One of the advantages of working in the Lake
District is being able to head off for a mountain climb after
work. Having been in Coniston in the
afternoon, I decided to climb the Old Man of Coniston (or Coniston Old Man). I remember climbing that fell when I was
younger with my family and a few years ago with my husband as part of the whole
Coniston Fells ridge walk. I was in the
mood for company so I took the popular tourist path up from the Walna Scar
path.
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| Abandoned Mine Entrance |
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| Coppermines Valley |
I have mentioned in recent blogs (see 'Friends, Gables & Tarns') that I am quite a slow
walker but within the first few minutes I had overtaken four people! The fact that two of them were aged 18
(months that is, not years) I will gloss over and move on. The path is clear the whole route to the
summit but the most fascinating part of the route is looking at the old quarry
and mining works around. Enormous steel
ropes and pipes surround (and sometimes cross) the path and there are large
mounds of slate with the occasional slate hut and tunnel entrance in
ruins. Down in the Coppermine Valley
you can also still see the evidence of the old mines. These mines were at their most active in the
1850s and whilst Copper Pyrite was the main focus, iron, lead, nickel and
cobalt were also found. The mines closed
in 1915.
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| Reflections on a tranquil Low Water |
The other highlight of this route is Low Water, which sits
in the hollow below the Old Man of Coniston and Brim Fell. The still water nestled below the rugged
slopes and crags was a beautiful sight to behold and despite how busy the path
was, Low Water was a place of tranquillity.
The final ascent to the summit was steep but the views back
towards the village
of Coniston and down to
Low Water were lovely. The summit was
popular that day as it is most days and you can see why – looking across to the
Scafells, Langdale Pikes (even a glimpse of Stickle Tarn in the distance) and
to Dow Crag, the whole Coniston Fell ridge, Coniston Water and even to
Windermere was superb. Spectacular views
that it was great to see so many people enjoying late that afternoon.
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| Low Water & Lever's Water in the background |
I found a quieter place to sit and soak up the views as a
light mist started to creep through the valley.
It was an eerie but lovely sight to see and as I was sitting there
sipping water, emerging from the mist one by one from a grassy slope appeared a
group of school children and their teachers all wearing hard hats. It was like something out of a Bronte novel
(other than the hard hats of course). As
they reached the summit, each one cheered and ran towards the cairn.
I decided to head off towards Brim Fell as it was only a
short stroll but as I reached the summit the rain started so I decided to head
back. As I walked back towards Coniston
Old Man, I saw a woman after my own heart strolling towards me. She was wearing the most fabulous bright pink
knee-high socks over jeans and was sheltering under a floral umbrella. Well – why not I suppose? She had a certain style about her that is for
sure!
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| Imposing Dow Crag |
I took the less popular route down rather than the tourist
path and after overtaking the previously mentioned school children who were on
the same route (yes overtaking again and an improvement on 18 months as they
must have been ten or 11 years old) I branched off to take the path around the
quarry. Well it said it was a path but
it seemed quite random to me. I actually
ended up in the old quarry at one point (not entirely sure I was supposed to be
there), which was fascinating with the large boulders everywhere but then managed
to pick up the path again at the edge and followed it down to the Walna Scar
path again beside a lovely stream.
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| I like her style! |
A great walk if you are in the mood for company and a
deservedly popular mountain.
