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Coniston Village is the start of the trek. The village
has excellent public transport routes provided by local
bus services from Ambleside and Ulveston. There are
a few major Car Parks that are your best bet in the
summer months, in quieter parts of the year roadside
parking away from the main road is possible. From the
centre of the village follow the main road over the
bridge then take a road that leads up from the village
in a north west then westerly direction, passing the
Sun Hotel & Inn. This small hamlet above Coniston
is called Dixon Ground, from here a well signed footpath
leads off to the right behind a few small cottages and
through a farm yard.
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Coniston Village
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Coniston Water
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Following this wide track from the farm you will cross
a small bridge over a stream and then steadily climb
the cobbled track as it eventually joins the valley
of Church Beck with its fast waters and waterfalls in
the valley below to the right. After a while you will
reach a point where the path splits one way leading
over the gorgeous little stone bridge known locally
as Miners Bridge, however we carry on ascending the
path in a north west direction as it edges the Coppermines
Valley. As the path climbs above the valley the remotely
located Coniston Coppermines Youth Hostel will come
into view and the full aspect of this side of the Coniston
Fells will open up ahead, with the cliffs of Swirl How
becoming apparent.
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Church Beck Falls
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Coppermines Valley
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Continue ascending the obvious path as it rises above
the valley and heads towards the obvious direction of
The Old Man Of Coniston. The path passes through two
walls and continues on another 400 metres until it turns
left then joins the track that comes from the south.
Follow the track leading up hill as it gets rougher
all the time and snakes up past Crowberry Haws until
it eventually reaches the lower mine ruin. There are
some fascinating tunnels here and many relics of Coniston's
industrial past. The path continues its ascent through
an old mine runway with the huge steel cables known
as 'blondin' still present today. The upper mine ruin
is reached and its complexity and state will fascinate
absolutely anyone. The main engine room building is
still in a pretty good state considering just how long
ago it was shut down and the engine case itself is still
standing, there are many existing rail lines from the
old mine trucks and probably the most iconic feature
is the huge blondin support that stands firm on the
side of the hill.
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Engine Room
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Blondin Supports
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The Coniston fells were mined for Copper in the middle
of the 19th century. The veins of copper hidden thousands
of feet below the fells surfaces contained a copper
ore by the name of Chalcopyrite, a mix of Copper, Iron
and Sulphate. As the veins were so deep down the miners
worked extremely hard in horrendous conditions, often
using huge unstable wooden ladders to reach there workplaces.
Getting the ore from those huge heights up to the tramways
was one hell of a task. The mines went into decline
in the late 19th century and were then abandoned. The
tough machinery and buildings lie in derelict today
but are an amazing feature of this landscape and hold
a thousand stories and gave birth to a beautiful village
and gave hundreds of men and there families a living,
Coniston owes its existence to the copper mines.
After taking in the old mines the path continues its
ascent reaching Low Water surrounded by the Old Man's
huge walls. The path skirts past Low Water and then
the path gets very steep as it attempts to climb the
shoulder of The Old Man Of Coniston. The views on a
clear day from the shoulder of Coniston pan out over
the full length of Coniston Water and out to Morcambe
Bay. The path reaches the summit sooner than you'd think.
The summit of The Old Man Of Coniston 803M/2633FT has
a standard trig point and also an impressive stone cairn
on a large platform. The views include the Scafell's
and stunning views out to Morcambe Bay and the Irish
Sea, on clear days the Isle Of Man looks closer than
it is. To the west you will spot an impressive shape
of water way down below and on the other side of it
rising in its grandeur is Dow Crag, the next objective.
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Low Water
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Coniston Old Man Trig
Point
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From the summit follow the obvious path that heads
north following the ridge line. After only around 300
metres a smaller path leads off to the left in a north
west direction, follow this path as it leads down into
Goat's Hawse, the col between the ridge and Dow Crag.
At Goat's Hawse the footpath to Goat's Water slips off
down the hill, this can be used as an escape route or
short cut option as it leads to the Walna Scar Road.
The path now heads towards Dow Crag, the climb up gets
a little difficult as it gets closer to the summit and
in bad weather staying away from the edge on the left
would be recommended. The summit of Dow Crag 778M/2552FT
is definitely one of my favourites. It is a huge and
gradual point of large boulders, it is quite difficult
to get to and not at all human friendly. Unlike the
flat and often populated summit of The Old Man Of Coniston,
Dow Crag feels isolated and has no trig point or cairn
or any sign of human interaction what so ever, rare
and brilliant. Standing on this summit makes you feel
like your on a proper mountain. especially when you
happen to look down the daunting drop to Goat's Water.
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Goat's Water
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Dow Crag Summit
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Leaving the summit the path now descends south down
the ridge passing over the two bumps of Buck Pike 744M/2441FT
and Brown Pike 682M/2237FT. The path leads south west
off Brown Pike on a steep descent onto the Walna Scar
Road. The route is now very obvious as Walna Scar Road
skirts the south side of The Old Man Of Coniston and
leads east back towards Coniston Village. At the end
of the Walna Scar Road simply follow the minor roads
downhill back into Dixon Range and then back into the
village centre.
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Duration
: 4.5 Hrs
