Coniston Old Man Round
Photo: Photo: John H Darch, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (opens in new tab)
Key facts
Difficulty profile
Five independent axes, not one score. “Desk” ratings come from maps and guidebooks, not yet walked — treat them as a guide, not a survey.
Conditions on this route
We score every Lakeland Wainwright each morning on cloud, wind, rain and underfoot, and this route crosses 5 of them. The worst summit governs the verdict — a route is only as kind as its roughest top.
Modelled guidance — not a substitute for the mountain forecast or your own judgement. See how every fell ranks today →
☀️ Daylight & turnaround
Daylight is short from October to February — check today’s sunrise and sunset before you set off, and carry a head-torch and spare batteries. On short days, decide your turn-back time before you start.
Why this matters: 78% of Mountain Rescue call-outs come after midday — the day runs out on the way home, not on the way up. See also walking in bad weather and today’s conditions.
The path beneath your boots
High on the Coniston round, above Levers Water, Fix the Fells spent 79 ranger-days and about £16,000 in 2023 coaxing walkers back onto the right of way — runs of big stepping stones over the wet flushes, a stone-lined drain and a line of new cairns — to stop a second, braided path eroding the peatland and washing sediment into the tarn.
Notice underfoot: the stepping stones and cairns aren’t decoration — they’re nudging you onto the sustainable line and off the fragile peat, so follow them.
Fix the Fells built and maintains this path. How a fell path is made → · Give back (opens in new tab)
Path-repair data © Fix the Fells (National Trust / Lake District National Park). Source (opens in new tab).
1 The Old Man of Coniston (Coniston Old Man)2 Brim Fell3 Grey Friar4 Swirl How5 Wetherlam
Free mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap (switch layers top-right).
This walk covers about 17.4 km with around 1148 m of ascent, taking in 5 summits. The map above shows the line; the elevation profile and stage notes are below.
Access & barriers
Can a dog, a buggy or dodgy knees manage this route? A quick read from the gates and stiles mapped along the way.
- Dog: A stile of unmapped type — a dog may need lifting over.
- Buggy: Stiles or rough going on the route.
- Knees: A long, steep ~38% drop around the 9.7 km mark — hard on the knees.
On the line: 7 gates · 1 kissing gate · 1 stile (type unmapped)
These are mapped barriers, from OpenStreetMap — coverage in the Lakes is good but not guaranteed complete. Spotted a stile or gate we’ve missed? Tell us (opens in new tab) and we’ll fix it. Barrier data as of 2026-07-09. Access data © OpenStreetMap contributors (via Overpass).
Pacing
| Summit | Cumulative | Ascent | Time (fast–steady) |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Old Man of Coniston (Coniston Old Man) | 4.0 km | 711 m | 1:59–2:39 |
| Brim Fell | 4.8 km | 723 m | 2:10–2:53 |
| Grey Friar | 7.9 km | 857 m | 3:00–4:00 |
| Swirl How | 9.5 km | 967 m | 3:31–4:41 |
| Wetherlam | 11.4 km | 1107 m | 4:08–5:30 |
| Finish | 17.4 km | 1148 m | 5:24–7:10 |
Naismith-based estimate — a fast/steady range. Your pace will vary.
The walk, stage by stage
Coniston village → The Old Man of Coniston (Coniston Old Man) (4.0 km, 711 m)
Climb of about 711 m over 4.0 km (around 18% average).
The Old Man of Coniston (Coniston Old Man) → Brim Fell (0.8 km, 12 m)
Undulating section of about 0.8 km.
Brim Fell → Grey Friar (3.0 km, 135 m)
Climb of about 135 m over 3.0 km (around 4% average).
Grey Friar → Swirl How (1.7 km, 110 m)
Climb of about 110 m over 1.7 km (around 6% average).
Swirl How → Wetherlam (1.9 km, 140 m)
Climb of about 140 m over 1.9 km (around 7% average).
Wetherlam → Finish (6.0 km, 41 m)
About 6.0 km with 41 m of ascent.
Stage-by-stage field notes coming soon.
Summits bagged (5)
- The Old Man of Coniston (Coniston Old Man) 802 m · Southern · Wainwright, Birkett, Fellranger, Synge, Nuttall, Marilyn
- Brim Fell 796 m · Southern · Wainwright, Birkett, Fellranger, Synge, Nuttall
- Grey Friar 773 m · Southern · Wainwright, Birkett, Fellranger, Synge, Nuttall
- Swirl How 802 m · Southern · Wainwright, Birkett, Fellranger, Synge, Nuttall, HuMP
- Wetherlam 763 m · Southern · Wainwright, Birkett, Fellranger, Synge, Nuttall, HuMP
🅿️ Getting there & parking
Positions are approximate. Lakeland car parks fill before 9am on fine weekends.
💧 Water, shelter & getting away
💧 Treat water from the fell before you drink it. A mapped point is usually a tap or public supply, but never drink untreated from a beck, stream or tarn — even clear-looking hill water can carry giardia or cryptosporidium from livestock or a carcass upstream and leave you seriously ill. Run it through a filter or purifier (a LifeStraw, Sawyer Squeeze or HydraPak) or bring it to a rolling boil first.
On-route facilities © OpenStreetMap contributors — an absent marker does not mean the facility isn’t there.
🚌 Buses
Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com (opens in new tab) or Traveline before travelling.
⚠️ Safety & conditions
- Disused mine shafts and quarry spoil on the flanks, especially toward the Coppermines valley — keep to the paths.
- The high ridge is exposed and the broad tops need care in cloud.
Hazard & incident notes: The Old Man of Coniston (Coniston Old Man) · Brim Fell · Grey Friar · Swirl How · Wetherlam
Check live conditions in the “From the fells” panel, on MWIS (opens in new tab) and the Met Office mountain forecast (opens in new tab) before you set off.
Make it easier or harder
Short version: turn back at about 8.5 km (drop to Coniston village) — roughly half the distance.
📚 Maps & guidebooks for Coniston Old Man Round
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