Mountain (Hewitt), Nuttall, Marilyn & OS Trig Point Icon

The Calf
676m (2218ft)

The Howgill Fells, The Yorkshire Dales, Cumbria, England

The summit of The Calf is marked by an Ordnance Survey Trig Point.


Record The Calf as Bagged, Climbed & Conquered


English Mountain Icon

English Mountain
118th highest in England,
201st in England & Wales

English Nuttall Icon

English Nuttall
157th highest in England,
268th in England & Wales

English Marilyn Icon

English Marilyn
37th highest in England,
642nd highest in Great Britain

English Trig Point Icon


English Trig Point (Pillar)

Walk The Calf walking UK Mountains in The Howgill Fells The Yorkshire Dales National Park Cumbria, England

The Calf Summit

Photo: Graham Fleet

You can find The Calf & all the walks that climb it on these unique free-to-access Interactive Walk Planning Maps: (click/TAP to select)

The Yorkshire Dales National Park


1:25,000 scale OS Explorer Map (the ones with orange/yellow covers):

OL19 Howgill Fells and Upper Eden Valley


1:50,000 scale OS Landranger Map (the ones with pink/magenta covers):

98 Wensleydale & Upper Wharfedale


See The Calf and the surrounding tops on our free-to-access 'Google Style' Peak Bagging Maps:

See The Calf and the surrounding tops on our downloadable PDF Peak Bagging Map:


You can walk to the top of The Calf by using any of these 6 easy‑to‑follow route maps:
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Walk c365 Calders and The Calf via Cautley Spout from The Cross Keys

A stunning waterfall - can be difficult in mist

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Vital Statistics:

Length: 6ml (9.5km)
Ascent:1,946ft (593m)
Time:4½ hrs
Grade:Walk Grade 5 Icon (Moderate)
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Walk c336 Calders, The Calf and Yarlside via Cautley Spout from The Cross Keys

A stunning waterfall - can be difficult in mist

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Vital Statistics:

Length: 6.5ml (10.5km)
Ascent:2,612ft (796m)
Time:5 hrs
Grade:Walk Grade 6 Icon (Moderate)
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Walk c330 Yarlside, Randygill Top, The Calf and Calders from The Cross Keys

The fabulous Howgills

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Vital Statistics:

Length: 8ml (12.5km)
Ascent:3,485ft (1,062m)
Time:6½ hrs
Grade:Walk Grade 7 Icon (Hard)
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Walk c307 Arant Haw, Calders and The Calf from Sedbergh

Wide expansive views

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Vital Statistics:

Length: 9.5ml (15km)
Ascent:3,114ft (949m)
Time:6½ hrs
Grade:Walk Grade 7 Icon (Hard)
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Walk c180 The Howgills from Low Carlingill Bridge

Cumbria's finest waterfall - though few paths and the ascent up Carlingill Spout can be a little daunting

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Vital Statistics:

Length: 11ml (17.5km)
Ascent:4,430ft (1,350m)
Time:8½ hrs
Grade:Walk Grade 8 Icon (Hard)
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Walk c347 The Howgill Fells 2000ft'ers

All the Howgills 2000ft'ers - in the easiest order

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Vital Statistics:

Length: 11.5ml (18.5km)
Ascent:4,411ft (1,344m)
Time:8.75hrs
Grade:Walk Grade 8 Icon (Hard)

Other walkers who hiked, climbed, bagged and summited The Calf Fellow go4awalkers who have already walked, climbed, summited & bagged The Calf

Karen Pecsvaradi walked up The Calf on May 12th, 2022 [from/via/route] Sedbergh [with] C307 [weather] Cloudy & windy but dry - Took 5 hours

Caroline Winter climbed The Calf on May 31st, 2021 [from/via/route] Cross keys pub, Ben End, Yarlside, Kensgriff, Randygill Top, Bowderdale Beck, The Calf, White Fell Head, Calders, Great Dummacks, Pickering Gill [with] Becky [weather] Excellent views. Warm & sunny. Windy on tops - Long day with lots of ups & downs

Mark Davidson bagged The Calf on November 24th, 2002 [from/via/route] Walk c307 Arant Haw, Calders & The Calf from Sedbergh [with] MK [weather] Pretty good for November

Margaret Richards hiked The Calf on October 25th, 2018 [from/via/route] c307 The Calf from Sedbergh [with] Don [weather] Very misty

Kevin Foster summited The Calf on September 19th, 2017 [from/via/route] Calders [with] Diana and Henry [weather] Cloudy (Sunny in the breaks), no rain. - The walking was now very easy following the ridge path from Calders to The Calf with it's trig point prominent ahead. At the first of two slight cols I diverted off the path to take in the grassy summit of Bram Rigg Top (no cairn). It was declassified as a Nuttall because it lacked the necessary prominence but you never know it may get reinstated.....in which case I've already bagged it!. Rejoining Diana on the main path we climbed from the second col to the trig point on The Calf, passing some fell ponies on our right (or were they just big sheep?). As my wife said should have gone to Spec Savers! The 360 degree panorama from The Calf was amazing especially westwards towards the Lakeland skyline. I also noticed some hang gliders in the vicinity of Fell Head which I'm planning to do quite soon. Tempting as it was to head down the ridge in that direction we then headed back towards Bowderdale Head on a clear path first NNE then descending ENE. There is now a distinct path down to the head of Bowderdale near the sheepfold I'm pleased to say (this section was always a "free for all" & difficult to locate in misty conditions). Anyway, by the time we'd descended from the Bowderdale Head col to the valley floor we had "jelly legs" as my wife describes it but it was definitely worth it!

Tony Rogerson conquered The Calf on May 7th, 2016 [from/via/route] Sedbergh Calders Bram Rigg Top The Calf Sedbergh [with] Caz Floss [weather] Warm Sunny intervals Breezy on tops

Christine Shepherd scaled The Calf on April 20th, 2013 [from/via/route] Walked from The Cross Keys using walk c336 [with] On my own [weather] Sunny but very windy on the summit - Climbed this again with walk c347 on 24.7.14

David Congreave walked up The Calf on February 28th, 2015 [from/via/route] Cautley Spout [with] Jonah [weather] Misty - Missed the Swere Gill path that goes along Cautley Crag. Easy to miss in low visibility

Darren Wilson climbed The Calf on April 24th, 2010 [from/via/route] Howgills, Caughtley Spout, The Calf

Wyn Griffiths bagged The Calf on May 31st, 2014 [from/via/route] c347 from Cross Keys Randygill Top & Yarlside [with] me [weather] Dry, overcast & misty - Training for Welsh 3000

To add (or remove) your name and experiences on this page - Log On and edit your Personal Mountain Bagging Record

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More Photographs & Pictures of views from, on or of The Calf

The trig point on the summit of The Calf

The trig point on the summit of The Calf

Photo: Mark Davidson (93)

The trig point on the summit of The Calf

The trig point on the summit of The Calf

Photo: Christine Shepherd (686)

The Calf from Arant Haw

The Calf from Arant Haw

Photo: Simon Barnett (5)

Blease Fell (left), Fell Head (Howgills) and The Calf (right)  above Low Carlingill from the lower slopes of Grayrigg Forest

Blease Fell (left), Fell Head (Howgills) and The Calf (right) above Low Carlingill from the lower slopes of Grayrigg Forest

Photo: Mike Walker (99)

Yarlside (left) and The Calf (right) from Simon's Seat (Howgills)

Yarlside (left) and The Calf (right) from Simon's Seat (Howgills)

Photo: Mark Davidson (87)

An Andy Goldworthy 'Sheep Pen' in the valley below from the path between Little Dummacks and The Calf

An Andy Goldworthy 'Sheep Pen' in the valley below from the path between Little Dummacks and The Calf

Photo: Christine Shepherd (126)

Cyclist (and bike) on The Calf trig point

Cyclist (and bike) on The Calf trig point

Photo: Christine Shepherd (135)

The Calf and Calders from Fell Head (Howgills)

The Calf and Calders from Fell Head (Howgills)

Photo: Graham Fleet (15)

My walking buddy Tony on The Calf in The Howgills in late May!

My walking buddy Tony on The Calf in The Howgills in late May!

Photo: Billy Howson (1)

The onward path to Calders and The Calf from Arant Haw

The onward path to Calders and The Calf from Arant Haw

Photo: Christine Shepherd (684)

Linghaw behind Fell Head (Howgills) from near The Calf

Linghaw behind Fell Head (Howgills) from near The Calf

Photo: Graham Fleet (11)

The Calf summit trig point

The Calf summit trig point

Photo: Christine Shepherd (219)

On the summit of The Calf

On the summit of The Calf

Photo: David Chesworth (2)

The Calf from Bush Howe summit cairn

The Calf from Bush Howe summit cairn

Photo: Graham Fleet (12)

Blease Fell and The Howgill Fells 2000ft'ers - Randygill Top, The Calf, Calders and Fell Head (Howgills) - from Grayrigg Pike (Grayrigg Forest) summit

Blease Fell and The Howgill Fells 2000ft'ers - Randygill Top, The Calf, Calders and Fell Head (Howgills) - from Grayrigg Pike (Grayrigg Forest) summit

Photo: Mike Walker (107)

The magnificent view from The Calf in the Howgills after a full English and a stiff climb

The magnificent view from The Calf in the Howgills after a full English and a stiff climb

Photo: Paul Brown (3)

The Calf trig point

The Calf trig point

Photo: Christine Shepherd (134)


Send us your photographs and pictures on, of, or from The Calf

If you would like to add your walk photographs and pictures featuring views from, on or of The Calf to this page, please send them as email attachments (configured for any computer) along with your name to:



and we shall do our best to publish them.

(Guide Resolution = 300dpi. At least = 660pixels (wide) x 440 pixels (high).)

Send us your photographs and pictures on, of, or from The Calf via Facebook

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NB. Please indicate where each photo was taken.






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