Choosing the best walk in the Howgill Fells or anywhere else for that matter is like asking somebody what they’re favorite song is. It’s near on impossible to answer. As tough as the choice is though, I think I may have found one which is difficult to beat. This comes from somebody who keeps finding excuses to return time and time again to this lesser-known more remote part of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. The route offers great variety with deep dales, a mountain summit and an awesome waterfall along the way. It’s a tough one to top for sure.
The Route
If driving to the area, then the best place to park is on the A683. I tend to use a little lay-by close to The Cross Keys pub and there has been space on the three occasions I’ve used it.
There is a good chance you’ll be driving north from the small market town of Sedburgh. It is well worth the stop, especially if craving coffee and food before you head off into the hills. I shall follow my own advice here the next time I’m in the area. Annoyingly, I always seem to be running late due to a queue on the M6!
The views from the main road and the parking place are stunning. You can’t help but gaze west towards the distinctive Howgill Fells and the dramatic Cautley Spout waterfall. More about that one later, but all I shall say for now is that it can be seen from over a mile away. Dramatic and improsing it most certainly is.
The Approach To Cautley Spout
This walk in the Howgill Fells doesn’t climb up beside the falls, but still allows you to enjoy the fantastic approach to it. Don’t worry though. You still get to experience the steep path, but take it downhill at the end instead. More about that later.
After passing the Cross Keys pub, there is a fairly narrow bridge to cross. The river flows deep below with rapids and small waterfalls just to the north. Drop anything here by accident and you’re unlikely to get it back.
Before long you begin to follow Cautley Holme Beck into the dramatic valley, which is a fitting home for the waterfall found at its head. This might still be The Yorkshire Dales, but it certainly has more of a Lake District feel to it. Scree slopes can be found on either side, with the hills looming high above you. They’re impressive any time of the year, but are especially captivating if clouds are shrouding their tops. An air of mystery is present then and you can easily picture them to be be even taller than they actually are.
Exploring Bowderdale
I’ve always wondered where the valley to the right of Cautley Spout actually leads and I’d finally find out on this walk in the Howgill Fells.
The path to it forked off from the main trail at the bottom of the falls and climbed fairly steeply. It wasn’t long before the sweat was flowing and the lungs were called into action. It felt great to be breathing heavily in the warm air. Exercise was just what I needed after sitting in a car for the best part of five hours to reach the place.
Eventually I crested the hill ahead and started my decent into Bowderdale. What a sight it was! I love the Howgills for their wildness and distinct lack of people. This was a perfect example of it. Ahead of me was a gorgeous valley with steep grassy slopes and a gill meandering its way along the floor. What made it even more beautiful was the colour of the grass. It’s hard to describe, but many of the hillsides in the Howgill Fells appear to almost be covered in velvet when the sun shines. I remember hearing the great Alfed Wainwright describing them like this. On this fine early autumn evening I could see exactly what he meant.
The path makes its way gradually down towards Bowderdale Beck and is easy to navigate. There is the odd small gill to ford and boggy section to tackle, but they’re never particularly challenging. I suspect I’m a bit odd, but I found myself striking up conversation with the mountain sheep along the way. They of course just stared back, probably wondering why I was even there as I hadn’t been invited to the party.
Setting Up Camp
You could of course complete this walk in one go, but I had decided to wild camp overnight. Weather conditions were forecast to deteriorate as the evening progressed and so I picked a sheltered spot in the valley. The chosen location was an abandoned sheepfold. Two were marked on the map, but only one proved to be of any use. The other was built on a slope, which would have had me sliding off my sleeping mat with annoying regularity!
It took a bit longer than usual to pitch the tent due to the many rocks I had to negotiate when pegging out. Several were not pushed into the ground as much as I would have liked. Even with the protection of the sheepfold walls, predicted wind gusts of up to forty miles per hour didn’t exactly fill me with confidence. I had no choice but to accept that I might have to get up in the night to peg the tent out again. You win some and you lose some I guess!
Enjoying The Evening
Soon darkness fell in a way I’m not used to down near London. There is very little in the way of light pollution in this rural part of northern England and so it got properly dark. No orange glow from the towns and cities could be seen here. There was nothing else to do than to retreat to the tent and enjoy some food, booze and good book. This for me is part of why I love wild camping. Some people like to download a film and watch this on their electrical device. For me, part of the appeal is escaping this usual routine. It is great just laying there reading, while the wind rustles the tent and the sound of cascading water comes from the nearby river. Bliss!
The Wind Picks Up
Soon after settling down for a good night’s sleep, those strong winds arrived. I soon learned it was going to be one of those evenings where it is calm one moment and then gusty the next. It was quite a foreboding experience hearing an incoming gust make its way down relatively narrow Bowderdale before arriving at the sheepfold.
Even with the wall for protection, the tent was still put through their paces and I was thankful for packing the ear plugs. If you’ve ever camped in the wind, then you’ll know exactly what I mean.
Just for good measure, rain started to fall in the early hours and alternated between light and downright biblical. Once again my tried and tested Oex Jackal II handled the conditions brilliantly. I was only ever worried about those pegs not being put in properly. Other than this, my previous experiences with the tent and other reviews I’ve read about it show what solid a piece of kit it is. Click here to read my full review of the tent or here to purchase at Amazon. At the time of writing this and including the link, it is on special for less than £100. I still consider it a bargain at its original price, but it’s almost outrageous with that deal.
Dale & Mountain
After a hearty breakfast of porridge, beans, bread and coffee, I packed away and continued my walk along Bowderdale. The hills had taken on a very different feel to them. The comforting velvet green slopes were now shrouded in thick water-laden clouds and they looked all the more wild for it.
Despite the intermittent rain, it was a great morning to be out in the hills and clearly two early morning fell runners thought the same. They’d end up being the only people I’d see for the next three hours or so. Hopefully the video clip below goes some way in showing what was enjoyed that morning.
It was a pleasant if slightly more muddy walk along the rest of Bowderdale and eventually it was time to turn left and climb up towards the eventual summit of The Calf. This clear path is called The Dales Highway and allows for an easy north to south traverse of the Howgill Fells. It is almost all above five hundred metres and offers tremendous views in both directions on a clear day.
Sadly, visibility was reduced to around one hundred metres on the day I walked it. Typical!
For more details about The Dales Highway, which is almost one hundred miles long, please click here.
I had nothing to look at other than the trig point and a wall of fog. When you’ve made the effort to climb to 676 metres with a heavy bag on your back, that is rather annoying. At that height, The Calf is the highest point in the Howgill Fells and is considered a mountain. Any summit above six hundred metres earns this title. It does seem odd up here though,as its grassy slopes and total lack of crags for the best part makes it seem far more hill-like.
For some photos from summit on a clearer day and just some quality photos of the area in general, this article is well worth checking out.
The Descent To Cautley Spout
A little way south of summit is the start of a minor path, which is easy to miss. That would almost be a sin though as it leads to the top of the dramatically beautiful Cautley Spout waterfall.
It is downhill all the way and after a short while you discover the birth of Force Gill Beck. There is something amazing about discovering the starting place of a river. It is even better when you get to almost document its growth, as you follow it from its source.
On this path you get to follow the course of the river for around two kilometres. I was shocked by how quickly it seemed to grow in size and volume. Plenty of heavy rain overnight and saturated ground certainly helped.
The Weather Worsens
I was about halfway down the path when the weather went even more downhill. There had been little more than drizzle during the foggy hike on the ridge, but the clouds appeared to have other ideas now. I’d only recently purchased a budget rain jacket from Amazon after leaving my last one in a mountain bothy and it was about to be put through its paces.
It was absolutely tipping it down and sheets of rain could be seen against the hill behind me. I was thankful to at least be off the highest ground, as I’m certain it would have been even worse up there.
The photos above shows how a fancy looking Andy Goldsworthy sheepfold can be found close to the falls. Despite the rain, I couldn’t help but smile and think back to the camp I enjoyed inside it the year before. Click here to read details about that eventful trip.
Descending Cautley Spout
One of the reasons why I consider this to be the best walk in the Howgill Fells is because you get save the best until last. I have been lucky enough to explore much of the UK and Cautley Spout is right up there as one of the most impressive natural attractions in my opinion.
It may not have the highest continuous drop, but at 198 metres it is the highest when you take its overall height from the top to its base. Either way it is damn impressive. What I always find remarkable is how relatively little known it is. Admittedly, the weather was abysmal the day I visited, but I still only saw two other people. For a Sunday morning that is impressive. I can’t imagine how much busier it would be if it was located in The Lake District for example.
The path down is steep, but well surfaced with stones that offer good traction. Care still needs to be taken though and a good head for heights is certainly needed. It sure is hard not to head downhill without admiring the awesome view of the valley now laid before you or of course the waterfall to your right. You may only just about be stood in Yorkshire, but it certainly feels like God’s own country.
To Wrap Things Up…
Once at the bottom of the falls, you have the simple job of retracing your steps back out of the valley towards your car.
This walk really is right up there as being one of the most enjoyable I’ve done. The variety of scenery and terrain you experience along the way means it never gets boring. The solitude of these remote fells just adds to the appeal even more. I’m quite certain that you’ll return feeling a little tired but also struck by how beautiful this part of northern England is. Safe travels!