Tebay Gill Round.

Start. Tebay.

Route. Tebay - Tebaygill Farm - Roger Howe - White Combs - Powson Knott - Blease Fell - Tebaygill Head - Hare Shaw - Tebay Fell - Knott - Weather Hill - Waskew Head - Tebay.

Notes. I’ve heard the Howgill Fells described in a number of ways, old Wainwright described them as a heard of sleeping elephants, dimpled fells a friend calls them, the friendly hills is a rather good description, but whilst sitting having lunch on Blease Fell Sue came up with a cracking depiction, “they're like fluffy pillows”, I laughed, looked along the ridge lines, bloody hell she was right.

Tebay sits in the folds of the fluffy pillows in the upper Lune Valley at the head of the Lune Gorge, prior to the arrival of the railway the population was six, the railways brought in people and money, the village expanded, sadly various cut backs and the end of junction traffic saw the closure of Tebay Railway Station and a de-population of the village. Today it’s a sad unkempt little place passed by road and rail, so next time you’re heading north to the Lakes or Scotland stop, put your walking boots on and head into the folds of those fluffy pillows.

We parked at Mount Pleasant next to the recycle bins and kids playing field. Next to the Old School House a tarmac track cuts north over a cattle grid passed some lock up garages and out onto the open fell, this we followed. At Tebaygill Farm the lane turned to gravel, a third of a mile further on we left the track, ascended over moorland grass to reach the summit of Roger Howe. We continued climbing the wide grassy ridge, over White Combs to the summit of Powson Knott, the path continued into a boggy dip followed by a long pull to the summit of Blease Fell. The cairn might be small but the views are vast, we sat watching traffic on the M6, trains on the West Coast Main Line, looked along the length of a narrow road the Romans christened Fairmile, all this along with the River Lune and A685 pass through the narrow Lune Gorge.

We sat ages before heading east over Tebaygill Head above Grains Gill, after swinging north we ascended to the small cairn on Hare Shaw, continuing along the ridge line we traversed Tebay Fell to access Knott then on to Weather Hill. Things were starting to level off a little, from Weather Hill we made for Waskew Head Farm before descending the farm lane from hell, no wonder the fenced land surrounding the farm was full of wrecked rotting vehicles. Never the less we slipped, tripped and stumbled down the deep rutted farm track soon emerging at a junction we passed on our outward route, all that remained to re-trace our steps of earlier.

view route map.

home.

Moorland views to Edge Farm from the track guiding us to Tebaygill Farm.

One of many withering field barns found in these parts.

Views from Powson Knott, across Birkbeck Fells Common the Shap Fells.

Sue cuts a lonely figure striding out through these desolate fells.

Looking over the Lune Gorge to the Little Coum and Great Coum faces of Grayrigg Pike.

The lonely ridges of the Howgill Fells, ascending Blease Fell looking back to Powson Knott.

The other Borrowdale.

Views taken down Tebay Gill, across the horizon Orton Scar.

The summit Blease Fell.

Here's a photo that turns back the pages of the history books, Fairmile to the left of the River Lune built by the Romans after the invasion around 43 AD, to it's right the River Lune trade route used by Viking invaders and settlers around 925 AD, most of the place names in Cumbria date back to this period, the West Coast Main Railway Line driven through the Lune Gorge between 1830-1870, and finally the northern reaches of the M6 Motorway built in the 1960s to early 70s.

Fell Head seen over the deep cut ravine of Carlin Gill.

You don't see that every day, steam train on the West Coast Main Line.

These fells may lack cliffs and lakes and stunning ridge walks, but it's the journey that counts. The view, Borrowdale backed by the Shap Fells and distant grey hills of the Lake District.

Next on the bill Hare Shaw.

The summit Hare Shaw looking back to Blease Fell.

The scene over Eller Gill taking in the rolling hills of Raspa Pike and Archer Hill.

Descending Knott looking to Weather Hill with Orton Scar across the upper Lune valley.

Seen over Rasps and Hand Lake the rolling ridge lines of the Howgill Fells.

Descending the farm lane from hell, looking back to Waskew Head.

The valley of Tebay Gill, on the horizon to the left Hare Shaw, to the right across Tebaygill Head Blease Fell.

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