The Old Man of Coniston, Dow Crag & White Maiden

This map was created using GPS Visualizer's do-it-yourself geographic utilities.

Please wait while the map data loads...

Route: Walna Scar, Crowberry Haws, Low Water quarry, Low Water, the Old Man, Goat's Hawse, Dow Crag, Buck Pike, Brown Pike, Walna Scar, White Maiden, Walna Scar Road, Torver Bridge, Walna Scar (Fell Gate)

Date: 22/05/2019
From: Walna Scar

Parking: Walna Scar car park (Fell Gate)
Start Point: Walna Scar car park
Region: Southern Fells

Route length: 7.4 miles (11.9km)
Time taken: 04:20
Average speed: 2.1.mph
Ascent: 806m
Descent: 810m

Wainwrights on this walk:
The Old Man of Coniston (803m), Dow Crag (778m)

Additional summits: Buck Pike (744m), Brown Pike (682m), Walna Scar (621m), White Maiden (608m)

Other points of interest: Low Water Quarry, Goat's Hawse

Some mid-week walking action for you all - an afternoon round of the famed Old Man of Coniston and the majestic Dow Crag. After leaving Leeds after the morning rush hour, it took us longer than expected to reach the Lake District. Despite eventually arriving shortly after lunchtime, we managed to find a space in the car park at Walna Scar - one of the many benefits of a mid-week outing. We couldn't have asked for better weather either with blue skies and near unlimited visibility accompanying us through the afternoon.

The Walna Scar car park on a bright May day

With the sun shining, we set off from the car park along the gravel track which climbs gradually to Crowberry Haws. A number of paths converge at this location, including the oft-used route up to The Old Man, a fascinating path which winds up through the old quarry workings that litter this part of the Lake District.

The Bell

Coppermines Valley and Above Beck Fells

The Walna Scar car park seen from Crowberry Haws

Crowberry Hause

Coniston is famous for its mining heritage, largely in pursuit of copper, with mining in the Coniston area starting towards the end of the 16th century. The mines grew to such an extent that, in 1850, Ore production was so great that a railway line was constructed from the Furness to Coniston. Production started to decline through the late 19th Century before eventually ceasing in the 1940s.

Beneath the spoil heaps of Low Water Quarry

Kitty Crag

Slate was the material of choice to be mined from The Old Man and the extensive Low Water Quarry bears the remains of Coniston's industrial past. The path winds up through huge spoil tips, following the rusting cables of an old aerial ropeway. Derelict buildings and tracks litter the levels - I salute the men that had to work up here (or on a day like today perhaps a tiny bit of envy?).

The largest workings were probably at Low Water Quarry, where slate was prized in an opencast manner from cuttings near the summit, Scald Kop Quarry, where a large cavern was formed from slate extraction on the surface, and the Saddlestone Quarry, again consisting of two 'caves' where slate had been quarried to form underground workings.

The aerial ropeway terminal

The winding mechanism in at the ropeway terminal

Cart tracks

The ropeway terminal

Miners barracks

Black Sails and Wetherlam

Boulder Valley and Wetherlam

Eventually, the path reaches Low Water, a fine glacial tarn that sits below the summit of The Old Man. If you're feeling the strain of the climb, it's the perfect place to pause before the final push. Though it appears steep, the path zigzags its way up the final 100m to reach the top.

The path approaching Low Water 

Low Water, The Old Man and Brim Fell

The view east across Furness

Low Water and the crags of Brim Fell

Low Water as the path begins to climb

Low Water and Brim Fell

Add caption

Coniston

Great How Crags and Swirl How

The summit of the Old Man of Coniston has a unique platform with a large cairn sat atop it, in addition to an OS trig column. The all-round panorama is excellent but the highlight is arguably the view down to Low Water.

The summit of the Old Man

A rare sight - the deserted summit of The Old Man

The Coppermines Valley and Tilberthwaite Fells

Low Water

The trig pillar atop the Old Man

The ridge heading off to Brim Fell

It's a short distance from the Old Man to the branch in the path leading down to Goat's Hawse. The path steepens as it falls to the hause before making the climb up to Dow Crag.

Leaving the summit of the Old Man

Dow Crag

A look back to the Old Man

Dow Crag from Goat's Hawse

Goat's Water and Dow Crag

Dow Crag is a proper mountain with one of the finest and most accessible cliff faces (to climbers at least) in the whole National Park. Viewed from The Old Man, there are no better crags than those that front Dow Crag. It's a haven for rock climbing for obvious reasons - there are over 150 routes to choose from.

Calf Cove

Goat's Hawse

A super view across Wrynose and Eskdale

Scafell and Scafell Pike

The summit consists of little more than a large outcrop, perched perilously above the crags below. It's an exhilarating and exciting place to be, as is the walk along the ridge as you begin your descent. The views down the series of large gullies are enough to invoke a sense of dread into all but the hardiest of hill walkers. They're definitely the realm of the climber, the exclusion to the rule is the so-called 'South Rake', an accessible strip to the southern end of the mountain.

Dow Crag

The Old Man of Coniston

Dow Crags summit

Clouds over The Old Man

Morecambe Bay

Harter Fell

An obvious path descends over a pair of subsidiary peaks - Buck Pike and Brown Pike. They're nice little mountains in their own right, I certainly think worthy of more attention than they receive. Brown Pike cradles a lovely little body of water, Blind Tarn, so-called because it has no noticeable inlet or outlet.

The south ridge of Dow Crag

Looking down Great Gully

Goat's Water and the Old Man

Dow Crag

Dow Crag's South Rake

Buck Pike

Brown Pike and Blind Tarn

Clouds over Morecambe Bay

I had had my eye on one the more uninspiring summits on the Nuttalls list, that of White Maiden, which is the most southerly of the Lakeland Nuttalls. Its small summit stands just 1km south of the Walna Scar road requiring a quick 'out-and-back' excursion.

Brown Pike and the Old Man

The grass-clad White Maiden

A loose cairn caps the summit

After returning to the Walna Scar Road all that remained was to follow the road all the way back to the car park while avoiding a number of mountain bikers that certainly seemed to be enjoying themselves.

The Walna Scar road

The Cove

Torver Bridge

Torver and Coniston