Dales High Way: Howgill Fells

Sunday 5th May 2024

At the start of the second day of my continuation of the Dales High Way, following my abandonment of it at Easter last year, I was camped on Craven Wold at the top of the pass between Ribblesdale and Dentdale in the Yorkshire Dales. I was woken me up early by the sunlight so I was back on the trail by half seven, which I didn’t mind as it meant I could take my time and focus on enjoying the walk rather than pushing to get the twenty miles done in eight hours. The path took me over the pass and slowly down a rocky lane into Dentdale with good views ahead of me along the valley. Even though it was very misty and overcast, the broad valley still looked spectacular and I was reminded of how it had looked last year in much better weather. On that occasion I abandoned the trail before reaching the bottom by turning right onto a path that took me up the valley to reach Dent railway station, but now I kept to the trail and at the bottom I joined the route of the Dales Way beside Deepdale Beck which was lined with wild garlic whose white flowers shone in the grey weather. Bluebells were also to be found and together they produced a gorgeous sight that lifted my spirits just as I’d remembered when previously coming this way in 2014 from Dent station.

After passing through the village of Dent I followed the road and river to Barth Bridge where I turned off onto a narrow lane, also lined with wild garlic, which took me up the side of the valley past several farm buildings until eventually becoming a grass lane. The guidebook warns that this is muddy in places but mentions an alternative that avoids the muddy section by crossing a field, but there was no path over the tussocky grass which resulted in this being very tiring. I was thankful when I eventually found myself back on the track which was perfectly dry and took me over Long Moor on the western shoulder of Rise Hill before slowly descending towards the town of Sedburgh. The mighty Howgill Fells loomed behind the town, hiding in the mist and I couldn’t help wishing I had better weather so I could appreciate the view across the valley. I had planned to stop in Sedburgh for a while but instead I hardly spent any time there and stuck to the trail which soon had me climbing the hillside past signs that declared: ‘To the fell’, which sounded glorious to me.

With the wooded dell of Settlebeck Gill to my right I climbed steeply onto the open hillside and above the gorse-filled banks of the stream but soon plunged into the clouds. I previously climbed the Howgill Fells from Sedburgh in 2010 but on that occasion I followed the bridleway that is clearly marked on Ordnance Survey maps taking a gentler route of ascent. Wainwright recommends using this route in descent and the route that I was now taking in ascent, but the low cloud provided me with some problems in navigation on the many crisscrossing paths up the hill. I missed a turning that would have kept me beside the stream and instead I headed straight up the hill to join the main path earlier than I should and later came off that to climb steeply straight up to the top of Arant Haw, which the main path bypasses. None of these were a problem, although they needlessly wore me out, as ultimately all the paths were heading in the same direction and eventually I came back onto the main path across the saddle of Rowantree Grains before climbing again to the top of Calders.

There are three tops across the broad summit plateau of the Howgill Fells, all of similar height, starting from Calders with Bram Rigg Top in the middle, which the main path bypasses, before finally reaching the Calf, the highest point in the Howgill Fells. I didn’t stay long at the Calf since there were no views, so after carefully checking my direction I set off along the path heading north east, passing a small mountain lake (a tarn) and soon I began to descend, which immediately felt wrong so I checked my location and found that I had missed a turning at the tarn. When I had retraced my steps back to the tarn I found that the path I should have taken could hardly be seen on the ground and so was easily missed. Soon a path developed and I followed this gently down the hill as the mist suddenly cleared to reveal a stunning sight ahead of me of the broad ridge rising to Hazelgill Knott. With little wind and good views ahead of me I now had a fabulous walk along the undulating ridge over Hazelgill Knott and West Fell before finally descending off the hills with good views towards Great Asby Scar.

While climbing wearily through the mist I had wondered why I do this, but now it was warm with hazy sunshine overhead and I felt tremendous enjoyment on a walk that could only be described as a pleasure. While considering where to camp I wondered whether to keep going and wild camp on Great Asby Scar, but this would have left me with little to do the next day, so I decided to stay in the campsite that I had booked to stay in last year. On reaching Bowderdale I followed quiet roads across the Lune Valley and into the small village of Newbiggin-on-Lune where I left the trail to head towards Ravenstonedale but turned off before reaching the village to stay at the Low Greenside Farm Campsite. This walk was a joy, especially on the descent from the Howgill Fells when the weather improved, but even before then I enjoyed the wildflowers in Dentdale, which is a very special place. On this walk I felt like all my cares were lifted and I could finally relax with the stresses of the past erased. My bad luck in Dartmoor last Easter was now a distant memory.