My
first time up The Old Man of Coniston was almost 31 years ago and I’ve been to
the top a couple of times since then, but never in the company of so many good
friends. Eight of us started walking
from opposite the Coniston MRT headquarters and headed for the quarries. The good weather had brought out the crowds
and we saw plenty of families making the most of their day out.
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| Low Water and Wetherlam |
As
we reached the zigzags we encountered some snow patches but they were soft and
avoidable. Some youngsters were running
down them to quicken their descent and some of the older heads amongst us
commented that they may just be hastening a mountain rescue callout!
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| Old Man summit approach |
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| Brim Fell from the Old Man |
At
the summit we sat and ate lunch with the rest of the crowds. For most, the way down is simply retracing
their footsteps but for those who are a bit more serious about their
hillwalking, there are quieter options.
As we headed towards Brim Fell I sought out Buckbarrow Crag; a Simpson
summit. I found a point on the edge of
the cliffs which met the listed description but not the grid reference which
would have been a point on the footpath with no prominence. I’m claiming the tick!
Although
a Wainwright, Brim Fell is not really a major summit and we quickly reached it
and turned our attention towards Dow Crag.
A small snowfield led to a snowball fight before we started the ascent
from Goat’s Hawse and the scramble to the very highest point. There were a lot less people here than on the
Old Man, which we could see still had crowds on the top.
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| Dow Crag |
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| Windermere behind the Old Man |
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| Old Man summit crowds |
Walking
down towards the Walna Scar pass was a promenade of easy terrain and turned out
to be one of the most enjoyable miles I’ve walked in Lakeland. Although I’ve walked up this way before, I
was taken aback as to how good it was.
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| Goat's Water |
Above
Buck Pike I tried to locate Dow Crag South Top, another Simpson, and walked
over every minor prominence that was a candidate. Again I found a location that met the
description but not the grid reference but I was confident that I could claim
the tick.
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| Goat's Water from above the Dow Crag gullies |
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| Dow Crag from the south ridge |
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| Crowds on Coniston Old Man |
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| Blind Tarn under Brown Pike |
From
the pass, it was a relaxing stroll down the Walna Scar road in the afternoon
sun to the cars where we stowed our sacks and boots. The obligatory post-perambulatory beverages
were provided by the welcoming Sun Hotel, the headquarters of Donald Campbell’s
doomed attempt to break the world water speed record.
