Dales 30
My Dales 30

Fell Head

Route Options
Height

640m (2,100ft)

Location

Howgills

Neighbours

The Calf, Calders

Height

640m (2,100ft)

Location

Howgills

Neighbours

The Calf, Calders

Gallery of Fell Head

The Lune Valley
The Lune Valley
Fell Head from Calf
Fell Head from Calf
Fell Head from Howgill
Fell Head from Howgill
Howgill wild ponies
Howgill wild ponies
The infamous Stump
The infamous Stump
Looking towards The Calf
Looking towards The Calf
On a Dales 30 Weekender
On a Dales 30 Weekender
All about Access Land
All about Access Land

Jonathan’s View

"Another excellent fell in the Howgills. Fell Head is the western Howgill equivalent of Yarlside; the intricate network of graceful, grassy ridges, the walking on excellent turf and the views are outstanding. Fell Head has the advantage over Yarlside in having better views of the Lake District and a great perspective of the Lune Valley (only partially disturbed by the M6). However the summit is not quite so well formed and graceful.

I have glanced up at Fell Head and its satellites (although I have never known its name) for many years as I’ve swept past on the M6. The paths networking the steep fellside are clearly visible and they always look tempting. However it was only when I realised that Fell Head was one of the Dales 30 that I had a good reason to climb this side of the Howgills. I had never seen anyone on the paths in all the years of driving so imagine my surprise when I followed a couple up from Howgill Lane and then dumbfounded when I discovered two more ticking the summit having crossed over from the Calf."

Routes up Fell Head

There is a choice of routes up Fell Head . They are shown on the map and described below. The GPX file describes my favourite route.

click the image to see a larger version of the mao

My Favourite Route

From the Lune Valley to the West

Height to Climb

510m (1,280ft)

O/S Explorer Map
Parking

SD 629981 Parking near the tree stump on Howgill Lane

  1. There is limited parking on Howgill Lane. However there is a cleared place for a number of cars 100ms north of Fairmile Beck next to a tree stump.
  2. Walk south for 2km on Howgill Lane to a lane on the left at Beck House. After fiddling through the farmyard (there are signs directing you) and passing through 3 gates cross the stream and head for the final ‘fell wall’.
  3. Beyond the gate on the Fell Wall the public footpath gradually climbs north of east for 3/4km in open fellside. When a path arrives from your right turn north north and then climb west to the start of the ridge of Whins End.
  4. From Whins Fell the grassy ridge climbs steeply north of west directly to the west top of Fell Head. 200ms further is the actual summit marked by a fair sized cairn. The ridge to the Calf carries on initially in the same direction before bending and climbing in a south easterly direction. It is 2 km away.

Howgill wild ponies

Alternative Routes

From Carlington Bridge to the North

From Carlingill Bridge. The excellent track on the north facing shoulder seen so clearly from the M6, meets the main descent path of the Main Route at Ling Haw and continues to the summit. There is no alternative descent unless returning to the car park on Howgill Lane a number of km further north.

Continue from The Calf

Fell Head is less than 3km from The Calf and can be visited and retuned on an hour’s detour.

However if you wish to include it on a long circular from Sedbergh it is a fine walk, one of the best in the Dales. After climbing the ridge over Calders and The Calf head NNW and then ESE after 2km on the long undulating ridge from the The Calf to Fell Head. From Fell Head drop down to Howgill Lane as described on the Best Route, From ther lane turn left and follow the road 7km back to Sedbergh

The Dales 30 Book

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Each of the 30 mountains includes the following:

A full description of the Best Route

A personal view of the mountain from the author

High quality, colour photography

A sketch map showing the route & alternatives

Facts and anecdotes about the mountain and the nearby area

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