 |
 |
| The car park ? at the end of the road. |
The start of the Walna Scar "Green Code Road" |
| Now the plan was (have
I talked about plans before?) to leave my car at Low Tilberthwaite, where we would return to
after descending from Wetherlam, and take John's car to the end of the
Walna Scar Road, where we would start our tour of the Coniston Fells in
the following order, Dow Crag, Coniston Old Man, Brim Fell, Swirl How,
Grey Friar, Great Carrs and finally Wetherlam. So leaving my car behind
John drove through Coniston and up past the old railway station and the
Sun Inn to the Walna Scar road. Usually you will struggle to find space
to park here, but today we had loads of room to choose from. Mmmm... |
|
|
| Coming up to the turn off up to Bursting Stones Quarry |
Passing Boo Tarn |
| Eventually at about 11.30am we set off. All
of the others put on their waterproof clothing, I didn't. Whilst waiting
for them I looked at the new (to me) signs at the start of the Walna Scar
road, green code road, this was a new one to me. Basically you can drive
anything but a 4 by 4 up the road, bikes and motor cycles are allowed,
good luck to any who try! When everyone was ready, we set off. Within 5
minutes we had to stop for the usual change of clothing pit stop! Unusually
it was for me this time, as it started to rain I had to stop and put on
my nearly waterproof trousers (If any waterproof clothing
manufacturers read this site, I am available for sponsorship deals!) Suitable nearly
waterproofed, we again set off for our first objective, Dow Crag. |
|
|
| The path to Goats Water leaves to the right (straight up as you see
it) |
Cove Bridge |
| I like the Walna Scar road, it is my favorite
way to get up the Old Man Of Coniston, usually via Goats Water. Today we
were using it to get to Dow Crag from it's highest point via Brown Pike
and Buck Pike. For the first mile or so it gradually works its way upwards
along the southern shoulder of the Old Man. After crossing Cove Bridge
it starts to increase in incline until you reach the zigzags below Goatfoot
Crags. Here the road really starts to test your legs. |
|
|
| Looking back along the Walna Scar Road |
Walna Scar road from Goatfoot Crags |
| After getting past the zigzags we took the
opportunity to stop for a quick coffee break, this was one hour into the
walk. John had finished his coffee before I had even started mine, thirsty
work this running off and leaving us behind again! During the walk up to
this point John had removed at least two layers of clothing, he tried to
explain to me about the struggle that he has to control his body temperature,
apart from in the summer that is. I had noticed that he had a tee shirt,
jumper, coat and finally a waterproof jacket on!, the reason he has two
jackets is that the inner one is not waterproof. Me, I just wear a tee
shirt and a thick nearly waterproof jacket that I have had for years, sometimes
I get warm , and sometimes I get cold, but most of the time I am just comfortable!
Then again I always was a simple lad! |
|
|
| Bijou detached residence. Stunning views, quiet location. In need of
slight modernization. A must see residence in a well sort after location.
Offers around........ View strictly by appointment. Please see AW's Southern
Fells page Dow Crag 4 for full details. |
Looking back from the shelter |
| The shelter mentioned in AW's book gave John
the chance to see if he could fit in, no chance. Either they were very
small people back in the old days, or they weren't designed for someone
wearing multiple clothing layers and wearing a rucksack! With the top of
the Walna Scar road soon reached we turned to the right and started the
ascent up to Brown Pike. By this time we were well and truly in the clouds. |
|
|
| Leaving the top of the Walna Scar Road and ascending towards Brown Pike |
Brown Pike summit cairn |
| The path soon started to steepen and as usual
me and Sarah started to lag behind the other two. I quite enjoyed this
part of the walk as apart from the initial steepness the path was really
nice to walk along. The lack of visibility meant that each step forward
could possibley bring into sight the summit, anticipation is a wonderful
feeling. Soon enough the summit of Brown Pike was reached. The summit cairn
and shelter are quite a surprise for a subsidiary summit, I seem to remember
very good views from here in the past, not today thought! |
|
|
| Between Brown Pike and Buck Pike |
Buck Pike summit cairn |
| Heading towards Buck Pike I think that Sarah
began to get a bit infuriated with the weather and the walk. I think that
the view of another higher point in front every time we reached what she
felt was the highest point was driving her nuts! (A
bit like ascending Scafell Pike from Esk Hause, a False Summits R' Us,
sort of thing!) As
the ridge up to the summit of Dow Crag flattened out she began to call
it a "secret summit", ie one that did not want to be found ! |
|
|
Between Buck Pike and Dow Crag
(Sometimes we do walk together!) |
The crags of Dow Crag through the mist |
| Soon the southern crags of Dow Crag appeared
out of the mist. I was really enjoying this part of the walk. Apart from
the lack of visibility which was a big downer, walking in mist makes you
really concentrate on your surroundings. It is very eyrie knowing that
just a few yards away is one of the greatest crags in the Lake District,
and we could see none of it. |
|
|
| Looking down one of the gully's of Dow Crag |
And another one |
| The quietness, the mist, the sudden appearance of the top
of the great gully's of Dow Crag all heightened the sense of enjoyment
for me. I was beginning to "sense" the views now, I could "feel" that long
drop down to Goats Water, I could "see" Coniston Old Man across Goats water,
the others meanwhile wanted to know "are we were there yet?" Yes children,
we were there! |
|
|
| Dow Crag summit |
The terrible trio plus one on Dow Crag summit |
| AW rated the summit of Dow Crag as one of the
best seven summits in the Lake District. I can understand why after being
here the day after a winter storm in the late 1990's, a storm that had
left everything above 1500' deep in snow, cornices formed out over the
entire ridge, brilliant blue sky's and cold weather that meant the best
view's that I have ever seen. Today I had trouble convincing the others
that this was in fact a Wainwright summit! |
|
|
| Lunch just below Dow Crag summit |
The descent towards Goats Hause
(Sarah recently joined the Ministry Of Silly Walks !) |
| Just below the summit we had lunch. I think
that John had the best sandwich that he has ever had, the way he was describing
it, it must be a poor day on the fells when all John can rave about his
his food! Suitable refreshed we then began the descent to Goats Hause and
the climb up to our next target Coniston Old Man. |
|
|
| Approaching Goats Hause |
Goats Hause |
| We made good time down to Goats Hause, something that we
needed to do as time was marching on. To get back to my car at Tilberthwaite
we were going to have to push on. I already knew that Grey Friar was going
to have to be left till another day, but I really wanted to go over Wetherlam
and back to my car, as, for various reasons the last two attempts at doing
this walk had ended in a premature return to Walna Scar.. |
|
|
| A river of ice above Goats Hause |
An icy staircase |
| The path from Goats Hause (never
seen a goat here yet !) towards the Old Man is quite steep at first, winding it's way between rocky
outcrops. Today this path was covered in a river of ice. This meant that
we had to find our own way up on either side of the path, quite good fun
really. |
|
|
| More ice on the path |
Leaving the ice behind as the path levels out |
| As the path began to level out we left the
ice behind. Soon we reached the point where the path from Brim Fell joined
the path from Goats Hause. Here the gradient really started to ease and
we reached the ridge that overlooks Low Water. |
|
|
| The junction of the Brim Fell path |
The ridge above Low Water |
| By this time I was really beginning to feel
sorry for the other three. I had dragged Sarah and John up here before
only to be confronted with the same view .....mist. Usually when you reach
this ridge you are able to see straight down to Low Water and over Coniston.
Today all you could see was the front of your nose! I have seen the view
before and know how good it really is, like I say, I was feeling for them,
all the effort and no reward! |
|
|
| Coniston Old Man summit appearing through the mist |
The Trig point on Coniston Old Man |
| As we made our way along the ridge line the
summit of the Old Man appeared out of the mist. The summit of the Old Man
is usually very crowded, but today it was eerily quiet. There were a couple
of woman continuously walking around the summit cairn trying to keep warm,
apparently behind the cairn was the rest of their party sheltering out
of the wind in conversation on the mobile phone with the mountain rescue
service about one of their party that had hurt her ankle. She was in a
survival bag and as everything seemed to be under control I thought nothing
more of it. |
|
|
| The summit of Coniston Old Man, unusually quite |
The terrible trio plus one on the summit of Coniston Old Man |
| One of the wandering woman kindly took our photo and after
enquiring about the health of the injured party we had our own discussion
about what to do next. As the other party out numbered ours and everything
seemed under control, we discussed our own predicament. As I look back
I feel that I should have offered more help to this party of people. I
know what it is like to injure an ankle high up in the hills. Personally
I think that you should try to help yourself, and not rely on Mountain
Rescue. There were enough people there to help the casualty down, just
staying there meant that the casualty got cold, moving down, even on your
backside, if not carried means warmth and less chance of being stuck up
there in darkness, that could be very serious indeed. We all had spare
warm clothing, food, and most important, hot drinks that we could have
offered. In light of what followed I regret not taking charge of the situation
and helping to get the casualty down. I hope it all turned out OK for them
in the end. |
|
|
| Leaving the Old Man for Brim Fell |
The only glimpse of the sun all day |
| As to our own situation, we had a choice to
make. We could descend via the tourist path, spend some time in Boulder
Valley, climb up the Pudding Stone, and go back to John's car at the end
of the Walna Scar road (this is what hapened last
time we climbed the Old Man) or continue towards my car at Tilberthwaite
via Brim Fell, Levers Hause (the next "escape" route) Swirl
How, Swirl Hause (another
possible "escape" route)
and Wetherlam. Time was really pressing now, I knew that Sarah was struggling
but Mike and John were up for it. The descision was to carry on to Levers
Hause where we could make another decision. (I have
some thoughts about this that I will impart later) |
|
|
| Brim Fell summit cairn coming into view |
Brim Fell summit cairn |
| The ridge from the Old Man to Brim Fell is
a fine walk on a summers day. Today, as John described it, it was the same
as being on a treadmill ! every time a cairn appeared out of mist we wondered
if it was actually the summit. For a brief moment the sun tried to appear
above us, but then it obviousley gave in and went somewhere else for the
rest of the day! |
|
|
| The terrible trio plus one at Brim Fell summit |
Descending towards Levers Hause |
| So walking along the easy ridge the summit
of Brim Fell appeared. The only difference between this summit cairn and
the various other cairns along the path is that this one had been built,
every stone carefully placed to make a nice symetrical shape, all of the
others were just stones randomly thrown on top of each other!, something
to possibley note in mist if you are a bit unsure of your position! |
|
|
| At last, a view ! Levers Water |
Levers Hause |
| As we set off on the descent to Levers Hause
two things happened that surprised me. Along the eastern side of the ridge
a bank of snow and ice remained. John, always the big kid descided to run
along this and try to "skid" of the end of it. My 4 year old son and his
mates do this all the time on the indoor football pitch, run and slide
on their knees that is. As we looked on in absoulute horror John managed
to slip ,fall onto his back and start to slide downhill! Due to the mist
we could not see the end of this snow/ice bank as John tried desperatley
to arrest his descent, with arms and legs flailing he somehow managed to
stop, and after brushing the snow of himself came trotting back with a
stupid grin on his face! I knew what laid below this ridge, a bloody big
drop! Sarah and I exchanged glances, I was absoultley amazed at John's
stupidity! I tried to explain the utter foolhardiness of his actions, but
he was adamant that he could see the end of the snow and he would have
stopped anyway! I gave up. The second thing that happpened was that I got
to see Seathwaite Tarn through a brief break in the clouds. |
|
|
| Leaving Levers Hause for Swirl How |
Further along the path |
| Arriving at Levers Hause we had really arrived at a descion
point. If we carried on from here we were really commited to go over Wetherlam
and back to my car in Tilberthwaite, or we could descend down to Levers
Water and back to Walna Scar. Visibility was really reducing now and the
wind was picking up. Sarah was struggling but agreed to carry on. |
|
|
| The top of Great How Crag |
Great How Crag |
| The initial path up from Levers Hause was quite
a steep pull, by now my legs were feeling the strain! Again John and Mike
left us struggling up behind them but soon a summit appeared in front of
us. Visibility by this time was down to less than 50 feet. It was here
that a navigational error ruined the rest of the day. |
|
|
| John and Mike being stupid |
Swirl Band |
| With no visual references to double check by, and just relying
on a compass and approximate distance walked (always
a guess in my case!) I thought that this summit was Swirl How. We stopped for a quick coffee
break and I double checked the map and AW's Southern Fells book. A quick
look to the east showed a ridge descending down, just as I remember it
from my previous time doing this route, many years ago though!. Due to
the time and the need to carry on I did not spend as much time as I should
have done in double checking our position. |
|
|
| Between Swirl Band and the summit |
Swirl How summit |
| AW's Southern Fells book suggested that a quick 7 minute
walk would bring us to the top of Great Carrs. Even though time was against
us we all agreed that we could afford the extra 15 minutes that it would
take so that we could "bag" that summit as well, before returning to Swirl
How and descending Prison Band to Swirl How and then up and over Wetherlam. |
|
|
| Sarah, Mike, and John at Swirl How summit |
The terrible trio at Swirl How summit |
| The path started west and soon turned north,
just as the map said. By this time my judgment of distance was seriously
out as this 7 minute stroll took us a hell of a lot longer !, later sat
outside the Sun Inn back in Coniston it all became cyrstal clear to me.
When I thought we were at Swirl How, we actually were at the top of Great
How Crag. When we arrived at what I thought was Great Carrs we had actually
arrived at Swirl How (with me so far!) As we approached Great Carrs (actually
Swirl How!) John and Mike continued to play in any snow that we came across!.
I didn't have time for this as by this time map and compass were out all
the time! I had that feeling, that sense of something being not quite right
again, last time I had this feeling was the time that descending from Crinkle
Crags we ended up in Eskdale rather than Langdale (boy did that turn out
to be a long day!) |
|
|
| Returning to Great How Crags |
Descending from Great How Crags |
| Returning to Swirl How (actually
Great How Crags) we quickly
went past the nice summit (the fact that there was
no summit cairn should have warned me!) and started to descend what I thought was Prison Band.
(still with me so far ?) |
|
|
| ??? It all became clear 10 minutes later!!! |
This looks safe? |
| After a steep initial descent wich we all quite enjoyed, we came across
a small sign that had been handpainted on a board. "Danger unsafe descent
Gt.How Crag" was what it said. What was this? What does this have to do
with Prison Band? A quick look at the map, now folded to show Swirl How
showed no sign of Great How Crag, obviousley some sort of joke or mistake!
The path looked really good from this point on, what was going on? We had
reached Swirl How (actually Great How Crag) and were descending down a
ridge to the east! I was right, the sign was wrong! I should have listened
to that "feeling" that I had, I should have taken the time to look at AW's
drawings of Swirl How summit cairn, I should have heeded the warning sign,
if I had we would not be in the position that we soon found ourseleves. |
|
 |
| Looking back up Great How Crag |
Towards Swirl hause |
| After carring on down past the warning sign
another steep descent appeared. By this time I was leading as I felt that
we really had to pick up the pace. Then disaster struck! My left leg suddenley
slipped on some grass and shot out from under me only to be abrubtley stopped
at the heel by a rock, the rest of my foot and leg carried on and I had
somehow managed to hyper- extend the ankle ligaments! (see
I even know the odd medical term or two!) This was not good, but at least it was not
my right ankle, that would have been really bad! After a few minutes of
cursing my luck I got out my walking poles and started to hobble down again.
I don't think that I even waited for the others to catch up as that would
have meant more time wasted asking how I was etc! We had to get down, and
soon, as there was only an hour of light left at the most now! very soon
we reached the head of a snow filled gully, this made progress a lot easier
for me but half way down I noticed that it suddenley ended, with a rather
ominous drop off, now I knew what that warning sign was all about! I asked
John who was still above me to contour over to the left too see if he could
find the path. The answer came back, no but I can see a lake! As I made
my over to him he remarked that at last we had a view, "Yes, but it's not
the view I wanted!" was my reply. I could see Levers Water, and over to
the left Swirl Hause! I knew that we had gone wrong. I also knew that I
could not manage to get back up to Swirl Hause and then up and over Wetherlam
with my ankle! At this point my car was probabley nearer but I felt that
it would be easier to make our way back to John's. The only problem was
that the only way we could safely get down meant traversing across the
fellside to the left, actually away from where we now needed to go! |
|
|
| Approaching Levers Water |
Levers Water, still covered in ice |
| When I say safely, I mean with asslightly less
chance of falling off, causing a rock slide, or becoming crag fast! This
descent was indeed dangerouse as the warning sign had said! There was one
point that I had to take a step over a dizzying drop, if I fell that would
have been the end of me, the others, slightley above me opted to climb
down a crack in a rock slab that looked very iffy from below, that moment
cost me a nights sleep and a cold sweat as I kept thinking about it led
in bed that night!Bwlow this point john opted to make his way down a boulder
field. He managed to dislodge a huge rock that went tumbling down below.
He shouted up to us to keep away from the rocks and make our way to our
left, trying to keep on the grass. I was making extremely slow progress
but something that made me smile was hearing Sarah have the ocaisional
goggle (Sarah laughs in the face of danger!) |
 |
|
| The path by the side of Levers Water |
|
| Somehow we managed to make it to the realative
safety of the valley floor in one piece. We still had to pick our way
amongst the very uneven moorland to pick up the path down from Swirl
Hause to Levers Water. This seemed to take an eternity, for me it was
a case of head down, grit your teeth and keep walking. Eventually we
arrived at the dam at the end of Levers Water, here I promtley sat down,
got out my flask and map and had a smoke! Descision time again, dusk
was upon us and we had another choice to make. We could walk across the
dam and follow the path through the old mine workings, eventually picking
up the path to Walna Scar and John's car, or carry on straight down to
Coppermines Valley, walk down the road, cross the miners bridge and take
the path that led to the Walna Scar road just below the sharp turns,
then up the road and back to John's car. I knew that the former way worked
having done the same thing on a previous walk. Mike who had been up in
Coppermines Valley recentley suggested that his would be a better way
as it meant walking along a road when darkness fell. Reluctentley I agreed
with Mike and we started down to Coppermines Valley. I say reluctantley
only because this way did not guarantee us too make it directley to John's
car, but with darkness fast approaching and the stae of my ankle it was
the right descision to make. It was a relativeley easy way down to the
valley and we soon passed all the converted cottages. By the time we
arrived at the miners bridge it was pitch black. We consulted the map
again and descide to head along the path on the west side of Church Beck.
Unfortunatley we somehow managed to miss the path that we wanted and
ended up in Coniston village itself, just by the Sunn Inn. It was descided
that John and Mike would head off back up the Walnna Scar road to collect
the car whilst myself and Sarah waited at the pub. I did not envey them
that climb up the road, and when after only 25 minutes they returned
they both agreed that it wa sthe hardest part of the day for them. This
25 minutes had given me the opportunity to have a good look at the map
and AW's book. I soon found out were I had gone wrong! I was bitterley
disapointed with myself. A small error in navigation had caused an injury
to myself, missing out on completing the proper route, putting life and
limb at risk by descending somewhere where we shouldn't have been, and
arriving back very late! When John returned with his car we wasted no
time in driving back to Tilberthwaite and retrieving mine, then beginning
the long journey home. I arrived back home at about 9pm, so I hate to
think what time Sarah arrived back on the Wirral, sorry! I knew that
Sarah had not enjoyed today and this along with other things that had
happened made me think about a few rules that we should consider on future
walks.
1. If the cloud cover is down were you want to walk, go somewhere else
i.e. Have a plan B, in case of bad weather, the fells will always be there
when the weather is fine !
2. If a member of the party is struggling go back down and do something
else, the fells will always be there when they feel better ! Dont be afraid
to make the descision on their behalf!
3. Always take the time to know where you are at all times.
4. If you are in doubt as to where you are, take the time to find out.
A few minutes spent doing this can save hours later.
5. Be prepared to back track to your last known correct position.
6. Time is always wasted when making your own way, always follow recognised
footpaths, they are so much easier to walk on.
7. Make sure that the other members of the party double check your navigation!
8. Remember that the fells will always be there next time. So if in doubt
about anything dont be afraid to give in and retreat!
9. Don't always listen to me, I do occaisionaly make mistakes, and I don't
know it all!
10. Get John and Mike to sign disclaimers before
going walking with them again! I have no control over what they do, in
other words it's not my fault if they leave their brains in bed on a
Sunday morning! |
