The Old Man of Coniston

Starting in one of the many car parks in Coniston town centre (ours is only one) head west and follow the clear signage for The Old Man. You'll hit a country lane with a 40degree incline, and you'll know you are on the right track.

As the incline levels out you will turn right and head into the fields, following the wall and keeping it on your right until you reach a . In front will be the first 'hill' of the day, Foul Scrow.

Head towards it, crossing over the stream via the footbridge. Keep the wall now on your left and head up and over the top.

From here the path becomes very clear. Follow the well worn path towards what is clearly the way up to The Old Man. Climb the stile and cross onto what becomes a mixture of cobbles, stones and shale all the way to the top. At this point it is as simple as following the path up, but beware one or two forks can send you the wrong way (but not far and you will have to immediately turn around again). Make sure to turn around once or twice and take in the views of the valleys below.

Once you reach the first lake (Low Water) either pause for a quick break or push for the top. From here, it gets even steeper for a short while and more uneven underfoot, so take care. Again, the route to the top is never in doubt, and you'll find the trig point behind the cairn.

Take some time to admire the views! 

Moving on to complete the circle and descent, head North towards the next cairn visible in the distance. Make sure you keep close to the ridge edge as there is a path down to your left that will take you the wrong way, and it splits without you realising at first. If in doubt, stay up high. 

Beyond the cairn you will start to descend into a dip before the next ridge. At the bottom of the dip there will be a not-so-obvious track down towards the second lake that will have been in your sights for a while. This is Levers Water. Follow the loose rocky path downwards. Take real care stepping down, a lot of the rocks are loose and you can slide quite easily.

The path levels out as you reach the water and brings you across one of the feeder streams to keep the lake on your left. Keep skirting the water along this path until you reach the crossing, and walk/wade across.

From here, follow the road back down into Coniston!