The Calf via Cautley Spout
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- The highest waterfall in England
- Easy walking once the plateau is reached
- Lonely and forgotten hills
Despite having tea at the Cross Keys pub for many years in the 1970s I genuinely knew nothing about the hills nearby. The Howgills were something that I passed on the way north to Keswick (I always thought it looked good walking terrain though) and Sedbergh was the place where my brother went to school. However time passed and I could ignore the area no longer. I have now climbed the Calf via Cautley Spout twice in 2 years, it was so good that I wanted to explore further. Cautley Spout is the largest waterfall in England with a fall of 650 foot; walking up the valley the falls appear as a great gash in a wall of rock and made me ponder how I was going to get up. At the top of the Spout I crossed the stream and took the intermittent path which skirts the crags of Cautley which is far and away the best route to the summit of the Calf – the direct route being tedious in the extreme once the top of the Spout is reached. The Calf itself is nothing special but the descent via Bowderdale is spooky. I am not sure why I find Bowderdale spooky but it is, the first time I was there darkness was starting to fall and as I really did not fancy an extended stay, I ran! These are lonely hills but there are compensations in this; the sense of freedom being one and the horses which greet you on the valley floor being another.
Recommend: For those, like me, who are obsessed with ticking peaks Yarlside is a steep 700 foot haul from Bowderdale, for those who care less about the summits forget it!
© Crown copyright 2010 Ordnance Survey. Image produced from the Ordnance Survey Get-a-map service. Image reproduced with kind permission of Ordnance Survey and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland.
| OS Map: | O/S 1.25,000. OL19 Howgill Fells & Upper Eden Valley |
| Start Point: | 698969. Park on the road near the Cross Keys (space available) and head for the little bridge over the river. |
| Terrain: | Fine up the re-built path up Cautley Spout but be sure to cross on the ridge above Cautley Crags for the best possible circuit (see picture). Trackless up Yarlside. |
| Eating & Drinking: | I have eaten many a 'high tea' at the isolated Cross Keys pub and remember it in different days. Now it is a National Trust Temperence Inn with excellent food but clearly no beer (except Mon/Tue when closed). |
| Similar Walks Nearby: | The Lonely Howgills Massive Baugh Fell Northern Howgills Explorer |
| Places to Stay: | Summerhill GH, Sedbergh Fellsview Cottage, Sedbergh Foxhole Rigg Barn, nr Sedbergh |
We walked over Great Dummacks today from the A 683 ( parked near to the church by St marks Band B) then skirted the top of the crags and down Cautley spout. The weather closed in on the tops which are quite exposed, and we were blasted by hail, although we had the good fortune of being wind assisted as the prevailing wind was at our backs. Visibilty was not bad and there was a sprinkling of snow on the hills all around which made the experience all the more atmospheric. The spout was in full flow and did not disappoint as we descended into the valley below. Fantastic glacial landscape, redolent of the Highlands, especially with the weather. A brilliant day, all the more poignant as we had done this walk 34 years ago with school. We will go back in the spring and do the same walk in reverse.