On a windswept day in late autumn, Gummer’s How offers a bracing, family-friendly climb with views of some of Northern England’s wildest landscapes, says
Simon Whaley
Its 360-degree vista includes some of northern England’s wildest landscapes. To the west are the Coniston Fells, already dusted with snow. Turning clockwise, the rugged central fells, backbone of the Lake District, come into view, followed by the treeless, round flanks of the Howgill Fells, and Whernside in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Finally, the vast flatness of Morecambe Bay, the UK’s largest expanse of intertidal mudflats, offers little protection against weather fronts approaching from the Irish Sea.
Gummer’s How is proof you don’t need to climb mountains for a wild experience. The Forestry Commission’s Astley Plantation car park, accessed from a minor lane opposite Fell Foot Park, is at 200 metres, leaving only 121 metres to climb.
OLD BOOTS
Alfred Wainwright described Gummer’s How as “an old man’s mountain. And when ancient legs can no longer climb it, know ye that the sad day has come to hang up the boots forever and take to slippers.” If Granddad can do it, everyone can.
Waymarked from the car park, the path climbs through the trees before crossing the road. Look out for Luing cattle grazing the area. These cutelooking but hardy cattle are perfect for this wild landscape. They originated from the island of Luing, off the Argyll coast of Scotland, in the mid-20th century. Cross-bred from beef shorthorns and Highlanders, Luing cattle can calve in the harshest of landscapes and weather conditions, making them perfect for upland areas like Gummer’s How. Trampling the bracken as they graze, they also help increase the diversity of plants on the hillside.
After about half a mile, the final ascent begins. A gentler route forks right, around the summit’s rear, but a short rockier section often ignites the climbing instinct in the smallest of family members.
At the summit, I hug the trigpoint and marvel at the views, admiring the wild autumnal colours and letting November’s tightly packed isobars roar past my ears. Another wall of wind buffets me. Time to retrace my steps back to the car and leave the stocky Luings grazing this wild, atmospheric hillside.