The Lune Valley and Howgills. Dennis Kelsall
the viaduct. After passing the limestone quarries over on the other side, watch for a fork and climb to a stile above. Those with their noses to the ground will have noticed the rock underfoot change from limestone to sandstone, which was cut from the hillside a little further along for the construction of the viaduct. Beyond the quarries, cross a stile and follow a bridleway down to Smardale Bridge.
Climb away to a stile a short distance up on the left and head out across the hillside to meet a low earthen dyke. It was part of a boundary enclosing the valley and was raised by monks from the small Gilbertine priory at Ravenstonedale to protect their timber and fishing rights. The hillside terraces above are lynchets, which were created by medieval strip ploughing. Follow the dyke past the end of a stand of timber above a narrowing of the gorge. Later, the path loses height across an open field, where low grass pillow-mounds are the remains of conies or warrens, built during the Middle Ages to encourage breeding rabbits to provide a ready source of meat. At the far end, posts mark the path down a steep bank to a footbridge across a side-stream from Hag Mire.
Walk up to join a rising track towards Park House, but after 100m branch down beside a fence. Through gates, cross a second track coming from a bridge and carry on past a byre beside the river. Through a gate on the right by a footbridge join the adjacent track and follow it beneath the road bridge into Ravenstonedale. Reaching the main lane, cross Coldbeck Bridge, and at the junction immediately beyond bear right between buildings, from which a path leads across a playing field back to St Oswald’s Church.
WALK 3
Wath to Kelleth
| Start | Wath (NY 684 049) |
| Distance | 4 miles (6.4km) |
| Time | 1¾hr |
| Terrain | Field paths and quiet lanes |
| Height gain | 105m (344ft) |
| Maps | Explorer OL19 – Howgill Fells and Upper Eden Valley |
| Refreshments | Lune Spring Garden Centre café, Newbiggin-on-Lune |
| Toilets | None |
| Parking | Roadside parking at start |
Set in a wide valley between Great Asby Scar and the northern extremities of the Howgills, the upper reaches of the Lune’s valley provide lush grazing for cattle and sheep. The main road commandeers the base of the valley, following the embankment built for the Stainmore Railway. However, set further back, field paths and peaceful lanes invite relaxed rambling, with fine views to the wider backdrop of hills. This walk links the hamlets of Kelleth and Wath, both founded as farming settlements.
The Stainmore Railway ran between Darlington and Tebay and was completed in 1861. A strategic east–west route, the line was built by the South Durham & Lancashire Union Railway to transport Durham coke to the steelworks at Furness, and then return with high quality hematite needed for steel production on the Tees. Crossing the Pennines through the Stainmore Gap, the railway’s summit at 457m (1370ft) was the highest of any English main line and, being a particularly scenic route, it helped popularise the Lancashire seaside resorts as a destination for those in the north-east. However, the line remained predominantly used for freight, and after the demise of the Barrow steel industry in 1961 it was closed and the track taken up.
Join the minor lane, which burrows beneath the A685 bypass at Wath, and follow it south towards Bowderdale and Scar Sykes. At a fork take the Bowderdale branch to the right. Cross the stream at Bowderdale Foot and carry on along the lane to the farm at Long Gill. Passing through the gate, swing left in front of the farmhouse and then right through more gates beside the buildings and garden. Entering the field behind, go half-right to the foot of a gully. Veer left through a gate and walk on, with a fence now on your left. Approaching the far side of the second field, bear right and leave over a bridge onto a track. Follow it left to Flakebridge Farm.
Passing the corner of the 18th-century farmhouse, take a gate on the right into a small yard. Walk ahead through a second gate, entering the field beyond by yet another gate. Head away beside the wall towards the next farm, Cotegill.
Walk through the yard to reach a lane and go forward past the old farmhouse. Later reaching a junction, turn right to the main road. Cross to a gate beside the house opposite and pick up a grass track that winds through a second gate and leads down to a footbridge spanning the River Lune. A hollow path takes the way uphill to meet a lane at the edge of Kelleth.
Turn right through the village, passing the attractive 17th-century Kelleth Old Hall. Until 1978 it remained in the hands of a single family, the Whiteheads, who had been associated with George Fox, the founder of the Quaker Movement.
Kelleth Old Hall
At the far end of the village, fork right through a gate along a track signed to Wath. Passing through a couple of gates at the end, keep ahead and continue across the fields towards a tall barn. It was built into the slope of the hill so that its upper hayloft could be more easily filled to feed cattle, which were over-wintered in the stalls below. Having passed above a wood bear left, gaining height to a stile in the next wall. Keep going above Potlands Farm, eventually leaving the fields at Wath. Walk out through the farmyard to the lane and go right, crossing the Lune to return to the start.
WALK 4
Bowderdale and The Calf
| Start | Bowderdale (NY 678 046) |
| Distance | 11 miles (17.7km) |
| Time | 5½hr |
| Terrain | Valley paths and upland grass trods |
| Height gain | 605m (1985ft) |
| Maps | Explorer OL19 – Howgill Fells and Upper Eden Valley |
| Refreshments | Nearest facilities at Tebay |
| Toilets | None |
| Parking | Laneside parking near bridge at Bowderdale Foot |
| Note | The route is not recommended for inexperienced walkers in poor visibility, when map and compass are essential. |
Viewed from Sedbergh, the routes onto The Calf appear uncompromisingly steep, but approached from the north, gentle ridges and extended valleys suggest a less demanding path to the highest top of the Howgills. Long and straight, delving into the heart of the hills, Bowderdale is a wonderfully secluded place, where often you will have only fell ponies and the odd buzzard soaring overhead for company. The return over Hazelgill Knott gives dramatic glimpses into the upper reaches of Langdale, revealing the secretive folded beauty of the valley heads. If you are only to do one walk in the Howgills, this should be it.
A bridleway into Bowderdale leaves left from the lane, 200m west of the bridge at Bowderdale Foot. Follow the track through a couple of gates to the corner of a conifer plantation. It then curves across rough pasture, gaining height to a final gate in the far corner. Carry on beside a gently rising wall at the edge of the open fell, with the mouth of the long valley drawing you forwards.