Cautley Spout and The Calf Circular

A 5.2 mile (8.4 km) circular, usually 3.5 to 4 hours, starting and finishing at the small roadside lay-by near the Cross Keys Inn on the A683. From the lay-by a signed path crosses a footbridge over the River Rawthey, then follows Cautley Holme Beck under the dark bulk of Cautley Crag to the foot of Cautley Spout. The steep climb beside the falls leads onto open fellside and a high ridge to the trig point on The Calf at about 676 m, then over Bram Rigg Top and Calders, east along the fence line to Great Dummacks, and down steep open grass toward Pickering Gill to rejoin the valley path.

Hard for the distance. Around 1,690 ft of ascent, most of it in one sustained pull beside the waterfall on a very steep, smooth grassy slope. Footing is rough grass and stone with stream crossings, and the descent from Great Dummacks is on steep pathless turf that punishes tired legs. The waterfall itself is genuinely dangerous, with a potentially fatal drop into the gill, so keep well back from edges.

Two sections cross open fellside with no clear path, so you need to be comfortable with a map and compass rather than relying on a worn line underfoot. The ridge is high, wind exposed and almost shelterless. In cloud or hill fog this is not a route to guess at, and on the Great Dummacks descent you must stay well away from the Cautley Crag side.

Parking is very limited at the lay-by, so arrive early and never block the road. Treat the start as having no facilities and carry your own water and food.

Cautley Spout is the headline, visible on the walk in and best photographed from below on the approach, when the light falls into the amphitheatre. Higher up the payoff is the sweep of rounded grassy Howgill ridges, crags and beck lines, with wide Dales views from the summit trig point. Low sun early and late gives the ridges their shape.

Dogs are allowed on the public rights of way here, but this is working fell country. Keep them under close control, on leads near livestock, and on short leads from March through July around sheep and ground-nesting birds.

The short out-and-back to the base of Cautley Spout from the Cross Keys is a much easier option and still gives you the waterfall. Choose that one if you would rather skip the steep climb, the high ridge and the pathless ground.