Walk up old man of coniston via dow crag and the south. Participants in these activities should be aware of and accept these risks and be responsible for their own actions. The crag offers climbs at all grades but the route described here doesnt go above diff climbing, all be it in a wonderful mountain environment. Reaching far beyond sword and sorcery, the scar is a story of two people torn by disaster, their descent into despair, and their reemergence through love and courage. There are many other wainwright fells that could be climbed. To the north of the walna scar pass is brown pike, a relatively small fell that even wainwright didnt honour with its own chapter in his guide books. Walks in the lake district the old man of coniston. Historically, in the lake district of northwest england, travel on foot or by pony was difficult because of the regions steepsided valleys so tracks across the ridges were created taking the easiest route. The path leading to walna scar can be seen on the left. The quarry can still be seen today on the slopes overlooking the duddon valley. If you didnt have an old castle you simply had one built. Walna scar road from coniston fancy guiding me sun 18th. The coniston round martin crookall author for sale. Walna scar, white maiden, white pike, with a visit to blind tarn, 11.
As you might notice from the photographs it was a wet day. The inn way lake district walking holiday guided walk. The ride gets harder as it progresses with the fun singletrack across torver low common leading on to higher and higher fells and bigger and bigger rocks. As we left the car park in coniston the old man was covered in low cloud but the forecast did say that the cloud would lift during the afternoon to clear the summit by the time we expected to be there. The parking area is part of the old quarry works so dont expect it to be flat or tarmacked. The duddon valley makes a pleasant change from the classic walking valleys. Walna scar i did for the first time not long ago, on walk 96, but this time as the text relates i did it more justice. Some hill summits are on private property or on land where there is no public right of way. Descend south along the ridge being careful to avoid the heads of great gully, easy gully, south rake and the cliffs of dow crag and follow its crest over buck pike then brown pike to reach the broad col crossed by the walna scar road. Mind you, i walked along this road a couple of years back when walked up from coniston to pass goats water and onwards, and i would not fancy taking anything along parts of this track. The route concludes with the final ascent of walna scar.
In victorian times picturesque ruins were considered a desirable landscape feature with which to impress the neighbours. Walna scar road from coniston fancy guiding me sun 18th jan. After leaving shepherds bridge lane, which is a gothic folly, custombuilt for fox hounds. Although id completed the wainwrights five months earlier this walk was the first time id set foot in the duddon valley. The descent from craghill to sail to stile end to braithwaite cheeky descent of skiddaw to ullock pike im also having a crack at coppermines or wet side edge based on sanny the oracles.
Walna scar is a beast of a climb but the descent on the other side is more than worth it. Yet it doesnt appear in the volumes index, so doesnt count as a wainwright. Coniston old man via the jack diamond path at coniston walking. Hill passes of the lake district were originally used by people in one valley travelling to another nearby without having to go many miles around a steep ridge of intervening hills. It is also worth making a mental note of where you reach the walna scar road as you need to leave it at about the same point on your descent. Walklakes recognises that hill walking, or walking in the mountains, is an activity with a danger of personal injury or death. It provides some very technical riding in places and because its remote its usually quieter than many other parts of the national park. Then up the ridge to swirl how, down and across to wetherlam. From the summit continue on in the same direction to start the short descent. To contribute a summit or portrait photo for a hill please contact the hillsummits website. Reaching the walna scar road fork right for goats water. Coniston old man via the jack diamond path at coniston. The walk follows a circular route from a parking area on walna scar road, near coniston in the lake district. The ride gets progressively harder as it goes on with singletrack across torver low common leading.
I remember trying to ride up the walna scar road on my mountain bike from the duddon side, but it. Its a classic route with a mix of everything that makes riding in the lakes great, all without resorting to any hikeabike a rare feat in those parts. This is a linear route starting in coniston and finishing at skelwith bridge. I believe this association was occasioned by both the subject matter of a walking guide and its style of execution. A circular walk from coniston up the walna scar road, up bro wn pike to dow crag, over to the old man. It sets off in a westerly direction along walna scar road itself, which is now a track, before turning northwards to start the real climbing over brown pike, buck pike and dow crag. A threefell walk that would end at the old man, but that would first take in a lesser known fell, dow crag. Time spent riding on the road is time wasted in my book. Dow crag is situated amid the coniston fells with scree slopes at its base passing down to goats water below. The lake district has a number of superb classic rides, and this walna scar road route, to the south of the old man of coniston, is one of them. Glorious sunshine all day, but with a cutting cold wind chill. Turn left along walna scar road to start the trek back to the car. A walking guide is also the story of tangled emotions involving two women whose relationships with joe shelby offer competing definitions of love as passion and trusting companionship.
From the early days of mountain biking in the uk, walna scar road has been a rite of. Walna scar features in the 19th c novel the old church. This point can also be reached by taking the narrow road by the bridge up past the sun hotel. Walna scar summit to coniston by mountain bike duration. Viewranger walna scar road, lake district mbuk 317. Its washed out a bit 12 months since ive ridden it but the top wasnt touched it was only the run from the bottom the zig zags to little arrow moor that was affected but it has. The coniston round starts on the old man and continues over swirl how and wetherlam. According to editor danny the first killer loop was the south lakes favourite walna scar road. Shelby veers between photographer duclos and white african entrepreneur eva kimberly, finding ultimately that his illness makes crucial choices for him. Walking walna scar road walks walna scar road peak. If youre doing the longer route with the full descent down to seathwaite turn left and head out onto the fells before turning.
There has been enough opportunity in the final stages of the descent to see that the summit of walna scar fell lies only a few steps above the short green slope south west of the pass. Initially the path runs parallel with the quarry track until the track curves away below booth how. Maybe theres something to be said about formalising the parking arrangements at walna scar. Brown pike and coniston water from the summit of walna scar. Coniston to skelwith bridge cumbria, england alltrails. Its a part of the coniston fells, the continuation of the dow crag ridge after it has descended over blind pike and buck pike. Born of a civilisation that prizes honour, speed and fearsome loyalty, their allegiance has yet remained unclear even as the galaxy is torn apart by horuss treachery, and both sides have apparently counted them among their potential allies in the war to come. Technically, walna scar and its environs is not that obscure a corner. Looking back along the walna scar road, timley knott on the left with the ill bell ridge in the far eastern fells on the right skyline. The descent would take him across the pass at styhead, where the mountain rescue team kept its stretcher, prepositioned for upsets on the forbidding central massif of. Park near the newfield inn, a car park exists by the parish room just north of it. The story of all the legiones astartes, the white scars of jaghatai khan remain the most enigmatic and elusive. List of hill passes of the lake district wikipedia.
I have just read that the walna scar road is now officially a restricted byway. Turn left and make the descent east back to coniston along the length of the walna scar road. The project gutenberg ebook, the old church clock, by richard parkinson this ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the united states and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. A technical section of walner scar road in the lake district. Walk the inn way to the english lake district in the company of mark reid, who will share his detailed knowledge of this wonderfully varied route through the heart of the lake district, with plenty of little detours and extra experiences along the way the inn way to the english lake district was the sunday times travel book of the week when it was first published. Full text of the book of coniston internet archive. Walna scar is a tough climb or in my case a push i have a coil shock, but the descent. The weather was supposed to clear later in the day, unfortunately that never materialised but i was enjoying the fresh air so much i extended a planed shorter walk to caw by linking it to the coniston fells.
Walna scar road saturday th may 2006 the intention today was to go up to the old man of coniston but the weather conspired against us. At the foot of the zigzags that lead up to the top of the walna scar pass i actually did leave the path. Walna scar road was an old packhorse route, termed by wainwright the ancient highway over walna scar, and formed an important medieval conduit from furness abbey to coniston for the wooltrade, as well perhaps as having been used in the bronze age. Therefore, the only summit on the book is walna scar itself at 2035 above sea level. We parked near torver and followed the main road south before turning right up a lane and some arrowed hills.
The walk follows a circular route from a parking area on walna scar road, near. Lake district guided walks the old man of coniston. Sergey and marina dyachenko mix dramatic scenes with romance, action and wit, in a style both direct and lyrical. Alternatively, coniston old man can be missed out by following the walna scar road westsouth west from the walna scar car park. Follow path with fence on r to rocky outcrop and steep descent. Dow crag, buck pike and brown pike from the unnamed tarn on the walna scar ridge. This is one of adventure peaks shorter walks, that sets out from the impressive walna scar road, but dont be tricked by its length, this is a hard route with a lot of stunning high level walking. Three tops are clearly described in the book, and though white pike is not visited by the walk described on pages 1167, white maiden is. The walna scar road can also be reached from torver, or from seathwaite in the duddon valley, although the latter results in an indirect climb via dow crag. An easy traverse leads to the walna scar track and a descent back to the valley. Walna scar lake district mtb route guide flattyresmtb. A classic south lakes mountain bike route starting from the village of torver, south of coniston. The walna scar is a well known lakes route that some of the party had done before. Near to ambleside, broughton in furness, coniston, coniston water.
The first three are all in wainwrights caw chapter and had not been bagged before so are numbers 312314 of the full list of 330 wainwrights. I would only do the walna route if it involves the descent into seathwaite and the hike back up from there, if its the one. Do not take any of the paths off to the right but stay on the rough track for about 3. Once coniston old man has been circumvented, you can either break off from the walna scar road and head north to goats water and ascend directly to goats hause and turn back south to the summit of dow crag, or continue on the walna scar.
This concludes with the final challenge of walna scar. Egert is a brash, confident member of the elite guards and an egotistical philanderer. Another quiet lakeland walk, except the walna scar track descent, with 6. From the top of brown pike, head south west for a short, steep descent on a good path leading to a path called walna scar road. The scar by charlotte moundlic tells the story of a young boy trying to grieve, adapt, and accept the death of his mother. Once you have gained the summit of coniston old man then a round of brim fell, dow crag, buck pike, brown pike and a descent along the walna scar road. In truth i fell in love with the valley before id even stepped out of the car, the autumn colours on display as we drove from duddon bridge to seathwaite were absolutely stunning. But it is a fell and it is bigger than any of the hills south of the walna scar road. Now, the walk itself was the challenge the meandering start through the first band of woodland and the old mine workings, then crossing the walna scar road and on to the tiny, dark lake called goats water before the rocky scramble to the foot of the crag.
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