• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Hugh Stewart

  • Home
  • Books
    • Hillwalks from the Settle to Carlisle Railway Stations
    • Settle to Carlisle – Hill Walk with Return by Classic Train Route
    • Mountain Biking Adventures: Multi-day Routes in Northern Britain
  • About Hugh
    • Author
    • Orthopaedic Surgeon
  • Walking Blog
  • Contact

Coniston Old Man/Wetherlam circuit.

By Hugh Stewart July 17, 2018 Leave a Comment

The Old Man is very popular, but we’ve been doing a less crowded route up for twenty years or so. As judged by today’s walk however, it is getting more popular, which usually means it is  in some new book. Which people read! We can’t remember where we got it from, but not Wainwright. From the north end of the car park just up from the Sun pub, go up the side road and take a path right, currently nearly blocked by a salt bin. This leads on the left of the stream gully steeply upto a dog-leg in the road to the Walna Scar track. There is an alleged plan to upgrade the car park here, with charges and shutting the gate at some ungodly early hour, no use for those of us who climb on Dow Crag till nightfall. Keep going. At Boo “Tarn”, dry now, take the path to the left of the quarry track up and follow it leftwards up and across Little Arrow Moor. Relatively gentle. A while after curving north it takes a right turn and ascends more steeply onto the South Ridge of the Old Man. Thereafter the round needs no description, but I should say that if you haven’t descended the south ridge of Wetherlam recently, the old path which turned left down to Hole Rake is now little used, the path continues to turn down more pleasantly further on, and there has been some attempt to improve the annoying track round the corner going SSE towards the quarries. Cross the bridge and follow Church Beck’s south bank, then the track which leads unerringly to the Sun, what better place to end a superb round, of 8 miles and 3,500ft of ascent?

The initial ascent path from Boo Tarn
Crossing Little Arrow Moor
Approaching Levers Hawse
Prison Band
Descending Wetherlam’s south ridge

 

© OpenStreetMap contributors
Download file: coniston.gpx

Filed Under: Walks

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Search

Post Categories

The Latest Comments

  • Richard Kenyon on Troughton Beck, Langdale.
  • John Bush on Caton Moor circular.
  • Hugh Stewart on A Bowland circuit from Littledale.
  • Ian Chadwick on A Bowland circuit from Littledale.
  • David Wilson on Silurian Way, Grizedale Forest.

Enjoying the Blog Posts?

If you are enjoying my content please consider supporting my passion by purchasing one of my books. Many thanks, Hugh.

Hillwalks from the Settle to Carlisle Railway Stations

24 walks into the hills surrounding the historic and iconic Settle to Carlisle railway, based on the stations between Settle and Appleby. The area has some of the finest walking of the north Pennines: the Craven district around Settle; the Three Peaks area; Dentdale, and Mallerstang and the upper Eden valley.

£12.95 (P&P may apply)

View Book

Mountain Biking Adventures: Multi-day Routes in Northern Britain

Over the last two decades, mountain biking has developed enormously as a “sport”. We greatly admire the technical and athletic capabilities of modern day mountain bikers and recognise that many excellent guides have been written and custom-built trails set up. In this guide we try to reopen a sense of adventure and wilderness to mountain biking, providing multi-day routes with a remoteness, continuity and “arc” missing from many modern guides with their focus on day and half day outings.

UK £13.95 ( inc. P&P)

View Book

Settle to Carlisle – Hill Walk with Return by Classic Train Route

With over 22,000 ft of ascent in 105 miles set out over 8 days, this walk sets out from Settle, taking in the classic summits of the North Yorkshire Dales, Howgills, Eastern and Northern Lakeland Fells, to arrive at Carlisle. The return journey to Settle by one of the classic train journeys. Illustrated with photographs and route maps.

£12.95 (P&P may apply)

View Book

Footer

Alternative start to the Malham Circular walk

Note, this is now fully described in the Second Edition of "Hillwalks from the Settle to Carlisle Railway Stations", 2014, walk 1b. If the long Langcliffe Scar track does not appeal, but a bit more hillwork does, try this start: as per the book, walk 1, but at the Malham/Settle road turn right … Read More » about Alternative start to the Malham Circular walk

The Highfields walk, Halton with Aughton.

Another plague walk which we could do from home, and although this seems to be a popular walk for locals, we had never done it, and decided to do it both because of that and as we thought it would be less popular and hence less boot-churned muddy than others round Caton and the Bowland Fells. The … Read More » about The Highfields walk, Halton with Aughton.

A Clougha Pike circuit, avoiding Rigg Lane.

I.e. avoiding any crowds parking there. Start at Little Cragg car park and go down the road, turning right to go over the top of Baines Crag for your first view of Morecambe Bay and the Lakeland Fells. At the road go down then left over the first ladder stile and cross the infant Condor by stone or … Read More » about A Clougha Pike circuit, avoiding Rigg Lane.

Copyright © 2021 · Hugh Stewart All rights reserved. · Website created by LeePritchard.com