Coniston Old Man
Date: 04-Mar-2008
Map: Landranger 90 & 96, OL6
Weather: Glorious Sunshine all day, but with a cutting cold wind chill.
A circular walk from Coniston up the Walna Scar Road, up Brown Pike to Dow Crag, over to the Old Man. Then up the ridge to Swirl How, down and across to Wetherlam. Finally down the valley between High Fell and Above Beck Fells: 15.6 miles – as measured by a pedometer, about 12 miles on the maps (with detours!)
The walk last week in the Bowland Fells started with an earthquake at 1am. The previous walk the cat had woken me up. So since we were unlikely to have another earthquake, I set the Cat-O-Matic for 5:30 (I left the kitchen door open). Sure enough at 5:15 I was woken by the cat, who sat on me purring. I hit the snooze button (gave her a couple of strokes) and then rose before six. The weather forecast was glorious for the western side of the country. I decided to set out for the lakes after checking the forecast (see the February walk for the weather link), with the thought that it would be cold over 600m.
A
view along Coniston Water to the Old Man The drive
over from the M6 gave me some anticipation of the day ahead,
with clear skies and snowy tops. I arrived at the car park
in Coniston a little after 8am with a bucketful of change.
Which was just as well because it cost £6 for a days
parking, some of which will go towards maintenance of the
paths? You can use a card if you need to. I wrapped up with
thin layers beneath my fleece and Berghaus, expecting a hot
inside, cold outside day. The
path through woods to the The
first views of the Coniston Fells I left the car park
and made my way through the waking village, passing an old
chapel, before turning steeply uphill along an icy winding
road. This brought me out to a wooded path, which ran
alongside a small beck and eventually meets up with the
Walna Scar road. The incline levelled off and it was a
gentle start to the day, which was a good because by the end
of the day I was completely goosed! The water down the path
was flowing under the ice, which was slowly melting in the
early sunshine. It gave some interesting sound effects as it
crackled and splintered under my boots. The Walna Scar road
must be an old route up over the hills, but made for easy
walking for the first couple of miles. The
Old Man is second from left
Looking back The tarmac road
twists up to an old quarry, so be careful not to follow it
for too long (like me!), but it was easy to drop back around
the contours and meet up with the right track. The surface
of the paths today was excellent, with graded stone well
compacted, and easy on the feet. The
path should look like this Brown
Pike ahead, the path a bit steeper The path
winds it way up towards the first objective, the col between
White Pike and Brown Pike. I passed an old packhorse bridge
just below the Cove, a flattish area between the big ridges.
Looking south west towards the Furness Fells and Walna
Scar ahead, then right up to Brown Pike After
the bridge, and a little further up (directly above the
right side of the bridge in the picture above) I took a
little diversion up a path to an old slate working. It was
well worth it, as it had views over Blind Tarn immediately
below and to Coniston and beyond to the east. I passed by a
mass of slate spoil that looked ready to burst out down the
hillside. It was steep and a little slippery up to some old
buildings, but when I got there it was a perfect spot to sit
and rest a while. There was a slate bench to perch on, and I
thought what a perfect place for a picnic in the spring or
summer. It would be around three miles from Coniston, and I
think I’ll be heading up there this summer.
Coniston Water, Ingleborough was in the distant haze The
path up to the old slate works Pick
the way along beneath the spoil heap then up to the left Blind
I tried to
scramble up a scree slope to the summit behind the
buildings, but it was just a little too steep and slippery.
So my head ruled my heart and I retraced my steps gingerly
back down to the main path. A lovely diversion for a
peaceful hour. Today was shear enjoyment, and not for
rushing around – not that I could anyway. Just before the
col, after rejoining the main path, I passed a small shelter
that must be very welcoming on a cold wet day.
I soon reached the Watna Scar and was rewarded with
good views to the The
slate bench, right of picture. The
small shelter beneath Brown Pike The first
view I recognised was Harter Fell with the Scafells beyond
that. A nice place to take a deep breath. The wind was
stronger now I was exposed to the elements and my nose was a
touch frozen as I was now around the 600m mark. I turned
90deg and began the walk up to Brown Pike, the first summit
of the day at 682m.
Looking down to Watna Scar, Seathwaite down in the valley Brown
Pike cairn, the Scafells in the background Buck
Pike, then Dow Crag at the end before dropping down and
across Blind
The summit
had a rounded wall to provide shelter for the weary, but it
was occupied and cold, so I moved away along the ridge
picking my route through the snow. The views were now all
around me and I had to be careful to pay attention to my
footings as the snow was in drifts and ranged from 3” to
3ft. I didn’t stray too close to the edge as I didn’t fancy
the walk back up! At this point I heard panting behind me
and a Scottish terrier came scampering past, followed by his
owner who was running the fells. He made light of the
conditions and was soon far ahead of me. It must be nice to
be that fit, but he had no time to enjoy his surroundings.
The views were getting better as I progressed up the ridge,
with the Old Man of Coniston prominent to my right and the
tarns far below my feet.
Heysham Power Station across the bay, Brown Pike at the end Blind
Tarn, Brown Pike and the As I moved along the ridge towards Dow Crag the wind
was becoming colder the higher I rose. So I donned my City
scarf across my face and moved on towards the summit. There
were some deep cut gulleys that fell away to the tarn below,
they looked quite threatening close up, but I stayed back at
a safe distance. The
Scafell’s getting closer and looking very cold. Dow Crag at
the end.
Goat’s Water below the steep gulley…..yikes As I
reached Dow Crag I noticed that all the western facing rocks
on the peak were building a layer of Ice. It made me shiver
just looking at it. The Old Man was patiently waiting for my
sweaty assault. It just sat there covered in snow, a big
docile ridge! The
summit shelter of the Old Man is the pointy black bit
Goat’s Water from Dow Crag There
wasn’t anywhere to sit comfortably at the summit, so I found
a sheltered spot, had a drink and ate an apple. Then applied
a liberal coating of Lipsyl and a smear of Vaseline to my
nose and cheeks to avoid the worst of the wind (the cheeks
on my face).
Brrrrrrrrrrrr.. The summit of Dow Crag
Looking towards Swirl How across the valley I made my
way down the slopes off Dow Crag towards the dip before the
Old Man, and all of the time with fantastic views all
around. The path down wasn’t too snowy or steep so I had a
good look around. I could give you a long list of the fells
and peaks I saw, but unfortunately I don’t know most of them
except by looking them up on a map. So if I get a few wrong
please don’t be offended. The
Scafell Pikes, Ulpha Fell in the foreground
Goat’s Water below, Dow Crag on the right, Brown Pike to
it’s left Next on
the route was up the side of a snowy Old Man of Coniston.
The path was difficult to pick out, so I followed some
footsteps – a mistake I should know better and taken a
compass reference. But no matter, it made the walk up the
flanks a little more interesting and certainly a bit more
exertion was required due to the snow.
Errrrr….no not that way thanks Just
a bit to the right then up and over to the Old Man I ploughed onwards and upwards and made the ridge
someway from the summit cairn of the Old Man. There were
quite a few people around the top and most had come up the
tourist route, none in flip-flops and shell suits at this
time of year. There were a fair few dogs as well, all
behaved as I think it was too cold to do otherwise. Atop
the ridge to the Old Man of Coniston – lunch beckons
Coniston below – the tourist route snowy and windy.
Ingleborough top right I quickly moved along the ridge to the summit and
took a picture of the very neat trig point. The views were
great even though the cloud was now rolling in from the
west. It was still mainly sunny, and was nice to sit down
and have some hot soup and a roll. There was a fair crowd at
the summit, but no one hung around for long. I finished my
lunch and made off north along the broad ridge towards
several marker The
summit trig point – resplendent in the sunshine The
Scafell’s in the distance, Swirl How on the right side of
picture My
glove, Low Water and Levers Water below Wetherlam The
same view over Wetherlam, with Helvellyn in the distance –
beautiful The
broad hump of the ridge north with Swirl How at its end
The
ridge narrows before Little Haw Crags The fells
with their covering of snow made them look like Wainwright’s
drawings – just black and white lines. I might get one of
his books to check out and compare it to the pictures. The
walk down the ridge was comparatively easy compared to the
route up, but I still had to watch my step. The views as
before were superb, and as usual I took too many pictures.
So many that I filled the memory card and had to delete a
few to complete the journey.
Levers Water from Great How Crags
Looking down towards Seathwaite Tarn, Harter Fell is the
conical peak After
passing Great How Crags the next summit was Swirl How which
marked the end of my journey north. The wind was still
biting and my scarf was a very welcome cover up. The path up
to Swirl How was filled in with snow, but it was nice
hearing the crunch of the snow crust underfoot. I
occasionally slipped a little, but that just served to
remind me to pay attention. I can’t even remember what I was
thinking about for most of the day as it was so relaxing
being on high in such great weather. Up to
Swirl How, the snow filled path leads to the summit The
Old Man at the far end of the near ridge. Dow Crag on the
right
Nearly at Swirl How – Helvellyn in the distance. Wetherlam
to the right The
summit cairn of Swirl How – it was as cold as it looks I turned east towards Wetherlam, but first had to
negotiate the Prison Band. It was quite exhilarating
striding down the edge. Very steep in places, and very deep
snow drifts off the path. But good fun and slightly
sheltered from the wind, it gave me a break from the wind
chill. Definitely a good moment to keep the tired legs
going.
Directly north – the rounded pimple Pike of Stickle ahead The
Prison Band down to Wetherlam – a sharp ridge in the snow The weather had
continued to be clear with bi, big views opened up to the
north. I recognised many of the peaks and pikes I had walked
when I went up Crinkle Crags and Bowfell in February. It was
nice to have a different perspective. I passed a couple who
had a couple of dogs with them – they loved mountaineering
apparently and have been up over the Bad Step by a harness!
I noticed there weren’t any Daschunds out today – too close
to the floor – and it was definitely brass monkey weather.
Looking back to the Old Man and Dow Crag from Swirl How
Bowfell and the Crinkle Crags, Pike of Stickle to the right Once I had
come down to the Prison Band I had the choice of bailing out
and walking down into the valley below or heading on to
Wetherlam. I thought why not your only 53 once. The views
from the band were just as good as higher up, and the clouds
rolling by gave an atmospheric shot to the north. And
another one – I just couldn’t stop clicking
Wetherlam looking very snowbound to me I watched
another walker striding along with a couple of trekking
poles and was a bit envious, as I was expecting to be
walking along with arms spread out wide to keep my balance.
There were enough footprints in the snow to follow and after
I had taken a compass reading I saw the gent in ahead of me
was on the same track. That made life easier as all I had to
do was follow the right set of footprints. But as the snow
had a nice consistency and took a good boot print, I quickly
recognised the tread pattern and was quite confident I was
on the right line – however that came back to haunt me on my
descent from the top.
Crispy snow up the slopes – nice and deep and even!
Another shot of Bowfell and The
Old Man opposite and the way down to the left I thought! I
thought this looked like one of Wainwright’s drawings Up on the
top of Wetherlam at 763m it was the last of the day’s climbs
and I was looking forward to a nice descent down into the
valley below by way of Hen Crag. But with all the snow the
paths were difficult to pick out and I was getting a little
tired. I once again picked up some footpaths and followed
them down the slopes. All went well for some distance, but
instead of following Hen Crag down, I ended up going down
into the valley via a gulley next to Black Sails. That
taught me to pay attention. The slopes became steeper and
filled with snow and boulders. I looked around me for a
better route, but I was far down from the summit and without
retracing my steps all the way back up I decided to descend
by the gulley. I wouldn’t recommend you to do this, as it
was slow progress and to be honest was a little hairy at
times due to the slippery snow. More than once my leg dipped
between boulders and it would have been very easy to snap an
ankle here. Fortunately I didn’t, but it added some
considerable time to my descent, which was tiresome but I
have only myself to blame. But then again it was a bit of
fun and the views were as always terrific. There is a path
to follow down from the Prison Band and this would have been
a good option, but I would have missed out on the views from
the top. The
sun is still shining on me – thank goodness Eventually
after much scrambling I came down to the valley floor, where
I followed Church Beck down to Coniston. The valley sides
were obviously very wet from the snow melt water and the
ground was boggy, so it was back to rock hopping over the
worst parts. The
route stayed on the right-hand side of the beck down to the
old copper mines, where it crosses over. I passed by some
old tailings from the mines and had a pick over for some
samples, but only found some fools gold (Iron Pyrites) – it
does glint nicely in the sun. The old mines must have chased
a mineral rich vein into the hillside, but became too
expensive to run. Have a read at this link -
www.ruskinmuseum.com/coppermines.htm The remains of the
old wheelhouse are prominent as you crossover the beck. Now
below you in the valley is the Youth Hostel and some new
quarrying going on by the looks of it, probably something to
do with the Hydro electric scheme being developed by United
Utilities. This
was the way I came down – not to be recommended! The
Prison Band at the top – an easier route but still steep The
old mine workings – the path follows the left side of the
valley down to Coniston A
great view back to Swirl How at the top Once past
all the old mine workings, Church Beck has cut itself a deep
gorge that continues down the hill into Coniston. There is a
Hydro Electric scheme going on here, but I was so tired at
this point that I couldn’t be bothered to read up about it.
Church Beck getting deeper
Nearly down in Coniston, going past Far end and my camera
finger has fallen off! I wandered down into the
village, and invested in a long cold drink. Very tired and
sore legs the next day. I had taken 8hrs today, but some of
that was taken messing around and looking around. Also I
hadn’t walked in snow for a long time and had forgotten how
different it was. When I got home I gave the cat a pat and
told her not to wake me up in the morning. But at 5am there
she was…Cat-O-Matic!! What a day, what can I say; happy and
relaxed. Walking - it really is brilliant! 
