The Coniston Round

About

The Coniston Fells are fronted by the rugged face of Coniston Old Man and the towering cliffs of Dow Crag. These two fine mountains are a big enough draw to spirited walkers but, add to this the stunning array of peaks stacked up behind them and it's easy to understand why a walk around this collection of fells has become such a Lake District classic. This version of the round is slightly truncated because it leaves out Weatherlam. This is done to take advantage of the high level nature of the main, ridge for although there are a couple of big drops, namely at Levers Hawse and at Goat's Hawse, the route maintains height giving the whole undertaking a pleasant lofty feel. All day long you are high on ridges with superb views to every quarter both out to the coast and back into the surrounding mountain.

The path up through the stepped corries of The Cove and Goat's Water makes the perfect ascent route into the Coniston Fells. All the way up it, it is bursting with interest that will keep you distracted through the hard work of gaining height. Fittingly, it brings you first to the highest peak, Coniston Old Man from where you can survey almost all the route for the day ahead. From here the next thing to do is to head north along the main ridge and summit all the peaks along it. You will need to back track after Grey Friar but there are a couple of handy side paths that will help you avoid too much re-ascent. This leaves Dow Crag and its outliers till last and as they are the most dramatic in terms of rock scenery they too make a fitting end to a great day in the hills.