Captain's Log

Sun Inn Thermonuclear Heater

It was brass monkey weather in Coniston. Fortunately, the Sun Inn’s cat was sitting at her usual spot on the pub’s window sill, and we could warm our hands on her. She’s like a little thermonuclear heater. I’m not sure how much she got from the transaction, but she didn't complain. She’s a beautiful grey cat with a white bib and has the softest fur. I thought about stuffing her inside my jacket to warm my torso up, but I’m sure her ‘mousing’ duties would be starting soon. It was with some reluctance, but with warmer hands, that we left her. 

I’ve been to the summit of the Old Man of Coniston many, many times, but never by the Levers Water path. Normally I’d walk beyond Levers Water and climb Prison Band to the top of Swirl How. This makes for a longer ridge walk to the Old Man of Coniston and forms a superb walk in itself. Variety is the spice of life though and I decided to explore the Levers Water route today. After climbing to Levers Hawse we would tramp over Brim Fell to the Old Man itself. Our descent would be by Goat’s Water under the impressive Dow Crag. To add yet more variety to the route, I decided to extend the lower level walking to include the path to Scarr Head, Torver Common and then return to the Coniston village along the west bank of Coniston Water. This was the last day of our Lake District campaign. The Kapitan, Cabin Boy and Ted had managed to extract themselves out of bed (unlike yesterday) in order to join me on the expedition. 

Levers Water

Dawn was breaking as we crossed the Miners Bridge and followed the stone road towards the Youth Hostel. As we approached the building we could see the sun starting to peek his head above the trees on Grizedale Moor. There is something about the landscape here that makes the place glow with a reddish-orange hue when the sun rises. Maybe it is the copper in the rocks. It is certainly impressive. A United Utilities 4WD driver tested his rallying skills as he drove past us and then had the indignity of having to stop and retreat when he met a tractor and trailer coming the other way. Despite the sun, it was bitterly cold. We followed the track under Grey Crag to Low Water Beck, before doubling back along the aptly named Boulder Valley. At last the pretty Levers Water came into view. The path took us around its western side. Once we reached a patch of sun, I suggested to the team that we take a break before climbing up to Levers Hawse.   
‘This is really our last chance of shelter until we have descended to Goat’s Water’ I told them. They weren’t particularly happy at having their morning break so early, but it turned out to be a good decision. 

Brim Fell And The Old Man Of Coniston

The path up to Levers Hawse was a lot better than I expected. A lot of it had stone steps built. There were great views back  down to Levers Water. It was an excellent route up on to the tops and it's a shame I’d left it so long before walking it. On reaching the top, I walked the short distance to the other side of the ridge and looked down into the valley towards Seathwaite Tarn. It was still in the shade, but most of the surrounding hills were illuminated by the sun. I was still warm from the ascent, but the icy cold northerly was chilling me. I wondered whether to put on my extra fleece, but settled for changing to my winter gloves. After all, it was only a short distance over Brim Fell to the Old Man before we dropped down. The exercise would keep me warm. A fell runner ran past with shorts on. If it was warm enough for him, it was warm enough for me. 

It was a gradual trudge up to the summit plateau of Brim Fell. The wind got stronger and colder, the higher we climbed. The ground was a mix of ice and light snow. There were some areas where spiders on our boots would have been useful, but in most cases these could be easily avoided by walking around them. A large cairn was built on the summit of Brim Fell and given the wind and icy ground it was tricky to organise Ted’s Wainwright summit photo. We got there in the end though and Ted scooted back into the Cabin Boy’s rucksack as fast as he could. We headed off towards the summit of the Old Man. I wished I’d put that fleece on now,  back at Levers Hawse. Better still, I wish I’d brought the Sun Inn cat along to stuff inside my jacket. It was too cold and windy to put my fleece on now.     

There were quite a few walkers at the Old Man’s summit. It was too windy for conversations and people weren’t lingering about the place. Ted was reluctant to come out of the warmth of the rucksack, but we managed to cajole him and we eventually got his summit photo standing on the Old Man’s trig. As soon as the duty was performed we headed off towards Goat’s Hawse. 

Goats Hawse

The path up to Levers Hawse was like a luge in places and so we formed our own path on the snowy grass a little way off the track. It was still slippery, but nowhere near as much as the track. We met some hardy souls making their way up from Goat’s Hawse, some of them even still attempting to use the icy track. The cold wind just went straight though us. My nose was like a running tap. At last we reached Goat’s Hawse and we immediately descended about 20m down the path. At last we dropped out of the wind and we paused to get our breath and reflect. The Cabin Boy had cheeks like a slapped arse and the Kapitan looked battered and shaken. The only one of us who came out of the experience okay was Ted since he spent most of the time in the Cabin Boy's rucksack. It felt so good to be out of the wind and we spent a little time soaking up the heat of the sun like lizards. 

We made our way down the stone steps to Goat’s Water. The wind caught up with us again, but it was nowhere near as strong as it was on the tops. Near to Goat’s Water, we sheltered behind some rocks for our lunch. While we sipped coffee we watched a chap making  his way across the scree on the other side of Goat’s Water, below the towering Dow Crags. He went to the Mountain Rescue box positioned just below the rock face and proceeded to start climbing. He was scrambling and had no rope protection. I  zoomed in with my camera and saw that he wasn’t wearing gloves. I was amazed. My hands were cold even with my winter gloves on. He was obviously experienced since he made quick progress up the cliff face. By the time we had finished our lunch, he was already halfway to the summit. If it hadn’t been so cold, I would have taken my hat off to him out of respect.    

It always seems a longer walk between Goat’s Water and the Walna Scar road than I expect. Today was no exception. At least the wind had now dropped to a manageable velocity and temperature. When we reached the Walna Scar road, we walked eastwards for a 100m or so and then picked up a southwards path on the east side of Torver Beck. We were bound for Coniston Water. 

Coniston Water

It was very pleasant, easy walking alongside Torver Beck. Further down, we inspected the old quarries and then used a bridge to cross to the west side of the beck. The remainder of today’s route was familiar to me. In my younger, fitter days I’d once ran a 10K Trail Race that started in Coniston Village, went up to the Coppermines Youth Hostel, around to Walna Scar road, and then along the route we’d now take back to Coniston. I didn’t break any records, but it was an enjoyable run. We joined a stony lane to the collection of houses at Scarr Head and then crossed the A593 to continue our journey to Coniston Water via Torver Common. At last we reached the lake’s side and had a magnificent view in both directions. The view was even better when we headed out on to the water at Torver Jetty.  A little further along, we disturbed a Heron and it flew away from us with a disgruntled squawk. The last time I was on this path was about 18 months ago when I was on the Cumbrian Way. I remembered taking a photo of a Heron around here as it sat on the end of a stone wall that was built out into the lake. I wondered if this was the very same Heron. They live on average about 5 years and so there was a good chance it was the same one. 

We reached my least loved Lakeland campsite at Coniston Old Hall. It’s simply the noisiest campsite I’ve ever had the displeasure of camping on. It’s fine if you are in the mood for an all-night rave, but not so good if you want a good night’s rest. The Kapitan was mightily impressed with the chimneys on Coniston Old Hall. The manor house dates from the 16th century and the tall, cylindrical chimneys are a way of flaunting the owner’s wealth. It has a curious feature of a grassy ramp leading up to a large door on the first floor. I guess this area must have been a barn at some period of its history. The path meandered back to the village of Coniston.      

It had been a long day and we all still felt a bit battered by the conditions on the top of the fells. What an experience though! It had been brass monkey weather and we’d seen a rock monkey climb one of Dow Crag’s too. The views were amazing on every part of the walk. It had also given me half an idea to adopt a Sun Inn type cat to stuff in my jacket for warmth, on similar freezing days.