| Date: | 28th Aug 2009 | Location: | Lakes |
| Distance: | 13.0 miles | Weather: | Overcast and cloudy, some sunny spells, brightening at the end, no rain |
| Ascent: | 2600 feet | Trig Points: | 0 |
| Time: | 5 hrs 50 mins | Wainwrights: | 0 |
| With: | Tex Gore | Other Info: | Parking at Tex’s place |
| Summary: | Hoathwaite Farm, Torver, Hummer Lane, Natty Bridge, Walna Scar Road, Heathwaite, Bowmanstead, Hoathwaite Farm, | ||
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Tex and I had arranged to meet up today, to have a walk around Coniston Water somewhere. He was on his family holiday at his place in the Lakes and I had a days holiday booked. He text me at 05:40 to say the rain was bouncing and the wind was rocking the foundations. I checked the weather forecast with tea and toast in hand and it didn’t look like changing any time soon, but as he was already there and I’d booked the day off, we decided to walk anyway and bugger the consequences.
As it turned out we got hit by a few raindrops a couple of times and we had to hunker down out of the wind for lunch, but other than that it was a fine walking day. So much for the bloody weather-guessers.
Parking at Tex’s place near Coniston
The hills are all looking a bit claggy and the weather forecast was dire
Looking to Beacon Fell, the first hill I ever walked up in the Lakes
Looking to Coniston Old Man, topped in cloud, the second hill I climbed in the Lakes
Through the forest beside Appletree Worth Beck
White Pike, alternatively covered in shadow or sunlight, a fine looking peak
The falls at Natty Bridge, a bloomin’ marvellous spot
Walna Scar Quarries, we stop here for a bite of lunch and to get out of the wind, which is blowing up nicely
The deserted buildings at Walna Scar Quarries
The Walna Scar Road, as it leaves Seathwaite and climbs towards Brown Pike
The beautifully shaped Harter Fell, sitting beneath some pretty impressive clouds
The tiny little shelter at the foot of Brown Pike.
We met three guys at the top of the Walna Scar Road, looking for the path to Coniston Old Man, via Goat’s Water. They had the largest (or smallest?) scale map I’ve ever seen – it made the Landranger 1:50K scale maps look quite detailed. They’d overshot their path by over a mile and had no idea where they were. We were reluctant to point them over the Dow Crag ridge, despite them asking for the quickest route to the Old Man, but they were adamant they weren’t turning back. We saw them later on the ridge, from our route along the Walna Scar Road, they were heading in the right direction at least.
Coniston Old Man, from the Walna Scar Road
The Walna Scar Road, great access to lots of great fells
Coniston Old Man and Goat’s Water tarn, nestling in the hollow to the left of shot
The bridge on the Walna Scar Road
This is the path we took when I ascended the Old Man for the first time – very steep in places
The Bell, with Wetherlam behind
The Gondola steamer on Coniston Water
Coniston Water, the sun is out now
Looking back to the hills, from the Cumbria Way path out of Coniston
Coniston Hall
A very soggy campsite outside Coniston
Apparently, 10 minutes after I left Tex, the heavens opened and deposited a large number of cats and dogs on the locale – great timing!
3 thoughts on “Walk Report: Walna Scar”
We were incredibly lucky with the weather, we walked between torrential downpours. I’ve missed a few weeks of walking myself with one thing or another so I sympathise with your plight – hope you’re fit and walking again soon 🙂
I was glad to see Walna Scar Road without a river running down it, which is how the remember the scene about 20 years ago when I last walked it from Coniston to Harter Fell and over to Eskdale YH. I’m somewhat handicapped by a troublesome back, so your reports and photos are a welcome diversion pending my eventual return to the blessed hills.