Swirl How

A blustery day climbing the Coniston Fells from the Duddon Valley today.

We set off from Birks Bridge at 10am and climbed by Pike How Close onto the path towards Seathwaite Tarn turning up off the path to climb the long south western spur of Grey Friar climbing up over Troutal Fell and onto the summit of Grey Friar.

The rain from the morning had stopped as we set off from Birks Bridge, but the grassy slopes were pretty soggy underfoot and there was quite a strong wind as we got higher up the ridge, by the summit we were in thick cloud.

We pressed on east, crossing the saddle and climbing to the summit of Great Carrs, via the cairn marking the crash site of the Halifax Bomber.

The wind up on the ridge was even stronger so we didn't stop for long, only for a quick photo before we were off again, crossing the ridge south to the nearby summit of Swirl How.

From Swirl How we descended south past Great How Crag to Levers Hawse, dropping down a little on the eastern side of the ridge to have a quick lunch stop out of the wind.

After walking back into the wind after lunch it was quickly decided not to continue south to the summits of Coniston Old Man and Dow Crag but instead to drop down west towards Seathwaite Tarn and get out of the wind as soon as possible.

We descended steeply west and were soon out of the wind dropping down to Tarn Head Gill past the old mine workings and down to Seathwaite Tarn, the weather down here was much more pleasant and we dropped down to cross the dam taking the path back by Tongue House back to Troutal and Birks Bridge.

A great day today on the Coniston Fells.

We set off from Coniston at 10am and climbed by Church Beck into the Coppermines Valley and followed the main path up by the slate mines to Low Water. The weather was near perfect, bright and clear with barely a breeze and the views were a little clearer than yesterday.

From Low Water we climbed up to the summit of  Coniston Old Man, as we reached the summit we were rewarded with the view of a few paragliders taking off a short distance away along the ridge towards Brim Fell.

After a short break at the summit we pressed on crossing the grassy summit of Brim Fell before crossing Levers Hawse and climbing to Great How Crags, the perfect place for a lunch stop.

After lunch we pressed on up to the summit of Swirl How before dropping down the Prison Band to Swirl Hawse. After a quick show of hands it was decided to finish the day off with Wetherlam so we climbed up by Red Dell Moss and onto the summit of Wetherlam. The views were wonderful, after a short break and a few photos we were off again, following the path down by Hole Rake and down to the Coppermine Cottages, following the track back above Church Beck back to Coniston.

A great day today climbing the Old Man of Coniston.

We set off from Coniston just after 10am and climbed by Church Beck into the Coppermines Valley, following the track up through the slate mines to Low Water. We took our time and had plenty of stops to enjoy the views.

The Cloud kept on clearing from the summit of The Old Man, but as we reached Low Water it blew in over the summit. We climbed the final zig zags up to the windswept summit of The Old Man of Coniston where we sat and enjoyed our lunch.

After lunch we continued along the ridge, crossing to the summit of Brim Fell and descending to Levers Hawse where we gained some good views once more.

We we back on the ascent and climbed to the summit of Swirl How before descending the Prison Band and dropping down to Levers Water. We followed the mine tracks back down to the Coppermines Valley and then back into Coniston.

Another fantastic day out on the fells, tackling Wetherlam from Little Langdale.

In the last 24 hours the forecast had gone from low cloud with rain, to lifting cloud with a few showers, the day was set up to be a good one! We made our way to Birk fell and followed the wall that led out of the Greenburn Valley. With a bit of height gained we climbed gentler and contoured around to meet the path that joined the start of Wetherlam Edge. We enjoyed the edge and the sun came out and cleared away a lot of the remaining cloud.

Not before too long we were on the summit of Wetherlam enjoying good views almost all around. We left the summit to get out of the wind and had a small bite to eat. The skies were now looking very clear and we could see the rest of our route. We descended to Swirl Hause before climbing the Prison Band up to the summit of Swirl How. The walk from Swirl How to our next summit, Great Carrs is an easy couple of hundred metres. On the way we visited the memorial for a Halifax bomber that crashed in 1946.

After bagging Great Carrs we again ducked out of the wind and enjoyed another bite to eat. After enjoying the views we made our way over to the optional summit of Grey Friars. After getting our final summit of the day we made our way over to Wet Side Edge. As we descended the edge we enjoyed great views of the route we had walked as well as a stunning view of Crinkle Crags with Bowfell standing tall behind them.

A windy day today climbing the Old Man of Coniston.

We set off from Coniston just after 10am and climbed by Church Beck into the Coppermines Valley, following the track up through the slate mines to Low Water.

As we approached Low Water we reached the cloud base restricting our views for the rest of the day. Turning the corner to the summit of  The Old Man of Coniston the wind got really strong, we took a short stop on the summit before continuing along the ridge, crossing to the summit of Brim Fell and descending to Levers Hawse, dropping down a little on the eastern side of the ridge to get some shelter from the wind to eat our lunches.

After lunch we continued along the ridge climbing to the summit of Swirl How before descending the Prison Band and dropping down to Levers Water, by now the weather had deteriorated, it was raining quite heavily but as we dropped down to Levers Water we dropped back out of the cloud. We followed the mine tracks back down to the Coppermines Valley and followed Church Beck back to Coniston.

A glorious day above Coniston today climbing The Old Man of Coniston and following the ridge around to Wetherlam.

we set off from Coniston just after 9.30am and climbed by Coppermines Valley and the mines track to the summit of The Old Man of Coniston, via a short stop at Low Water.

The views today were better than the previous few days and we could see across Morecambe Bay and down to the Yorkshire Dales.

From the summit of The Old Man we followed the ridge, crossing Brim Fell and climbing to Great How Crags, stopping for lunch out of the quite strong winds behind the summit rocks.

After lunch we crossed to the summit of Swirl How and descended the Prison Band climbing again, for the last time today to the wonderful summit of Wetherlam.

From Wetherlam we dropped down quite quickly, descending down to Hole Rake and back by the Coppermine Valley back to Coniston, just in time for the Launch!