Howgill Fells – Carlin Gill and Fell Head

This was even yet another walk in the series of Yorkshire Dales 2000 foot tops, and, yet another that’s not in the (administrative) county of Yorkshire, although once in the West Riding, always in the West Riding.

We all met by the playground in Tebay. The population of this walk grew in the preceding few days and, as well as me and Bruno, there was Our Kid, John Jocys and Viv, Rick, Stuart and Pedro. Pedro was the black and white collie-cross which appears in a few of the pictures. Pedro was specially interested in Bruno’s bottom for some reason and regularly got into bother for it. But that’s just dogs y’see. they like that kind of thing….

Anyway, after a short tussle with the kissing stile at the Church (tip: Use the gate…), and a brief introduction to Tebay’s Industrial periphery, we embarked on a route which follows a roughish course along the intake wall with a grand view of the M6 and , after a bit of contouring, drops into Carlin Gill, which we followed upstream to a notice board.

The notice board said that the BMC and English nature had agreed that people would not climb Black Force or the grassy arete alongside it between March and June 2009 so as not to upset some raptors which may be nesting in the vicinity.

We decided that if the raptors nested there last year, they might try to do so this year and so, opted instead for the steep and grassy ridge up on to Fell Head in front of us. This was not a specially easy option. There were bits of it which were unfeasibly steep. Steep? Don’t talk to me about steep…. Anyway, after a while we reached a path which we followed to the left for a while. This was just putting off the moment when we would have to resume the steep grass – which we did. But it soon relented and not too much later we were all stood in the nithering wind at the little summit cairn on Fell Head. Job done.

As it was much too draughty here for comfortable sitting around , we dropped down into a cosy nook for lunch and then down beside a gill to Blakethwaite Bottom. (Have I ever mentioned what a grand wild camping spot this would be, by the way?)

Another short but steep climb took us up on to Uldale Head and some moors, tussocks and wild sphagnum brought us eventually back to the start.

What happened to the spring? Personally, I was freezing most of today.

But the walk was a fine little expedition in good company and we didn’t get lost.

We did 12 miles and 2200 (ish) feet of climbing – some of it at an acute angle. There were a lot of people out today, including several dozens in high vis jackets, poking around or just gazing at the slope failures in Carlin Gill, and a large rambling group who chased us up the first bit of Fell head, then disappeared and re-appeared somewhere else as we came down. One or two looked a bit puzzled by the fact that we were descending towards them from an unexpected angle.

Howgills – Green Bell and Randygill Top

Yet another walk in the series of Yorkshire dales 2000 foot tops. This top being the one at the top of Randygill. And let’s be honest, there’s not much thats all that randy about Randygill Top. We should just clear that up before we start.

Before we start on Randygill Top, as it happens, there’s the little matter of Green Bell, a not very green and not much like a bell either kind of little grassy hill not really towering above the not very big place called Ravenstonedale.

But first, we park the knipemobile on the patch of grass just next to the little back lane to the farming hamlet of Bowderdale.

The morning was crispy and blue. The ground was as hard as something really hard and had crispy vegetation. I noticed that there wasn’t all that much snow left on the Howgill fells.

I also noticed a red squirrel peering at me from up a tree at Weasdale. I took it’s photo.

We progressed up the path to Green Bell where there were patches of ice for Bruno to eat. The summit was occupied by two chaps eating bananas, so we headed South for a bit to a sun trap I just happened to know about. I was dead cosy, like.

Onwards and southwards we went to the grassy slopes of Randygill Top which was occupied by a rather sulky and almost hostile group of four and a couple with a dog called Jack who wasn’t allowed to socialise with Bruno. Bruno got the message and had a little growl. We left for the quieter and shapelier top of Kensgriff, just down there, across there and up there a bit.

We descended steep grass with remnants of snow thawing in the sun and followed the bridleway which runs from Bowderdale Head to Bowderdale. This is a fine path.

Randygill Top is an easy climb from the North and a bit of a slog from the Cautley. Its a grassy lump. It should pose no problems at all for those with healthy knees and cardiac parts.

Its vaguely possible that you might get lost trying to find it on a misty day if your navigation is a bit ropey and the slope off Yarlside down to Kensgriff is like walking off the edge of the world if you’re coming that way.

The Bowderdale bridleway is inhabited, or , at least occupied, by small groups of Fell ponies. These are harmless, gentle and disinterested. They may be semi-wild, although they don’t act like semi-wild animals.

The sun was warm today. This is a breakthrough in the advancement of the season. There was also just the one lonely skylark singing its little beak off on the slopes of Green Bell. This is another good sign. The ground is still frozen hard and the in-lamb sheep near Bowderdale looked, frankly, exhausted and couldn’t be arsed getting up to put any distance between themselves and Bruno. This is probably not a good sign.

Afterwards, we repaired to the Ventriloquists Arms in Kirkby Stephen for a kint of gitter. Unfortunately, the drayman hadn’t called so we just had a gottle of geer. Incidentally, its traditional in this pub that whilst drinking your pint, you sing "Sonny Boy" or similar. Not easy at first....

10 Miles and 2000 feet of up.

For anybody interested in yet more Howgill walks, there’s loads and loads of them here http://www.doodlecat.com/howgills/index.html

August Howgills in Doodlecat

I just had an email from Lord Elpus to say that the absolute final episode of the Howgills sago has now been repainted, vaccuumed out, polished up and de-greased and is now appearing over at http://www.doodlecat.com/howgills/12aug.html

This is, no doubt, some great relief to Phil and, he appears to have celebrated the fact by installing a new kitchen, thus earning a great big pile of Good Boy Points.

I hope he spends them wisely, I really do.

Just one thing about the August edition. It has more than one walk in it. Don't stop reading after the first, unless you are asleep or in a Howgill-induced catatonic ..er..thing. Carry on bravely till the very end.

There will be a test at the end of term. Anybody who gets less than 25% will have to visit my rooms for a thrashing with my pet plimsole, Ronny.

Anyway. its finished. Over. Ended.

Phew.

To celebrate, and by way of distraction, I've included here a short video which has fluffy kittens and some pigs and stuff.

Howgill Fells Sedbergh to Cautley and The Calf and back

Today, I met Martin Banfield, Phreerunning blogger of the Postcard from Timperley blog (http://phreerunner.blogspot.com) and his friend Andrew. Andrew featured recently in a Postcard from Timperley caption competition with a sandwich and a key.... (You need to look to understand)
We met in a Sedbergh tea room and after having ..er…coffees – we collected Bruno, the team dog, slayer of spiders and bluebottles and digestive services assistant for the day (helps out with spare or dropped food)… Bruno was waiting patiently in the car.

We followed a fairly conventional route to start with by bagging the very lovely but windy, Winder, then to Arant Haw and along the curvaceous ridge as far as Calders.
Most Howgill veterans will recognise the route so far. The usual thing to do from here is to go straight to the trig on top of The Calf.
We went the way that people usually go….when they’re a bit lost and went over Great Dummacks to the Southern edge of Cautley Crag, which we followed Northwards, downhill to the top of the Cautley Spout and there, on a little grassy ledge, we did lunch. The big corrie below the waterfall and the crag are, for me, the best view in the Howgill fells. I just love that spot. I was also quite enamoured by my chicken salad butty and Bruno was his usual helpful self as far as Martin’s sandwich was concerned.
Afterwards, we climbed a simple grassy shoulder to the trig on The Calf (we get there eventually) and we descended to the intake wall by the delightful grassy Bram Rigg.
We followed the intake wall back to Sedbergh.
A cracking walk in good company.
Grommet thought so too
The only clouds on the horizon were the clouds on the horizon which just occasionally started to shower on us, then thought better of it and stopped, and the fact that the Sedbergh tea rooms were packing up and going home to watch the Weakest Link just as we arrived, gagging for a cuppa.
It was about 11 miles and about 3200 feet of up. (I’m willing to be corrected on both of these figures.)
A short video showing a bit of a panorama and some miming is below.
There’s no sound on my camera.
This may be just as well………..

yet more stuff about the Howgill Fells

Yes folks, its that time of the month when we like to plug yet another instalment of the on-going and apparently never-ending story of that very small group of hills stuck onto the side of the Yorkshire dales - the very lovely, grassy hump-like blobs - the Howgill Fells.

Readers of this epic rice-pudding...er..sago...er...saga will be relieved to know that their ordeal is almost over and that they've been very brave and that they've done very well so far. Only one more episode to go.

First, read the interlude here http://www.doodlecat.com/howgills/interlude.html

Then press the little "next" button at the bottom of the page. Thats the one on Doodlecat. there isn;t a "next" button on this page, so don't go looking for it.

Unusually for this blog, there'll be another posting along very shortly.

More Howgills stuff

...is now appearing at http://www.doodlecat.com/howgills/10jun.html . This, of course, is the June entry in the diary, rather bizarrishley written in October 2006. There's just another two months of this stuff to go. Many people..er some people..er. somebody ... will be wondering exactly what the point of all of this is. This is the one where we introduce a bit of uncertainty and tension and stuff...

So, there you are.

Howgills Diary thingy

I don't usually post more than once a day, but Phil Lambert emailed me just now to say that the May episode of the Howgills diary is now posted on Doodlecat at http://www.doodlecat.com/howgills/index.html

read it.

its fab

Its a non-smoking walk.

This is a plug.

A shameless plug

He's having trouble with his ftp, though, apparently and can't write a Doodlecat post till whatever it is stops doing whatever it isn;t doing, or starts doing something it should.

sorry about the technical jargon here, sometimes plain English just isn't enough....

Mistletoe and Whine - Xmas Howgills on Doodlecat

The Howgills Diary account and walk description (well, sort of...) for December is now appearing on Doodlecat. Read it here at http://www.doodlecat.com/howgills/index.html

Drama!

Tension!

Passion!

Action!

New Cliff Richards Christmas Hit!

None of these are contained in this account!

Read it before Christmas! Or feel dead left out, like, sorta thing!

Yet another shameless plug....

Incidentally, whoever it is in the Anteeps, down there in New Zealand who is reading the blog - hello and welcome and we are the right way up! Hope you are enjoying the fun. We do requests......

(Pic is a friendly Howgills Fell pony)

Shameless Plug

And now for a shameless plug - Over on http://www.doodlecat.com/howgills/index.html/ Phil and Tina have published the first three months of my Howgills diary - full of route ideas and good advice about how to manage your interpersonal relationships, nutrition, dog training, history, archeology and flower arranging and even how to stop smoking.

Its twelve months in the Howgills containing (eventually), thirteen walks and it took me two years to do due to various bits of unpleasantness involving ECG machines and nurses with needles and razors and stuff....

They do a cracking job on Doodlecat making this stuff readable and looking presentable by the way. I can;t bellieve some of those pictures are mine....

Anyway, whatever you do, don;t use it as a guide to the Howgills...

have a look.

justabitofun, justabitofun....