Date walked: 17th September 2014

Distance: 11.2 miles

Map used: OS Explorer OL19 – Howgill Fells and the Upper Eden Valley

Guide book: A Dales High Way Companion by Tony and Chris Grogan

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I had stayed the night at The Dalesman Country Inn. I took no notes about breakfast so it must have been OK if unremarkable.  Bob was joining me around 10 so I had plenty of time to pack and pop out to get us some lunch.  In fact when he arrived he needed breakfast which was taken on the hoof in a roll.

It was perfect day for a strenuous walk across the Howgill Fells; sunny but not too warm.  At first we  followed the route of the High Dales Way, which takes a lane north out of Sedburgh but after a quarter-of-a-mile leaves it to climb steeply up the southernmost part of the fell towards a peak called Winder.

Bob sometimes favours the zig-zag approach to the steep bits

Our path headed right, climbing , still quite steeply, the flank of Arant Haw.  The peak ahead of us was  called Calders.

Conversationally we tried to tackle the Scottish Question (the vote on independence being the next day) and I did a pretty good job, I think , of explaining the significance of The Pound. In my view the rest of Britain had as much right to vote as the Scots.

As we neared Calders, a couple and their two dogs ran past us; I made a dodgy remark to the girl about her mates bum. Don’t ask. It was funny rather than leery.

We were already at around 2,000 feet and the views around us were stonking. This felt like a completely different world than I had been walking through for the last 5 days. The reason is simple. Geology.  The underlying rock is a metamorphic gritstone rather than limestone.

The paths you can see are not on the map

To our right the ridge of  Middle Tongue was in shadow, the water of Hobdale Beck, having cut deeply into the hillside, out of sight.

At Calders we saw a chap behind us coming up from the left.

The map doesn’t show a clear path in  that direction but he told us that there was a route down to what wikipedia says is the highest cascade in England above ground waterfall called Cautley Spout.

It was just over half-a-gently-ascending- mile from Calders to the trig point at The Calf (2,217 feet) where we asked a fellow walker to take a snap of us.

I rather like this pic

I’m not going to try and describe  the views around us  so, with apologies to the blind, here are several pics from around that spot.

We took the path east off  The Calf, silenced by the extraordinary views all around us.

The fell straight ahead carries The High Dales Way on a ridge walk due north over West Fell for three more miles. But I was booked into The Kings Head at Ravenstonedale to  so we needed to veer further east into Bowderdale.

I’ve got my sheep book now – I think they are Dalesbred

Somehow we missed the very clear path on the map down to the beginning of Bowderdale Beck, but thankfully the ground, though a little tussocky was  not very rutted and we found the path again half way down.

Bob always seems to have his head down when I snap him

Speechless

Up to now we had come across several groups of people making the most of this glorious day but in this valley we were on our own – apart from some sheep.

The path took us past Rams Gill …..

…..and then Hazel Gill, both having carved out deep valleys by what today seemed very minor streams (no doubt torrential in the winter months).

It was opposite Hazel Gill that we needed to make our own route to Randygill Top about 1,000 feet above us. In fact, and most reassuringly, there was a clear track that made its way up this steepest of climbs.

The first 100 yards or so from the valley bottom were Ok but for the next half -a-mile it was a slow process of putting one foot in front (and rather higher up) than the other, making use of the tread marks of previous walkers.

It’s called Little Randy Gill!

My approach when faced with such a climb is to go slow and to not stop, keeping my breathing steady. Normally, I think Bob would share this method, but today he was slower and did stop, so once or twice I stopped too to catch sight of him and to give him an encouraging wave.

It was hard going, but not a hardship. The views were fabulous and there is an uncommon sense of achievement (for me least) and amazement at what one’s body is capable of when you make such dramatic climbs.

Looking north to West Fell- that ridge is the route the Dales High Way takes

The top of a hill is always hidden by the slope of the land and sometimes it can feel cruelly elusive. Today, though,  the views that kept demanding my attention were behind me as I climbed.

That’s Hazel Gill on the other side of the valley

And with Bobs progress being slower, I had time for several sit downs to take in this very special landscape.

I just zoomed in for this pic

When we did make it to the top we took a breather together and something to eat  and were both in awe at our surroundings

The map showed  a path now heading for  the trig point of Green Bell (a mere 1,984 feet).  But we had some difficulty making it out on the ground.

Neither of us were up for making a major mistake at this time of the day, but with much reference to map and GPS we nevertheless took a sheep path in roughly the right direction.

See what I mean- head down

After passing one more summit called Knoutberry we could at last see the fell dropping away and the village of  Ravenstonedale below us.

It might not have been the most direct route off the fell but we opted for a clear path heading for a lane that gave us an easy mile  of re-acquaintance with signs of domesticity.

My pub proved to be on the far side of the village. We passed the Black Swan without a thought, certain that a couple of pints had our names on them at The Kings Head.

It looked a little posh for my taste

We arrived there around 5 – later than I had thought we might but in plenty of time for us to get a couple in before Bobs taxi arrived. We certainly deserved them.

Smashing place – go there!

At £75 a night for a double room, The Kings Head is really good value. The pub is spacious and has comfortable seating, the staff are friendly, and my en-suite room was enormous and really cosy. After I had showered and had an hours snooze to sleep off the beer I returned to the bar, which was buzzing. The food was excellent.  In fact I indulged myself so much that evening that at settling up time the next morning the staff at the bar thought that there must have been two of us eating. Well, you only live once. I think.