we would strike the zig zags, but I knew that the path crossed the beck to the north, so we angled that way, spotting the path as the ground steepened.
Looking down the eastern arm of Weasel Gill towards Blease Fell, Tess waiting patientlyThe path followed the eastern branch of Weasel Gill for a while, before turning south and zig-zagging down the open slopes towards Carlin Gill. I really enjoyed this part of the walk, easy going, good company, beautiful views, and that feeling of achievement that you get towards the end of a good day on the hill.
Carlin Gill interrupted my reverie though – after all the recent rain, there was no way to cross dry shod. We could have stuck to the north bank and worked our way down to the bridge, but there was a good path on the far side and it was the end of the walk, so, sod it, in we went. Somehow it seemed a fitting finish to a memorable day crossing remote rough country.
Looking up Carlin Gill – a route for another dayWe got wet feet crossing Carlin Gill!Uldale Head from above the confluence of Carlin Gill and Weasel Gill