Cautley Spout

Howgill Fells / Yorkshire Dales National Park, England, UK (Great Britain)

About Cautley Spout

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Waterfall Safety and Common Sense

Cautley Spout was said to possess the tallest cumulative height for a waterfall above ground in England at a reported 198m.

Note that 30m Hardraw Force was said to have the tallest unbroken singular drop above ground in England.

Cautley_Spout_009_08162014 - Cautley Spout
Cautley Spout

In any case, surrounding the Cautley Spout were the impressive mountains of the Howgill Fells, which further added to its scenic allure and ambience.

Yet even with these aspects going for it, this waterfall didn’t seem to get the kind of love we noticed most other waterfalls in the country tended to receive.

Upon our visit, we didn’t even notice much in the way of obvious signage pointing out the falls to a casual motorist that might be passing by.

Neither was there an obvious footpath leading to a closer and better view of Cautley Spout (unless you happened to be walking the public footpaths in the area coming from somewhere further away).

All of these things conspired to make visiting this waterfall more of an adventure than perhaps it ought to be.

Cautley_Spout_007_08162014 - Full context of the scenery at Cautley Spout
Full context of the scenery at Cautley Spout

That said, I’d imagine for those in the know that this relative obscurity would be welcome since it would mean no crowds.

Plus, you’d have to earn your experience with a fell walk, and it wouldn’t cost a ridiculous amount for parking and/or trail access.

Of course on the flip side, it would also mean that a lot of factors would have to go right in order to have a more successful visit than I was able to have (e.g. weather, preparation, timing, and more).

And as you can see from the photos on this page, I wasn’t able to get very far given the circumstances.

My Limited Cautley Spout Experience

After going back-and-forth and backtracking on the A683 road, I finally found an unsigned pullout where we were able to stop the car (see directions below).

Cautley_Spout_036_08162014 - Looking back at a hidden camera sign while walking along a shoulderless road after stopping the car at an unmarked pullout in pursuit of the Cautley Spout
Looking back at a hidden camera sign while walking along a shoulderless road after stopping the car at an unmarked pullout in pursuit of the Cautley Spout

Julie and Tahia opted to stay in the car given the strong winds and threatening weather.

As I got out of the car and started walking along the road, I was able to take the distant contextual photo of Cautley Spout that you see at the top of this page.

Note that there was no shoulder for pedestrians during my walk along the road so I literally had to keep an eye out for cars that happened to be driving by.

As I continued another 1/4-mile north towards the Low Haygarth property, that was when I saw there was a signposted public footpath that cut across the A683 road and onto the driveway of the property on the left.

So I followed this path through the driveway and past a few gates before I would eventually get to a field.

Cautley_Spout_026_08162014 - A deep stream crossing in order to continue the hike to get closer to the Cautley Spout
A deep stream crossing in order to continue the hike to get closer to the Cautley Spout

This was where I would get as close as I would wind up being to the Cautley Spout as I was stopped short by a fording of a stream that seemed to be running fairly deep.

Given the weather, the time of the day (it was almost 6pm), and that Julie and Tahia were waiting back at the car, I decided not to continue further and be content with my distant views of the falls.

Perhaps if I was better prepared, I might go the full distance and get a better experience with the falls, but only if I’m so fortunate to come back here.

In the end, this brief reconnaissance of the Cautley Spout and its access took me about 40 minutes.

It was still a decent waterfalling experience in that I got to see it and get a feel for the countryside scenery here.

Cautley_Spout_029_08162014 - Accessing the Cautley Spout looked like it involved walking through a footpath that passed through this property
Accessing the Cautley Spout looked like it involved walking through a footpath that passed through this property

However, I also felt like there was so much more that was left on the table.

Authorities

Cautley Spout resides in the Yorkshire Dales National Park near Sedbergh in Cumbria County, England. It may be administered by the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, you can visit their website.

Maps and Routing Content are for annual subscribers. See Membership Options.
Content is for subscribers. See Membership Options.
Tagged with: howgill fells, yorkshire dales, national park, england, uk, united kingdom, waterfall, cumbria county, low haygarth, sedbergh, kendal, kirkby stephen



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Johnny Cheng

About Johnny Cheng

Johnny Cheng is the founder of the World of Waterfalls and author of the award-winning A Guide to New Zealand Waterfalls. Over the last 2 decades, he has visited thousands of waterfalls in over 40 countries around the world and nearly 40 states in the USA.
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