As I sit here in my car looking out my windscreen over Fremington with a hazy view of Fremington Edge and a snip of Harker Hill, I feel down. It’s been a challenging few days since I began this adventure. Yesterday was epic, so many moments it’s going to be hard to pick out a highlight, but again it was hard work. After all the stress I’ve had I want to have fun, and I definitely have with serene, moving moments upon hills, in valleys, and even the odd waterfall! But finding that balance has been hard so far, and I can’t help but feel it’s because I came unprepared by own standards.
The Hike
So I started out in Sedbergh town centre, went up Kinder Hill via Settlebeck Gill and took the sharp, shortcut descent to the summit. Not long after absorbing gorgeous sweeping views over several Dales and towards The Lake District I committed to doing a full sweep from south to north, from tip to toe, of the Howgill Fells.
Although I was concerned I would smash my 15km limit, I couldn’t help being swept away by the scenes. So I followed the Dales High Way towards Bowderdale, taking in peaks including Arant Haw, Calvers, The Calf and Hazelgill Knott, then galloped along a trail via Bowderdale Beck until I reached the stunning Cautley Spout where I played for a little while. After that it was a gruesome slog back to Sedbergh, and in total I clocked in just under 32km of hiking before driving for an hour in the dark on country lanes back to my hostel!
Highlights
Howgill Fells – I have to take a moment to wax lyrical about this area of Howgill Fells. Imagine someone took a tub of ice cream and scooped shapes into the block to create curves – that’s the fells right there. Some fells and the ravines in between are like fingers protruding from knuckles, almost as if the earth is sticking up a fist saying hello!
It’s madness how several boundaries including county, local council, and even that of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, cut through the fells. It’s almost like a mini post-war Berlin, without all the animosity of course! But yes, it’s almost like a mini–Lake District, because you definitely get the flavour when you’re in the little world of these fells. There’s so much that’s worthy of exploring too so would highly consider coming back some time!
Howgill Fells (continuation) – I’m writing this a couple of days later as I’m sat outside by my car looking towards The Howgill Fells from Adam Sedgwick and the Dent fault viewpoint. It turns out that a fault line forced the Howgill Fells high up, and their shape is due to the rock strongly resisting glaciation. Cool!
Kinder – it was the first summit, but yes, reaching the top and seeing over the surrounding dales and towards The Lake District was very epic! I felt elated when at the top, particularly after the steep shortcut I took. It was nice to see where I was headed and to get an overview of the Howgill Fells and nearby Dales, and also look down upon Sedbergh.
Valleys – there are countless valleys in between, interspersed, weaving through the fells that had hugely serene views that took my breath away and had me hooked. Baring in mind I was on a time limit I still couldn’t help but go off track and check these views. Steep becks between Calders, Bram Rigg Top and The Calf were immense, so were the many views towards + across Langdale Beck. This had me stop and veer off through harsh bog a few times because I saw something and it turned out to be hugely potent and impressive. I honestly wish I had more time to absorb it all and appreciate it fully.
Cautley Spout – WOW! This was fun. I was pushing hard against time and following the trail mapped out but I’m glad I veered off and took a shortcut from Bowderdale Beck across to Cautley Spout, because I would have been furious about the unnecessary descent and ascent. The paths were steep, yet the waterfall even steeper! It was amazing, refreshing to be around and I went right to the top of the spout and sat as the water gushed downstream. It was uplifting to be there, and I felt very much alive. Couldn’t help but also enjoy a few pieces of Cadbury’s Caramilk chocolate (hehe). It’s new, check it out!
Lessons
This morning my mood has been a little subdued as I left some toiletries in a shared shower (on top of the other niggles I’ve had), so always bring spares, especially if in a car and have extra space!
But nah, the thing here is the late-night fatigue, because I’ve been going so hard, I probably forgot to take it back with me once I had showered. I don’t regret doing what I did, hiking for 10 hours doing 32km, because I could have taken a shortcut via Cautley Spout off the Howgill Fells and had another chance a short while later. Yet it was after this point I had some epic, cinematic views that had me buzzing and made it all worthwhile.
So in the future, I have to plan. Yet I also have to prepare for the unexpected because you can’t plan for everything too. I probably do a lot of things well but right now I’m magnifying all the things that aren’t going so well that could be improved. Either way, I’m going to try and take it easy for the rest of this trip, do shorter stretches, and take in moments for a lot longer than I currently am (I’m getting better though!).
To view my photo album from this day visit: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmWPUrqp
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