Lonely Old Man and How - No photos today
As I arrive at Coniston, the fell tops are covered in mist and I am expecting wet weather today. Up Coppermines valley and take the path that goes through the old mine workings, a fascinating place to see the abandoned cables and ruined buildings – it must have been a busy place at one time. How could so much waste material have been created when the entrances to the levels were so small?
As the path gets steeper through the spoil heaps it starts to rain, by the time I reach the top the visibility is as bad as I have seen it – I couldn’t even see other people at the summit cairn. This is the first time that I have been at the summit of the Old Man of Coniston all by myself; I didn’t see or hear anybody else on the way up so it’s not a surprise.
The ridge along the top of Brim Fell is always windy and today it drives the rain horizontally. Another walker appears out of the gloom, I am the first person she has met, two minutes later I meet another two walkers coming from the same direction! Walking in the direction of the cairns I inadvertently start to descend the far side of Great How Crags but have to climb back up when I realise I am in the wrong place. How could I miss such an obvious path going towards Swirl How?
Swirl How is as deserted as the Old Man. Prison Band is even more interesting than usual in the mist, with the rocks slippery with being wet and it’s a while since I was here. There suddenly starts to be a stream of walking parties on their way up to Swirl How, more coming down from Wetherlam and several people at Wetherlam’s misty summit.
For the first time in several attempts I find the correct path down from Wetherlam via Red Gill Head Moss. Today the moss is a very wet place and I take my dignity in my own hands by trusting the dodgy looking stepping stones over the wet sludge. Suddenly, I get a glimpse of the valley – a splendid view from high above the Youth Hostel. By the time I reach Coniston, it has stopped raining and the fells are becoming visible as the mist disappears.
Andy Wallace 20th September 2001