Sedbergh to The Calf
Start Sedbergh, Joss Lane car park
Getting here Parking: Sedbergh (paid), 0.2 km from the start (straight line). Parking & buses ↓
Hardest part Hard distance: 18.34 km — a long day out. Hard steepness: Steepest sustained climb about 35% around the 1.4 km mark. Hard terrain: Rough or partly pathless ground — indistinct path in places, rough/natural surface. Hard – estimated from the map, not checked on the ground Hard navigation: Care needed in cloud — ~24% featureless high ground, 46 path junctions near the line. Hard – estimated from the map, not checked on the ground
Before you choose
Daylight & turnaround
Daylight is short from October to February — check today’s sunrise and sunset before you set off, and carry a head-torch and spare batteries. On short days, decide your turn-back time before you start.
See also walking in bad weather and today’s conditions.
Route map
1 Arant Haw2 Calders3 The Calf4 Bush Howe5 Fell Head
Easy 81%Moderate 12%Hard 7%Severe
Heights on this chart and its high point are read from the track itself (a terrain model sampled along the line, or a GPS recording), so a top can differ from its listed height, usually reading lower.
Free mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap, with SRTM elevation data (switch layers top-right).
The elevation profile is under the map; the stage notes follow.
The walk, stage by stage
- 1
Start → Arant Haw (3.0 km, 485 m)
Climb of about 485 m over 3.0 km (around 16% average).
- 2
Arant Haw → Calders (1.9 km, 144 m)
Descent of about 64 m, then a climb of about 144 m, over 1.9 km.
- 3
Calders → The Calf (1.1 km, 20 m)
Undulating section of about 1.1 km.
- 4
The Calf → Bush Howe (1.4 km, 25 m)
Descent of about 55 m over 1.4 km.
- 5
Bush Howe → Fell Head (1.3 km, 59 m)
Undulating section of about 1.3 km.
Fell Head → Finish (9.7 km, 188 m)
Descent of about 506 m, with about 188 m of climbing, over 9.7 km.
GPX track for your GPS or phone. Planned route · not yet walked
Conditions and timing
Check live conditions in the “From the fells” panel, on MWIS (opens in new tab) and the Met Office mountain forecast (opens in new tab) before you set off.
Getting there and back
Parking
Positions are approximate.
Vehicles are left at their owner’s risk: we list places people park and cannot vouch for any of them. Take valuables with you and leave nothing on show.
Buses
We don’t know yet. The path network around this start isn’t mapped well enough for us to measure a walk from the nearest stop. That’s a gap in our data, not a sign that no bus comes here.
Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com (opens in new tab) or Traveline before travelling.
Toilets and refreshments
Water, shelter & getting away
On-route facilities © OpenStreetMap contributors — an absent marker does not mean the facility isn’t there.
Getting there across the Lake District: Buses · Parking map · By train · By boat
Planning detail
How each grade on this page is set, and the timings stage by stage.
Difficulty profile
Hard overall — hardest: Length, steepness, terrain (estimated from the map, not checked on the ground) and navigation (estimated from the map, not checked on the ground); exposure not assessed on the ground
Five independent axes, not one score. None of them was set on the ground: they are computed from the recorded track and the map, which measures the line rather than surveying the ground.
How we grade: each axis is Easy, Moderate, Hard or Severe, and a route between two bands takes the higher one. Length: under 8 km, 8–14 km, 14–20 km, over 20 km. Steepness, the steepest 500 m of the track: under 15%, 15–25%, 25–35%, over 35%. Terrain, navigation and exposure are judged rather than measured, and each note says why. How we grade.
Pacing
| Summit | Cumulative | Ascent | Time (fast–steady) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Arant Haw | 3.0 km | 485 m | 1:24–1:52 |
| 2Calders | 4.9 km | 629 m | 2:02–2:42 |
| 3The Calf | 6.0 km | 649 m | 2:17–3:02 |
| 4Bush Howe | 7.4 km | 674 m | 2:36–3:28 |
| 5Fell Head | 8.7 km | 733 m | 2:57–3:56 |
| Finish | 18.3 km | 920 m | 5:12–6:55 |
A fast–steady range from Naismith’s rule, deliberately on the slow side. Breaks, weather, rough ground and the slowest person in your party all add to it. How we time walks.
Access & barriers
Can a dog, a buggy or dodgy knees manage this route?
- Buggy: Stiles or rough going on the route.
- Knees: A long, steep ~31% drop over 250 m around the 9.3 km mark — hard on the knees.
With a dog
Hardest for a dog here: stiles and gates. The steepest stretch is a sustained climb of about 35% around the 1.4 km mark.
- Stiles and gates: A step-over stile at 15.1 km — a dog may need lifting over. (OpenStreetMap, mapped as of 2026-10-22)
- Rock and scrambling: Ground underfoot: Hard – estimated from the map, not checked on the ground. Rough or partly pathless ground — indistinct path in places, rough/natural surface.
- Drops and exposed ground: Not assessed on the ground; the map suggests Moderate. 1 mapped crag feature(s) near the line — check the airy sections.
- Ways off early: None recorded for this route.
- Livestock, shade and water: Not recorded for this route yet. We never call a stream safe for a dog to drink, so carry enough for both of you. The lead rules, and what to do around cattle, are on dogs on the fells.
On the line: 13 gates · 2 kissing gates · 1 step-over stile
Barriers as mapped on OpenStreetMap, which can miss some. Spotted one? Tell us (opens in new tab). Barrier data as of 2026-10-22. Access data © OpenStreetMap contributors (via Overpass).