I am not a gambling man. If I was though, then I’d put good money on the fact that you probably have never heard of this area of mountains. Even if you have, I bet you’d find it pretty hard to position them on a map. I am maybe only a little ashamed to admit that I had never heard of them until recently and I have a geography degree.

I love areas like this. We live on an ever increasingly populous island. Sometimes it’s easy to forget that there are still places on our shores that are little known and visited. They are all the more special for it. The Howgill Fells are such a place.

Their location makes them very easy to overlook. They are positioned between The Lake District and Yorkshire Dales National Parks in the county of Cumbria. Indeed their eastern slopes do just about sit within the Yorkshire Dales, but the landscape is quite different from places like the limestone crags of Malham Cove.

I entered the Howgills from the east, close to the quaint town of Sedburgh. My destination was to be England’s highest waterfall- Cautley Spout. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but on entering the valley close to the falls, I was blown away by how dramatic it was. The meandering river on the valley floor had clearly helped carve it over thousands of years along with past glaciation. A scree slope was to be found on one side, while looming rocky outcrops were on the other. In front of me were the lower parts of the falls themselves, the sound of the cascading water getting louder with every step.

Soon the main climb up the side of the falls begins. It is very steep indeed and a great test of fitness for even the hardiest walkers. The views are staggering as is the overall height of the waterfall. Cautley Spout falls a total distance of 198 metres or 650 feet for those who prefer this imperial measurement. That is not far off the height of Canary Wharf!

Despite this impressive drop, it doesn’t offer the tallest uninterrupted fall of water in England. Both Ingleborough Falls and Hadraw Force are greater. Cautley Spout is a cascading waterfall, where it falls in a succession of steps with only very small pools at the bottom of each. Don’t let this deter you though. It’s still a very beautiful and dramatic place and well worth the climb skywards.

Once at the top, a path follows the now more level river up into the main hills and mountains of the area. It feels so wild up there and it is. I wild camped near The Howgill’s highest mountain, which at 676m is called The Calf. In the thirteen or so hours I spent in the area, I didn’t see another person. When you consider how close these hills and mountains are to The Lake District, I find the complete lack of visitors both amazing but also baffling. Repeatedly I kept asking myself how more people hadn’t heard of this place.

I’m not complaining though. With most of our lives being more hectic and stressful than ever, these remote and wild places are ever more important. They offer the chance for escapism, with the sounds and sights of nature offering a great life detox for a day or two. I for one can’t wait to go back soon.