WOW, oh WOW! I’m a bit bamboozled, WHAT, was THAT?! I feel tired whilst I write this up but man that just blew my mind in multiple ways, just defied any presumptions + moods I had lingering when I woke up this morning leaving Grinton and headed towards Hawes. I feel very grateful right now and also excited about what I can experience in the future, but right now could do with a recharge!
The Hike
It’s bizarre but also wonderful that as I sit and write the rest of this article it’s the morning after and I’m alfresco! I’m sat by my car on a rock with a spectacular view towards the Howgill Fells from Adam Sedgewick and the Dent fault viewpoint. I’m surrounded by a few caravans, it’s 08:30 in the morning, it’s overcast with chinks and patches of sun coming through the skies, and I’m calm. I had to write the intro to this day whilst it was fresh from just wrapping up the hike last night and now I’m ready to let the rest flow.
So speaking of the hike, yes, WOW! It was a delight in many ways. I started off from Hawes after parking up by the hostel I was staying at and met a cool group of older ladies who were doing the St Anne’s Way – it was great just to be able to chat to someone where there was a mutual interest in each other’s trips!
Not long after I hooked onto the Pennine Way towards Great Shunner Fell. It was tedious going up as it was mainly just moorland with overcast conditions and a very light sprinkle of rain that was very sporadic. I just felt it was going to be a bogey day that was another peak to tick off a list and nothing more. My mood got so grey and I started talking to myself loudly which was cool (and not creepy at all!), because a lot of was interesting and reflective. But then I got tried and started speaking in my mind again.
Great Shunner Fell
Now when I reached Great Shunner Fell, oh my, WOW! The view towards Wensleydale + the southern Yorkshire Dales, including seeing the tips of Ingleborough and Whernside, were immense. I was at awe. It’s funny how you can be so focused, almost in mission mode, that you at times forget to look up, around, or back, to take in the views!
I sat down with this view and munched up my lunch, and then Ed came from the other direction of the Pennine Way. Who is Ed? Ed is a cool dude I met doing the Pennine Way in 1 go! He started north going south, which he told me is in reverse, but it was inspiring just chatting to him about his journey, the kind of things he’d encountered, and just exchanging stories! It was the longest chat I had with someone for a while!
I spent around 40 minutes at Great Shunner Fell, which delayed when I got back to Hawes, yet I had no regrets as it was great to finally appreciate a viewpoint, take it all in, and just chat about something I love doing! I was still 2 hours earlier than the previous night, so I’ll take that! But yes, I trudged through boggy sections towards Little Shunner Fell, then came to Cliff Edge Road. Amazing, simply stunning!
From there I went up Abbotside Common from a viewpoint called Sweet Hill on Cliff Edge Road, via a trail following Shivery Gill. I followed a path around what I’m going to assume was all North Rakes Hill that took me further into Wensleydale, and then followed well-marked trails into Hawes. In the end I probably clocked just above 26km.
Highlights
Everything after Great Shunner Fell!!! Seriously, it may sound cliché but it just kept getting better and better afterwards and the climax were the two cairns on North Rakes Hill overlooking Wensleydale with Hawes as it’s centrepiece.
Great Shunner Fell was indeed a 360 degree viewpoint overlooking both Swaledale and Wensleydale, and as mentioned I could see towards the southern Yorkshire Dales, and I’m sure on a clearer day you can see way further beyond! It’s funny how nature can suddenly throw you sideways and blindside you with something awesome.
Cliff Edge Road was something special. I can see why there were reflective markers every 20 metres because it would be one dangerous road at night! But yes, a stupendous scene just opened up more + more as I went further down the road, like a theatre curtain slowly opening up, or like a flower blooming brighter. It was amazing to walk towards, and the viewpoint at Sweet Hill is one to visit again I’m sure!
The 2 cairns on North Rakes Hill were absolutely epic, cinematic, grand, marvellous, monumental! OK, they weren’t very high, nor was the view hugely panoramic, but it was at the right level, so varied in scope, and somewhere I could sit all day, like I am right now looking at Howgill Fells! It’s also easy access, so if someone ever wanted to venture up there, or you wanted to take someone up who isn’t your average hiker, it’s the place to go.
Finally, I have to give a shout out to the people I met! Hostel at Hawes (YHA), there was a lovely receptionist whose name I never got, bumped into Ed again, and got to chat to a few more fellow travellers. It was great just to meet + interact with people where the energy was good. Same with the ladies I met at the beginning of my walk. Good vibes.
Lessons
Intuition + Balance
Sometimes you have to exceed limits just to make things happen, and it’s inevitable when you’re someone like me who is SO inclined to follow their intuition when I’m playing outside! So part of knowing this I guess is an acceptance that sometimes it will be longer and harder than I anticipated, but heck, it’s part of the journey!
Sometimes you have to screw being optimal and just go for it! Because let’s be straight, it’s hard being counterintuitive when you have the urge to splurge + indulge in your impulse! I think the key is in finding a balance, where you look after yourself and your environment, and have fun at the same time. I guess that’s life, in a lot of ways.
Where I stand
I did a lot of reflecting on where I am with hiking and where I’m heading with it all. Firstly, this is all new to me. Yes, I’ve done a few hikes but I still don’t have a huge amount of experience. I had a taste, started doing things myself, but now I have a car and more resources, the increase in possibilities and opportunities is all new to me. I need to give myself time + space to learn, grow + evolve.
I’m looking forward to enhancing my capabilities + capacities, of getting to a point where I can venture out more and explore new spaces overseas. When reflecting, this was what came to my mind. Yes, I would love to see a greater variation of what there is in Britain, but I want to see global variation. That would be the ultimate dream!
Yorkshire Dales
I think I need to come back to Hawes one day and were I to come I’d visit The Chippie for something warm + fresh, hit the cairns again, and take my car up Cliff Edge Road and chill at viewpoints like Sweet Hill and North Rakes Hill. It would be nice to take someone with me + share it all with them.
Finally. I think it’s fitting that I’m writing this article sat where I am, on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales gazing upon the Howgill Fells. It’s been challenging and testing, but it’s also been fascinating fun and an experience to cherish + appreciate, even more now I’m leaving. Thank you, Yorkshire!
To view my photo album from this day visit: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmWQqoR9
drBACKPACK 
2 thoughts on “DALES to LAKES, Day 5: wensleydale (from hawes)”