The Route Details for Winder

Directions to be used in conjunction with a map.

1. Let’s climb Winder! (Recommended rallying adventure cry…. it’s ok, you don’t need to do that bit)

2. Starting from Joss Lane Car Park, head to the entrance and turn right (if you need any last minute toilet breaks, the toilets are on your left, you need to head out the car park, they’re on the main road.) Turn right out of the car park and head up Joss Lane, following the road as it bends round to the right, heading past the factory shop (which is to your left and at the bend.)

3. You will still be on Joss Lane, walking through a residential area, until you reach a gate at the end. Head through the gate as it heads onto an access track. Here ahead of you is a holiday property to the right of the track. The path bends round to the left as it approaches the wall, heading through a gate into a narrow fenced/ walled path. It’s signposted ‘To the Fell’ (which I love).

4. As you head through the next gate, to your right is Settlebeck Gill, which is stunningly clear, a definite Lake District feel to the water! Continue up the hill, keeping the beck on your right, until you reach a metal gate at the top, marked as your entrance to Open Access Land.

5. At the gate, there is a path down to the right which takes you to the edge of the beck, there is one to the left, which heads along the wall to your left, another that heads diagonally straight up the fell. The one you need I would describe as the MAIN path, roughly straight on and upwards. This is the main path up to The Calf, which is the highest peak in the Howgills. TOP TIP! Check your map at this point! The path you need is marked as the Dales High Way.

6. Continue along this path. It is well trodden and will take you across several streams along the way (even more if it’s as wet as it was when we took these pictures!) To your right, is Settlebeck Gill, which will drop deeper and deeper as you climb away from it. To your left is the fell you’re climbing, Winder.

7. There are several obvious paths dotted around the area, and you will need some basic navigation skills and a map to make sure you are on the right track (as we recommend with all of our walks!)

8. Continue along the Dales High Way, keeping the gill to your right. The gill will start to head away to your right, moving further from the path. You can just catch a glimpse of a waterfall at this point. Here, there is an offshoot path to your left. This is not as broad as the one you are on, but is still very defined. To assist, the point at which you turn away to the left is What 3 Words explorer.newsreel.predict or grid reference SD 65958 93543)

9. The path heads upwards, at a reasonably steep climb, and then joins the bridleway, which is an obviously wide track. Here you need to turn left, still heading upwards. Speaking of bridleways, there are regularly fell ponies roaming the fells, so keep your eyes peeled!

10. The path is very well defined and will take you to the viewpoint and trig point. Check out the awesome views. You will be able to see for MILES! Which is always cool for a little fell! Check out the Howgills… aren’t they awesome? One of my favourite parts of the Yorkshire Dales National Park and a range of mountains that Wainwright described as being like ‘sleeping elephants’. Which obviously, I also love!

11. From the summit trig begins your descent. You will see an obvious path heading gradually down in a westerly direction. It will continue in this direction more or less all the way down the fell.

12. Here, you are presented with an option. We walked this walk in a period of intense rain, and the ground was MUDDY! So we opted to head straight on through the gate in the dry stone wall which leads to Howgill Lane, a road, as it was pretty arduous underfoot!). If you head this way, you can turn left and head back along it back into Sedbergh, but you will be sharing this with vehicles.

13. Alternatively, to avoid the road, there is a path (unmarked on an Ordnance Survey Explorer Map, but visible on the standard map on the OS Navigation App and also on the ground) and you can follow this back to Lockbank Farm. Before you reach the gate in the dry stone wall (as mentioned above) turn left. Use the dry stone wall to your right as a guide. You will loosely follow it all the way to Lockbank Farm where there is a gate into the famyard.

14. Head through Lockbank Farm following the signs for their preferred route through the farm (maybe stop for ice cream here! They do have a kiosk on occasion). Then head back to Howgill Lane, turning left and heading past the play park, then back into Sedbergh!

Last walked April 2024.