North of Coniston Birketts
Photo: © Lee McCoy
Start Coniston Village
Getting here Parking: Coniston Station car park (paid), 0.0 km from the start (straight line). Bus: the 505 stops at Coniston, outside The Ruskin Centre, a 500 m walk and 39 m of ascent from this start. Getting there ↓ · Route map ↓
Hardest part Hard steepness: Steepest sustained descent about 29% around the 6.0 km mark. Hard navigation: Care needed in cloud — ~22% featureless high ground, 10 path junctions near the line. Hard – estimated from the map, not checked on the ground
Before you choose
- Navigation is the real challenge on this loop, not the climbing. The paths around High Wythow and Low Wythow are faint and intermittent — most walkers are drawn across the valley to Coniston and the Old Man, so these Yewdale tops see little traffic and the trods fade into rough ground.
- Attempt this only on a clear day, and treat it as one for moderately experienced hikers confident navigating with map and compass. About a fifth of the high ground is featureless, and in low cloud the line would be easy to lose.
- Steep in places (a sustained descent of around 34% over 250 m); crag/exposure data is unverified from the mapping, so take care on the steeper ground.
- Unreviewed descent: the steep descent from Low Wythow (about 5.5 to 6.5 km) has not been reviewed on the ground for this guide. Follow the track, and do not improvise a way round the crags.
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.
See also walking in bad weather and today’s conditions.
Route map
1 Long Crag - Yewdale Fells2 High Wythow3 Low Wythow
Easy 77%Moderate 18%Hard 6%Severe
Heights on this chart and its high point are read from the track itself (a terrain model sampled along the line, or a GPS recording), so a top can differ from its listed height, usually reading lower.
Free mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap, with SRTM elevation data (switch layers top-right).
The elevation profile is under the map; the stage notes follow.
The lines to the summits of High Wythow and Low Wythow are drawn, not recorded.
The walk, stage by stage
- 1
Start → Long Crag - Yewdale Fells (2.8 km, 339 m)
Starting from the valley floor in Coniston, ascend through the lower intake fields and woodland fringes. Break out onto the rugged, open fellside, picking your way up the steep, grassy, and increasingly rocky terrain to reach the prominent outcrop of Long Crag on the Yewdale Fells.
WaypointsValley start (Coniston), lower fell enclosures, Long Crag summit.
Decision pointThe valley road and Yewdale Beck sit clearly below to the east, providing a massive macro-navigational baseline during the initial ascent. Aim for the high, rocky skyline.
Easy to get wrongA steady 12% average climb to access the high ground. The lower slopes are often choked with bracken in the summer, making the initial ascent humid and obscuring the uneven ground. Once on the open fell, the terrain transitions to the classic "lumpy" mix of grass, heather, and exposed rock that defines the Coniston hinterlands.
If you need to get offTurn around and carefully retrace your steps down the steep grass directly back to the valley enclosures.
© Lee McCoy - 2
Long Crag - Yewdale Fells → High Wythow (0.3 km, 18 m)
Continue across the plateau from Long Crag, tracking east over the grassy hummocks towards the minor, subtle rise of High Wythow.
WaypointsLong Crag summit, trackless plateau, High Wythow summit.
Decision pointYou must take a compass bearing and trust it rather than relying on finding a trod or sheep track to guide you.
Easy to get wrongWhile physically effortless with negligible ascent, this section is a serious navigational trap. The path here all but disappears, and the top is entirely featureless. It is incredibly easy to drift off line in poor visibility; this route is highly recommended for clear days only.
If you need to get offRetreat the short distance back to Long Crag and descend your known ascent route. Do not drop blindly east off the plateau, as the flanks guarding Yewdale are steep and craggy.
- 3
High Wythow → Low Wythow (0.4 km, 13 m)
Push slightly further across the high ground, transitioning from High Wythow to the adjacent, nearly identical minor bump of Low Wythow.
WaypointsHigh Wythow summit, featureless saddle, Low Wythow summit.
Decision pointKeep checking your bearing continuously between the tops. Do not rely on a path being there; trust your map and compass.
Easy to get wrongSimilar to the previous stage, the physical effort is zero, but the underfoot conditions require total concentration. Very few walkers come this way, meaning any faint paths fade out completely into the grass and heather. The featureless high ground reads exceptionally poorly in cloud.
If you need to get offReturn south to High Wythow and subsequently Long Crag to utilize the most logical descent route.
Low Wythow → Finish (4.5 km, 125 m)
Leave the summit of Low Wythow and begin the descent off the pathless Yewdale Fells. Navigate the complex, lumpy terrain down towards the established, heavily engineered mining tracks, and follow them back to the valley bottom.
WaypointsLow Wythow descent, lower fellside / crag avoidance, established valley tracks, Finish.
Decision pointThe massive expanse of Coniston Water in the distance acts as a perfect macro-navigational tool to orient yourself southward toward the village.
Easy to get wrongThe initial descent off the high fells requires careful route-finding to avoid getting bluffed out by steep, craggy outcrops overlooking the valleys. The ground can be heavily waterlogged in the depressions. The 125 m of minor ascent is spread across the rolling terrain and hard-packed valley tracks on the long walk out.
If you need to get offYou are on the final exit route. Follow the track down; no other line off these fells has been checked for this guide, so do not improvise a way round the crags.
© Lee McCoy · 2 photographs
GPX track for your GPS or phone. Walked in part · km 2.2–5.5 from the map
Summits bagged (3)
- 1Long Crag - Yewdale Fells421 m
- 2High Wythow410 m
- 3Low Wythow372 m
In the order you walk them — the same numbers the elevation profile, the stage notes and the pacing table use.
Conditions and timing
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.
Getting there and back
Parking
2 more places to park near the start
Positions are approximate.
Of the pay-and-display machine tickets sold from 17 August 2024 to 31 March 2026, 33% at Coniston Old Station and 10% at Ruskin Avenue were bought before 10am (our count of FOI/2026.500 ticket data). Contains public sector information provided by the Lake District National Park Authority and licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Vehicles are left at their owner’s risk: we list places people park and cannot vouch for any of them. Take valuables with you and leave nothing on show.
If the parking is full
There is no real plan B by car here. Every place we know beside this route serves the same walks and sits close together, so expect them to fill on the same mornings. Worth starting early, or having a different walk in mind before you set off. The bus below is the exception: it is not limited by car-park space, though it runs to a timetable and can be full.
- Coniston, Ruskin Avenue (paid) — a 440 m walk to the start
- Coniston Station car park (paid) — at the start
- Coniston, Bluebird Car & Coach Park (paid) — a 430 m walk to the start
- By bus: buses stop at Coniston, outside The Ruskin Centre, a 500 m walk from the start. This walk starts and ends in Coniston, so there is no bus to catch back to the start. For anyone staying elsewhere, the last bus out of Coniston on a weekday: 20:24 towards Kendal (505), 18:44 towards Ambleside (505). A bus is not affected by a full car park, but check the timetable before you rely on it.
We never say whether anywhere has spaces today. Walks to the line are measured along mapped paths (OpenStreetMap), not in a straight line. How we choose these places.
No signal when you get there? RoutePark keeps this list on your phone: choose this walk’s GPX at home, keep it, and it opens offline.
Buses
The 505 stops at Coniston, outside The Ruskin Centre, a 500 m walk and 39 m of ascent from this start. This walk starts and ends in Coniston, so there is no bus to catch back to the start. For anyone staying elsewhere, the last bus out of Coniston: the 505 towards Kendal at 20:24 every day; the 505 towards Ambleside at 18:44 every day. From Coniston, outside The Ruskin Centre; checked against the operator's timetable, 12 September 2026; that timetable runs to 1 November. Times here are a guide, not a promise — leave yourself more than the minute.
The 505 passes this route at 0.2 km (Coniston, outside The Ruskin Centre, 230 m off the line).
Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com (opens in new tab) or Traveline before travelling.
Toilets and refreshments
The essentials
- Arrival Coniston Station car park, on the old station site west of the village, about 20 m from the start: pay and display, coins and cards. 21 m in a straight line, not a walking distance. (Lake District National Park car-parks directory, checked 11 August 2026)
- Toilets Toilets are mapped about 205 m from the start. 207 m in a straight line, not a walking distance. (OpenStreetMap, as mapped on 13 September 2026, checked 13 September 2026)
- Refreshments The Sun Hotel (about 145 m) and Our Plaice (about 165 m) are the nearest mapped, with more in the village. Opening hours are not recorded here. 143 m in a straight line, not a walking distance. (OpenStreetMap, as mapped on 13 September 2026, checked 13 September 2026)
- Limitation Navigation is the real challenge: the paths round High Wythow and Low Wythow are faint and intermittent, and about a fifth of the high ground is featureless. Go on a clear day, with map and compass. (our route notes (this route's own warnings), checked 28 September 2026)
Everything mapped near the start
Mapped as nearby on OpenStreetMap, as of 13 September 2026, within 250 m of where this route starts (information boards within 150 m; benches and shelter within 50 m):
Also mapped within reach: 2 benches, an information board.
Distances are straight lines from where this route starts, not walking routes. Opening hours are as mapped and change; none of this is checked daily.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (opens in new tab), ODbL.
Water, shelter & getting away
On-route facilities © OpenStreetMap contributors — an absent marker does not mean the facility isn’t there.
Getting there across the Lake District: Buses · Parking map · By train · By boat
Planning detail
How each grade on this page is set, and the timings stage by stage.
Difficulty profile
Hard overall — hardest: Steepness and navigation (estimated from the map, not checked on the ground); terrain not assessed; exposure not assessed on the ground
Five independent axes, not one score. None of them was set on the ground: they are computed from the recorded track and the map, which measures the line rather than surveying the ground.
How we grade: each axis is Easy, Moderate, Hard or Severe, and a route between two bands takes the higher one. Length: under 8 km, 8–14 km, 14–20 km, over 20 km. Steepness, the steepest 500 m of the track: under 15%, 15–25%, 25–35%, over 35%. Terrain, navigation and exposure are judged rather than measured, and each note says why. How we grade.
Pacing
| Summit | Cumulative | Ascent | Time (fast–steady) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Long Crag - Yewdale Fells | 2.8 km | 339 m | 1:07–1:29 |
| 2High Wythow | 3.1 km | 357 m | 1:13–1:37 |
| 3Low Wythow | 3.5 km | 370 m | 1:19–1:45 |
| Finish | 8.0 km | 494 m | 2:25–3:13 |
A fast–steady range from Naismith’s rule, deliberately on the slow side. Breaks, weather, rough ground and the slowest person in your party all add to it. How we time walks.
Access & barriers
Can a dog, a buggy or dodgy knees manage this route?
- Buggy: No mapped stiles, but the ground underfoot has not been assessed; not a buggy line on what we know.
- Knees: A long, steep ~34% drop over 250 m around the 5.8 km mark — hard on the knees.
With a dog
Hardest for a dog here: drops and exposed ground (estimated from the map). The steepest stretch is a sustained descent of about 29% around the 6.0 km mark.
- Drops and exposed ground: Not assessed on the ground; the map suggests Moderate. Graded from slope only (~34% max); treat exposure as unverified.
- Stiles and gates: Only gates and kissing gates are mapped: no stile a dog can’t get through. That is the barriers alone; check the route’s steep or rocky ground before you bring a dog. (OpenStreetMap, mapped as of 9 July 2026)
- Rock and scrambling: Ground underfoot: Not assessed.
- Ways off early: None recorded for this route.
- Livestock, shade and water: Not recorded for this route yet. We never call a stream safe for a dog to drink, so carry enough for both of you. The lead rules, and what to do around cattle, are on dogs on the fells.
On the line: 4 gates · 1 kissing gate
Barriers as mapped on OpenStreetMap, which can miss some. Spotted one? Tell us (opens in new tab). Barrier data as of 9 July 2026. Access data © OpenStreetMap contributors (via Overpass).
Places to stay near this start
- Bank Ground Farm (opens in new tab) guest houseabout 1.6 km
We have not stayed at any of them. We take no bookings or affiliate fees. Distances are straight lines from the route start, never walking times. Properties found via OpenStreetMap (opens in new tab).
Walks from places nearby
- Walks from Coniston — 0.2 km from this start
- Walks from Tom Gill waterfalls (Glen Mary) — 3.3 km from this start
Straight-line distance from this walk’s start. Those lists hold the routes we have mapped and every Wainwright and Outlying fell within about 5 km of the town, ranked nearest first.
