Winder, Howgills, Cumbria, Spring
We’ve neglected the Howgills for too long.
On this Good Friday we elected to stay away from the Lake District, expecting visitor numbers to sharply increase. We did want to stay within the same council area, though. So we ventured east over the M6 and into Sedbergh, the beautiful bookish town at the foot of the Howgills.
It might be reasonable to state that the Howgills as a landscape tends to get overlooked, or even ignored, in favour of nearby neighbours such as the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales. Lisabet and I have certainly been guilty of this assumption. But the Howgills has a lot of beautiful wandering to offer, and we’ve barely scratched the surface.
We exited the town onto Joss Lane, which leads onto the Dales High Way. Then it was a simple matter of following this footpath and its incredible views of Settlebeck Gill all the way onto the plateau, before turning back sharply to reach the summit of Winder (473 m/1,552 ft).
A glorious spring’s day was in full effect, with clear and deep blue skies all around.
And there are many more of the Howgills to check out.
All photos taken on my Fujifilm X-T2 using a Samyang 35mm f/1.2 lens and an adapted Pentax SMC 55mm f/2.0. Developed using RNI’s Kodachrome film profiles.
Sedbergh is a beautiful little town.
After exiting Joss Lane we merged onto the Dales High Way, soaking in the beautiful spring sun as we did.
There were plenty of others out and about on the Howgills too, and on such a beautiful day I don’t blame them.
Looking back the way we came.
A well-positioned bench offers walkers a rest and a view of the Dentdale fells.
We were keen to stay on the main footpath, but others elected to ascend the Winder summit as quickly as possible.
With every step the panorama opened up more and more. It was hard to maintain a forward momentum up the fell path when these views commanded our attention behind us all the time.
The way forward. Nary a cloud int’ sky.
Here we’re nearing the first main plateau of the Dales High Way, which also signalled us to take a sharp left in order to reach the summit of Winder.
One last look back down, with the full extent of Settlebeck Gill below, the Sedbergh countryside in the middle distance, and the Dentdale fells of the Yorkshire Dales in the background.
Fell ponies grazing peacefully on the flanks of Green Mea.
What a sight. The Dales High Way carries on around the flank of Arant Haw (605 m/1,985 ft), a beautifully sculpted fell with a precipitous southwestern face.
Our destination meant turning away from the Dales High Way, back to the southwest towards Winder. Along the way I keep snapping the views over to the heart of the Yorkshire Dales.
Across Settlebeck Gill is Winder’s easterly neighbour, Crook (461 m/1,513 ft). Far in the distance are the Mallerstang fells.
And… summit. On a clear day, such as we enjoyed, the views take in the Lake District fells and even Morecambe Bay, 32 km away.
After a flapjack and some water whilst sheltered underneath the trig point from the wind, we followed the track back down the southwestern shoulder of Winder.
Layers upon layers of hills and valleys in the Howgills. In fact, that’s where the Howgills get their name from. “How” comes from the Old Norse haugr meaning “hill”, and “gill” comes from the Old Norse gil meaning a “narrow valley”.
The winding track back to Sedbergh via Lockbank Farm. The round mound in the distance is Aye Gill Pike (556 m/1,824 ft).
Ostensibly looking back at the way we came, but more than I shot this composition for the winding drystone wall. That’s right.
So many lambs around. Always a wonderful sight to see and sound to hear.
Swaledale lambs, being adorably playful.
My lovely Lisabet, enjoying a drop of Sherry in her friend’s garden post-walk.