Vivienne Crow gets great views from quiet hills
SOMETIMES, nothing quite hits the spot like striding out along broad, grassy fell-tops. When I feel that aspect of my hill addiction crying out to be satiated, I know exactly where to head – the Howgill Fells. With far-reaching views and a sense of airy spaciousness that’s hard to beat anywhere in England, this compact group of curvaceous hills and sweeping ridges is perfect.
We set off from the humble hamlet that lends its name to the range – little more than a few cottages and a 19th-Century church, with lancet windows lending it a look of greater antiquity. Some early morning haze and a few summit-hugging wisps of cloud are lingering, but most have dissipated
by the time we leave the road and start climbing.
First stop is the trig pillar on Winder. A toposcope helps walkers identify exactly what they’re looking at – a scene that takes in Morecambe Bay to the south-west, the Lake District fells to the west, and several summits further into the Yorkshire Dales, including Whernside, the highest of Yorkshire’s ‘Three Peaks’. Later, as we make our way north-east, the other two members of this famous triumvirate – Pen-yghent and Ingleborough – also become visible. While those honeypot summits, on this clear August day, are undoubtedly busy, the Howgill ridges are relatively quiet – we see only four other walkers on our way to The Calf. On the other side of the Rawthey valley, Wild Boar Fell and the broad, barren dome of Baugh Fell hold the promise of even greater solitude.
There are no crags here; few natural or manmade features are calling out to be investigated; there’s not even much wildlife. The experience is all about the views. As we reach the top of Calders, my heart skips a beat as the scene to the north suddenly joins the parade. There’s Cross Fell in the distance, lording it over the empty moors of the North Pennines. A short, easy stroll leads across the high ground to the trig pillar on The Calf – at 676m, the highest point in the Howgills – and an even better outlook. With no other hills blocking my view, I can see right to the northern end of the
Pennine chain and beyond, to the Scottish hills.
We cross the damp ground around the head of Cumbria’s ‘other’ Langdale, drop steeply to Windscarth Wyke then climb to Breaks Head, which provides a fresh perspective on the landscape. Contrasting scenes vie for attention: to my right, the distant Lakeland peaks and, to my left, the seemingly silky-smooth slopes that form the heart of the Howgills. It’s almost possible to fool oneself into thinking the hills go on forever, that northern England is an upland place and little else. Of course, the illusion has to end; and, after dropping into a sumptuously green bowl on the hillside, we return to enclosed farmland and the road walk back to Howgill.
Start/Finish
Small lay-by at Wanthwaite in St John’s in the Vale
GR: NY315232
From lay-by, walk S on lane for 80m and take track on L signed ‘Matterdale – unsuitable for motors’. Go through gate, pass Hill Top Farm on R and follow track as it bends L with old quarry workings on R. Continue through next gate, leading to Open Access land, and continue for 220m to a crossroads of tracks.
Go straight over, uphill, and follow track (known as the old coach road) across open moor below N slopes of Clough Head.
Pass through gate at Hausewell Brow and keep on for 2.2km to cross bridge over Mosedale Beck.
Go through gate and then turn R on path through rushes on L side of beck. After 1km, fork L at sheepfold and climb slopes of Matterdale Common to cairn on Randerside. Turn R up grassy ridge, past Lurgegill Head, to summit of Great Dodd.
Walk WSW from top for 500m, then descend NW for 1km to the prominent rocky outcrop at Calfhow Pike. Continue down to broad col and walk N, uphill, for 1.1km to top of Clough Head.
Take path leading WSW towards Bennesty Knott and follow this as it bends R to descend NE across Red Screes. Paths continue NW over Wanthwaite Bank to meet old coach road. Turn L and retrace steps to the start.