Even Baugh Fell – everyone’s favourite peat swamp – looked innocuous.
The long walk north from The Calf was a great four-mile finger of
soft-going grass that commenced by a tiny tarn and swept down to the
uncomplicated summit on West Fell. I then swung slightly west, over
soggy ground, to the prominent bulge of Langdale Knott. The long gulch of
Bowderdale, bounded by symmetrically smooth slopes, ran to the east and
the deep twists of shadowy Langdale loped to the west: every step of the way
I felt I was about to take off and fly. The views from above the ridge would
have been spectacular. Sometimes I wish I was a buzzard.
I took several deep breaths when I reached the foot of Langdale and
prepared for a rollercoaster of ups and downs running along the foot of three
north-facing valleys. Wet feet and a bruised toe didn’t help, and the climb up
the steep wall by Uldale End seemed to last forever. The intake wall at Eller
Gill then required a bit of a detour but the last rise was a straightforward
stroll over the damp flanks of Weather Hill. I’d covered 15 miles and climbed
almost 4,000 feet without encountering a single gate or stile. That’s surely
another reason why Tebay deserved its award.
Dusk had already fallen and the glow of the village was lost against the
stream of Friday night traffic on the M6. A fast-moving ribbon of red curved
northwards and might have been following one of the quad bike tracks that
contour over the surrounding fells. Some weekend walkers would no doubt
be heading up to the junction at Penrith and perhaps two or three drivers
were foot-down in anticipation of a quick visit to the Highlands. They could
all save time and money by stopping off in the Howgills.[above] Langdale is one of the finest valleys in the Howgills – this view looks north
into the steep defile from the broad ridge between The Calf and Hazelgill Knott
[right] The view north from West Fell, between Langdale and Bowderdale, looking
towards the limestone scenery at Great Asby Scar with the escarpment of the
North Pennines in the far distance.HOWGILL FELLS
58 The Great Outdoors July 2019