The Mallerstang Triangle

To the east of the Howgill Fells lies a large expanse of moorland which is known by some as the Mallerstang Triangle.  It is made up of the combined high ground of Wild Boar Fell and Swarth Fell which is separated from the larger plateau of Baugh Fell by Holmes Moss.  On the map it looks like a long day and in reality it turned out to be longer.

Heading up to Sand Tarn from Uldale I realised that the ground would normally be wet underfoot but the lack of rain over the past few weeks made the going quite pleasant and was all the better with the good views over to the Howgills with only a slight breeze to lessen the warmth of the sun. 

Sand Tarn

The water level at Sand Tarn was low and after wandering to its north end I discovered that the tarn was actually two bodies of water, separated by a narrow beach that contained a few completely redundant stepping stones.  From the tarn a takes a rising traverse from the beach up to the escarpment.  It looks steep but the view is foreshortened and the path is easy to follow.  The summit of Wild Boar Fell sits back from the edge and a short stroll over very easy ground gains the top.

Two Sand Tarns

Howgill Fells and Sand Tarn

Wild Boar Fell summit

 A rebuilt trig point within a three-quarter circular shelter would appear to be the summit but the true highpoint is an embedded rock about one hundred feet away and I had to use my GPS to find it.  The views, although hazy, were panoramic.  I could see the Yorkshire Three Peaks, Calf Top, the Howgill Fells, the northern Lake District summits and Morecambe Bay.

Wild Boar Fell summit trig & shelter

distant Ingleborough & Whernside

Swarth Fell from the north

Swarth Fell was the next summit and it took a counterintuitive dog-leg route to get there.  The ground was good, passing the tarn at the col and then rising up to some rocky terrain at the top; unusual for a moorland summit.  Walking over to Swarth Fell Pike was easy and the true summit was an unremarkable mound of heather some way short of the cairn.  I turned back and aimed for the descending wall that took me over some boggier ground as I approached Holmes Moss.  This descent would have been a nightmare if there had been any recent rain!

Rawthey Gill Foot is an idyll under blue skies with its attractive pools that might tempt a dip on warmer days.  I crossed the beck on some submerged mossy slabs and after a short rest started to make my way uphill again, looking to climb 200 metres quickly to complete the bulk of the ascent of Baugh Fell and reach the east of the plateau.  I roughly contoured to some cairns below Knoutberry Haw and headed straight for Tarn Rigg Hill.

The high point of Tarn Rigg Hill is another typically vague Pennine summit.  According to my GPS I got to within 1 metre of it where there is a tiny outcrop.  There might be higher ground on the other side of the wall but I’m claiming the tick.

Looking back from whence I came it was immediately apparent that I’d walked a long way from Wild Boar Fell.  And there was still quite a way to go.  The views were extensive and the lowering sun was glinting off the windows of Sedbergh. 

Knoutberry Haw looked higher than Tarn Rigg Hill but it is 2 metres lower.  I followed the walls to that summit, marked by a mossy trig point, and was glad to have ticked the day’s targets.  The clear visibility made it obvious how much more walking I still had left to do.

Knoutberry Haw trig point

I kept on the trackless plateau to West Baugh Fell Tarn which, although quite open, looked to be a reasonable wild camping spot.  From the tarn I carried on northwards and crossed Slate Gill before crossing a fence into a new plantation in the hope of descending to Rawthey Gill.  This wasn’t the best idea as the gill was protected by a vertical cliff!  So I covered the rougher ground until I could descend easily and then followed the attractive river and its falls to the footbridge that led to the private road that took me back to the car.

West Baugh Fell Tarn, Wild Boar Fell & Swarth Fell

My own variation of Naismith’s Rule said that this route would take just over eight hours; in the end in took ten!