The Lake District National Park has a great number of hills and mountains. One of the most popular in the National Park is The Old Man of Coniston.
The Old Man of Coniston
Coniston Lake and village is a popular area of the English Lake District. The landscape in the area is entirely dominated by The Old Man. This hill appears in literature as “Kanchenjunga” in the Swallows and Amazons Series of books by Arthur Ransome. There are a number of ways for walkers to approach the peak, but this is the most popular one.
The Coppermines Valley
There are several places to park in Coniston village, including cheap weekend parking at the secondary school (at the time of writing). From the village, a path can be taken up the Coppermines Valley. Quickly the village is left behind and one enters the wild countryside of the valley. Quickly the walker is surrounded by an arc of high hills, starting from the Old Man, continuing past Swirl How and on to Wetherlam. This valley, and many of the hills around, were once full of copper mines and slate quarries, the history of which is told in the excellent Ruskin Museum in Coniston village.
The path leaves the stream and valley bottom and starts to scale the mountain, towards a large slate quarry. Industrial archaeology is visible on either side of the path, with old machinery from the quarries and the foundations of buildings.
Low Water
Eventually, the quarry area is left behind, and the path continues up to Low Water, a beautiful tarn below the steep, rocky slopes near the Old Man’s summit. On busy, warm days, people laze on the huge boulders around the water and even paddle in the icy cold water. The path to the summit is clear from the crystal waters but it is worth lingering on the shores of Low Water for a little while. The views back across the Coppermines Valley are superb.
The Summit of The Old Man of Coniston
The final pull to the summit of The Old Man is the toughest part of the walk. Eventually, the path comes to the summit, with beautiful views in all directions. The most dramatic view is of Dow Crag, a precipitous rocky ridge that drops down into the blue waters of Goats Water.
From the summit, there are a number of options. The first, if time is an issue, is to return by the same path. If a little more time is available, paths can be taken down to Goats Water and back to Coniston along the Walna Scar Road. Furthermore one could walk along the ridge of Dow Crag instead of along Goats Water, a rather long walk.
If the walker wishes to spend most of the day on the high hills, then there is the option of continuing along with the Coniston range of fells. There are a number of opportunities to return to the Coppermines Valley, but it is possible to continue a long walk along all the tops, Brim Fell, Swirl How, Wetherlam, etc. on the full Coniston Fells Walk.
Coniston Village
Fans of Arthur Ransome’s Swallows and Amazons books may be particularly keen to complete the full Coniston Fells Walk as it includes several possible locations from the stories, such as High Topps from Pigeon Post, and a potential Swallowdale in Tilberthwaite Gill.
Back at Coniston Village, a pint of locally-brewed beer (such as Bluebird Bitter) is a good way to conclude this enjoyable walk.
The full Coniston Fells walk can take up to eight hours and involves some difficult scrambling. Straight up and down The Old Man is only a couple of hours’ walk and is reasonably manageable for all abilities.