CONISTON VIA AMBLESIDE - 13th September 2026
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Well what a day it turned out to
be? After an ominous and overcast sky with light drizzle at the motorway
services, the clouds slowly cleared as the 37 fellwalkers headed west to
Windermere, and the first two groups disembarked in warm sunshine, which held
out the whole day.
After a late start, but with the
weather looking promising, Geoff’s group set off for their first fells Man
Scar and Holme Fell, and the first of the day’s Birketts. They then headed
north towards Low Fell which was a very scenic but tough and boggy walk. After
lunch they carried on and ticked off another 9 Birketts which were more
accessible, finishing at the Black Bull in Coniston for a well-deserved pint.
An enjoyable but tough walk with great views that was enjoyed by all.
Mike B’s group set off
from a busy Skelwith Bridge to explore the network of paths from Stang End to
Tilberthwaite and Hodge Close. It was a delightful mix of grand original
woodland. After pausing to watch the antics of a drone over the Hodge Close
quarry, they continued down the side of Holm Fell to High Yewdale. Here they
crossed to Tan Hows territory where they enjoyed a leisurely stroll along the
paths through the lush meadows of Low Yewdale. A delightfully relaxing walk in
the company of Linda, Dave W and Dave S.
Stu and John set off on a
private walk, passing through Clappersgate and Pull Woods, then skirting round
the beautiful Blelham Tarn, with not a ripple on its surface.
Heading via the small hamlet of
Outgate, the first stop of the walk was the lovely village of Hawkshead, where they
had a pint in The King's Head, followed by coffee and cake in Poppi Red cafe.
Leaving the village and climbing
to Hawkshead Hill, they did a circuit of Tarn Hows, a beautiful place
which was as busy as expected.
Leaving the Tarn via the
waterfalls, Glen Mary Bridge at the bottom, soon came into view.
The Yewdale Fells were crossed next,
dropping down into Coniston with plenty of time for an ice cream and another
pint.
Fourteen miles and about 3,000
feet of climbing throughout the day all in sunshine, made this an excellent
day's walking.
Ian’s group also
experienced a lovely day with plenty of sunshine. They set out from Ambleside
Rugby Club along lanes and paths to the impressive Wray Castle and then a beautiful
lunch spot at nearby Windermere. Reluctantly moving on to plod up to the summit
of Latterbarrow there were glorious views all round. Then on to a tricky
descent, before progressing onwards and upwards to Tarn Hows. Then another
lovely descent through woods and Monk Coniston to Coniston Lake. Before reaching
the village in plenty of time for refreshments outside at the Black Bull.
With the plan to head through
many tourist hotspots but in harder routes Garry and Monika set off to
the Walna Scar car park to start their adventure. Shortly after leaving the car
park, they headed off path to the bottom of The Bell for the first planned
scramble of the day. This was a quite steep scramble but broken with many
ledges where it was possible to stop and look at the views slowly unfolding as they
got higher. This was a good climb and mostly dry with a few puddles in the
crevices but otherwise straightforward. After getting to the top and having a
bite to eat, they then headed to the Pudding Stone. With Monika managing to
ascend it on the first try, an impressive image was struck (see the photos)
with Low Water Gill behind. Garry then also managed to conquer the first step
and the following easy ascent to the top.
They then set their eyes on the
next destination - the top of Raven Tor, via a convoluted route around and up
the north side via a scramble. Crossing the shoulder the view to Levers Water
opened and the proper path became a sheep track which then became a cross
between a steep wet grassy hill and a rock scree climb. With heading back to
the secondary way up (via the ridge) looking out of the question, they got to
the base of the rocks for the scramble. They tried to identify where it was, and
although there were many enticing routes to choose from, with the rock being
wet they decided to stay beneath the crags and make their way around. It was as
they were getting further round that the expected scramble showed itself, right
next to an old mine entrance. However this was on the north west side of Raven Tor,
and the rocks were slick with water from the previous day’s rainfall. A
decision was made not to attempt it and instead to carry on up the grass hill
to Raven Tor.
With all the hard terrain behind them
they started ascending up to the top of Brim Fell on a path, however about 200m
from the top Garry pulled a muscle in his leg. With a couple of attempts to
carry on climbing not working, they decided it was better to head back down to
Coniston, and so headed back down via Low Water and the tourist path. However
this had one final treat in store with the Coniston waterfalls in full flow. They
finally manged to get back to Coniston after a very hard 7 miles and 2,300ft
ascent walk.
Clare V’s group of 8
headed out to climb the Old Man of Coniston on a day that started, not
unexpectedly, a little wet and dreary with a bit of low cloud but cleared to
blue skies, interesting clouds, sunshine and stunning views. Pam, Bob,
Michelle, Glynn and Suzie joined Clare along with Zeno and Laura on their first
outing with the club. Heading out from Coniston for the best part of a solid 4
mile ascent along the roaring waters of Church Beck and up to The Pudding Stone,
where the group thought it might look better the other way round but it wasn’t
for budging!! Onward up the
appropriately named Boulder Valley with views of numerous fast flowing
waterfalls and bubbly rivers with a number of paths masquerading as streams, taking
them to the beautiful quiet of Levers Water. A bit of scramble round the tarn
to reach the path to Levers Hawes and the most strenuous part of the walk. A
lot of hard work ensued to reach the Hawes with an expectation of complaints
from the quads in forthcoming days, and it was a pleasure to sit and enjoy
lunch with the endless beautiful views on offer. Continuing to the trig point
on the summit and bumping into Nancy and Peter it was photo time before heading
down the supposedly easy path to Low Water and the quarry works to take the
group back to Crowberry Haws. As the leisurely lunch and loitering at the top
of the Old Man had eaten a bit of time there were no complaints when the
decision was made to return to Coniston via Church Beck rather than walk down
to Walna Scar Road and the disused railway as planned. Refreshing drinks
completed the day with both Laura and Zeno looking forward to their next walk
with the club. 8 miles and 2,850 ft ascent.
Next Walks:
Sunday 27th September 2026 – Ambleside
5.30 p.m. departure
Northbound to Preston, M6 north to junction 36, A590/A591 to Ambleside. Park in Ambleside in the Rothay Holme coach/HGV park which is situated off the Rothay Road (A593), between the bridge/sharp bend where the A593 crosses the river at Rothay Bridge and the centre of Ambleside. Morning coffee stop at Burton services.
Sunday 11th October 2026 – Llanberis
5.30 p.m. departure
M57, Runcorn Bridge, M56, A55 westbound to junction 11 (the A5), A4244, A4086 to Llanberis. Park in Llanberis. Morning coffee stop at Chester services, M56.
Sunday 25th October 2026 – Glenridding via Kirkstone
5.00 p.m. departure
Northbound to Preston, M6 north to
junction 36, A590/A591 to Windermere, A592 over the Kirkstone Pass to
Glenridding. Park in Glenridding. Morning coffee stop at Burton services.
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