Cawdale, west of Shap

 Tuesday 1st. April 2025

The best walk (on my own) for a long time.

Cloudless blue sky. Warmish, best for walking temperature. Remote location. Top of the world ambience. Exploration of an area new to me. 

The first photo is of my Kia Sportage. I have had this for about five months. One feature is the electric sliding sunroof. Today,  just before I joined the M6, I decided to welcome this year's first warm weather by opening that gadget for the first time. Within seconds on the M6 I felt "stuff" raining on my head. A mixture of insects and small bits of black, unidentifiable debris and goodness knows what else. There is a complex of buttons in the roof controlling the sunroof and some interior lighting and I couldn't find the sunroof one while driving. I had to put up with that until I left the M6 at Shap. I don't normally do Spring Cleaning, but for the car that is now a job awaiting.

Winding narrow lanes from Shap took me to just about as remote a location as one can get by road in England. Anticipation of vehicles approaching from the opposite direction gave cause for apprehension akin to playing Russian Roulette. Fortunately, both going snd returning I only met a couple of other vehicles with no great problem.

My objective was to explore Cawdale, at least as far as the path ending shown on the OS map. Inital road walking was pure joy. An indication of the remoteness was underlined by gated roads, something that is rare these days, most having been replaced by cattle grids. This is certainly the land of exemplary dry stone walls. We all know that they are constructed from irregular, random stones, but here the shapes were particularly challenging. Suffice to say their clever construction, not immediately apparent, has stood the test of time going back hundreds of years. I found a well written article with much information I was unaware of which is worth a look:

CLICK IF YOU WANT TO READ

To the east I had the longest continuous stretch of the Pennines in view for most of the day. I can't recall  such an extensive, day long aspect from any other location in the past, and it conveyed an impressive impression of the scale of this valuable icon of our heritage.

Despite the remoteness of the area my route passed several old farms now mostly converted to holiday accommodation. I wondered if the owners give fair warming to potential customers of the hazardous road approaches with large SUVs and the like.

Eventually after passing the last of those complexes I was rewarded with a surprise first view into Cawdale from an elevated position. A well engineered wide green path lead down to  the floor of the dale.   The atmosphere of silence, wilderness and  overall beauty of this kind of environment is something that does wonders for my soul.

When I arrived at the end of the OS marked path I could see a spur dropping into the left of the dale perhaps half a mile further on. That would give me access to a view round into the head of the valley. A bit  beyond what I had anticipated being able to achieve. A lesser path continued and I saw my view round the corner into the head of Cawdale. I was looking down to my right to Cawdale Beck below and an entrancing waterfall with ancient dilapidated sheepfolds on the bank. I could see there was an advantageous path on the other side of the beck to improve my return. I descended and managed to cross the stream and sat for my snack and coffee with a view of the waterfall and the head of the valley beyond. Perfect.

The return journey coincided for a while before I picked up the end of the tarmac road where my car was parked half a mile further down. I noticed there was potential parking at the end of that tarmac which could lead to a circuit out of the head of Cawdale snd return by The Hause. We will see.

My route climbed the road behind my car

I turned right near the stand of trees in the distance

Challenging stone shapes for the drystone wall

Architect's website reveals high end property conversion. My research failed to find a translation for the name

Steil, Bampton

Howe Farm. I branched off through a gate before the farm

My route through the gate.

Our restoration of a remote 17th C. farmhouse with the integration of renewable technologies and conversion of a bank barn and byre hemp lime insulation within an air-tight envelope quickly became an archetype for the rejuvenation of traditional Lakeland buildings.  This project won two RIBA Awards, including the Regional Award for 

Vaugh Stei

Moorahill Farm, and below. 

Note Rookery behind

Unusual sort of alleyway path between fields

Lower Callhullan Farm - holiday cottages...

...and Upper Calhullan. Footpath goes between end of white building and one to its left

I saw lots of fell ponies

First view of Cawdale and the engineered path leading down.

I part ascended the spur between the trees until I could see into the head of Cawdale

Looking up towards the head of the Dale. My furthest point.
Next photo looking down right from there to...

...Cawdale Beck with waterfall and old sheepfolds. I descended and crossed the stream

My lunch spot looking up to the head of the dale

Anti-clockwise from Hullockhowe

I tried to copy and paste info. from the estate agent's blurb mentioned above. It must have been copywriten or whatever and it played havoc with my positioning of the photos. I spent ages but gave it up as a bad job.