The East Coniston Fells

Tuesday 20th December 2022

After more than eighteen months since I was last in the Lake District and three years since I was last there at Christmas, I was eager to return to that most wonderful area for walking. However, the unreliable train service that had affected my holiday earlier in the year put me off taking the train, so I had decided to take my car, but on the day before I was due to leave the poor weather forecast for Monday convinced me to take the train after all. Even if I had taken the car the heavy rain would have made any walking worthless. After successfully catching three trains, my final train that would take me to Windermere was cancelled, so I had to finish my journey into the Lake District by bus and I arrived in the village of Coniston in the dark. That night I stayed in the Coniston Youth Hostel which was the first time that I stayed in a YHA hostel in three years. I awoke to find the clouds breaking and the promise of the best weather of the week, so I eagerly headed into Coniston and caught a bus to Water Yeat at the southern end of Coniston Water and from there I started to walk across the fells that are to the east of the lake.

I had never walked in this area before, so I was looking forward to this opportunity and with great enthusiasm I stepped off the bus in Water Yeat and along a narrow road to Bouthrey Bridge where I followed a footpath through grassy fields beside the River Crake. Despite walking through grassy fields I was still excited to be back in the Lake District with views to the south that looked promising and my first target, Brock Barrow, ahead of me whose dome of steep crags and bracken looked impregnable. The path took me to another road that led me into the tiny community of High Nibthwaite where a path departs to cross the steep southern slopes below Brock Barrow. Although a path is marked on O.S. maps straight up the steepest slopes it is not actually possible, so I veered north onto a path that heads across the western slopes. At some point I needed to climb those steep slopes, but it was difficult to know where the best route would be as there were no paths. Eventually I branched up the hill, but it might have been easier if I had waited, though with much effort I did eventually manage to pull myself up through thick bracken, gorse and heather to finally reach the fine, slender cairn that marks the summit of Brock Barrow.

Low cloud covered the Coniston Fells so the best views were south across the Crake Valley while across Coniston Water the Blawith Fells looked like a place that would have rewarded exploration. That was where I had planned on walking the day before until bad weather changed my plans. I previously passed through the Blawith Fells in 2016 and would have appreciated an opportunity to spend more time there exploring the area which hadn’t been possible previously due to the weather. With the sun shining behind me and a brisk wind blowing it was great to be walking over the Lakeland Fells as I headed north soon reaching another cairn that would have afforded me with a classic view of the Coniston Fells if they were not hidden by clouds. Instead I turned my attention on the low hills of Bethecar Moor where I could now see that Brock Barrow was merely the southern tip of a broad ridge that slowly rises to an unseen top. I made my way through the rough vegetation of bracken and heather towards the closest top that I could see, Low Light Haw, and kept aiming for the highest ground as I slowly headed north, while enjoying the walk in the sunshine.

After Low Light Haw came High Light Haw across a rough, undulating and often boggy terrain with a brisk wind that kept me wrapped up. Beyond High Light Haw I followed a descending line of hills, but I could see that I needed to cross Stang Moss to where a line of hills break through the one thousand feet mark, so eventually I took the plunge and picked my route across the pathless terrain until finally I reached the 316 metre top at the southern end of Arnsbarrow Hill. There I had great views south into the sun and north across Arnsbarrow Hill to where I could now see the encroaching conifers of Grizedale Forest Park. The 322 metre top of Arnsbarrow Hill was rather broad and no cairn marked its location so I kept heading north passing the shallow Arnsbarrow Tarn but ignored faint paths to keep heading north until I reached Heel Toe Hill. The complexity and lack of clear paths make these low fells quite tricky to navigate, so it was satisfying to successfully reach the top of Heel Toe Hill with the edge of the conifer plantation close by. Turning my back on the conifers I headed west through the rough ground to reach the highest point in the whole area between Coniston Water and Windermere, Top o’ Selside. The O.S. marks a 335 metre top, but there is nothing on the ground at that point, though a short distance from there a cairn marks the Top o’ Selside.

A clear path led me steeply down the hill with great views to Coniston Water and across to the Coniston Fells that still looked grey despite having shaken off the low cloud. I’m sure the weather conditions at the top of those high fells would have been inhospitable thanks to strong winds as even on my low fells a brisk wind was keeping me wrapped up. On reaching a restricted byway I turned right to head north with great views before me for a pleasurable walk that had me frequently jumping over pools of water until I reached the remote farmhouse of Low Parkamoor. Staying on the track I turned towards the conifers, but rather than keeping on the track I turned off onto a horribly muddy bridleway that was often submerged in water and prompted me to take bypassing paths off it. Thankfully I soon reached the edge of Grizedale Forest Park where I soon reached a complex junction of forestry tracks and took the wrong one. I didn’t realise my mistake until I was descending into the valley of the Farra Grain Gill, but successfully managed to negotiate the maze of tracks to reach the beginning of the path up to Carron Crag. I climbed up this top almost exactly ten years ago and a good, steep, gravelly path took me inexorably all the way up to the summit crags. The trees were a lot higher and encroached on the summit more than they did ten years ago but I still had great views across the tops of the trees and towards the distant fells.

From the top of the summit rock I made my way down a good, gravelly path onto forestry tracks and could have kept to my route of 2012, but I decided not to repeat myself so I continued the descent on a bridleway that took me all the way down to Coniston Water. This descent provided me with tremendous views across Coniston Water to the village of Coniston with the Coniston Fells forming a mesmerising backdrop that made me wonder again what it would have been like this day on those tops, probably very cold and windy. The only problem with this walk was that it ended rather early, even for this time of the year, but I couldn’t think of a way that I wanted to prolong it. Instead I had a slow walk down the hill and around the head of Coniston Water back into the village. I have not been feeling well for the last couple of months so I was looking forward to going to the Lake District as recuperation and this walk was relaxing and easy enough, but it was still thoroughly enjoyable. If I’d had more energy and longer daylight hours then this walk could have been extended all the way around Coniston Water, but perhaps that wouldn’t have allowed me the time to explore the fells east of Coniston Water as much as I was able to do on this walk.

Dee Valley Way (and the end of the Offa’s Dyke Path)

Friday 2nd September 2022 (and Saturday 3rd September 2022)

Near the end of my holiday on the Offa’s Dyke Path I thought I’d take advantage of being in the area to walk through the Dee Valley using a waymarked trail that goes from the small market town of Corwen to Llangollen, so after parking in Corwen I set off from the statue of Owain Glyndŵr in the town centre along the Dee Valley Way. Initially the trail follows a road out of the town, over the river and, off the road, up towards the ancient hillfort of Caer Drewyn. My Ordnance Survey map shows the Dee Valley Way keeping to the road on the northern side of the valley, but the route has changed and now comes off the road and toward the hillfort. Fortunately, it doesn’t climb all the way up to the top of Caer Drewyn so when I reached the edge of the steep, open ground I turned sharp right to follow a track around the side of the hill with great views across the valley and over the town of Corwen. The trail continued between a wood and grassy fields on the steep slopes of the valley where walking was tricky due to the side gradient and no path. As I slowly climbed the hillside the views developed behind me, though it was still quite overcast and misty, but I was hopeful that the good weather that I had been enjoying on this holiday would continue and the mist would clear.

On reaching a wood, I turned left and then right, through the wood, onto a narrow road, which I followed down to the valley bottom and through the village of Carrog, back on the old route of the Dee Valley Way, where I had great views down the valley past the old bridge as gaps started to appear in the clouds. Eventually I came off the road and steeply up the bank into the lovely, mixed wood of Coed Tir-llanerch with the climb continuing out of the wood, high above the valley and past some old quarry workings. Leaving the map-marked route of the trail again, I continued the climb up onto the heather-clad moorland on top of the ridge. As I slowly traversed the top, the sun broke through, so since I had not packed my wide-brimmed hat I made sure I was well covered in sun cream before proceeding. At Bwlch y Groes I turned right down a road as the views to my left opened out revealing fabulous views of the Dee Valley even though it was very hazy in the distance. I couldn’t resist branching off the road to get a better look and then when I checked where I should have gone I realised the Dee Valley Way also branched off the road at this point so I was able to continue enjoying the fabulous views while crossing the southern slopes of Llantysilio Mountain.

The moorland was a wonderfully diverse range of colours from the yellow of gorse, the purple of heather, the green of bracken and the red of the bilberry leaves. The sunshine and great views amongst colourful vegetation while listening to great music made this a fabulous walk, but inevitably it came to an end as I began to descend along a sunken lane that brought me onto a road and ultimately back down to the valley bottom. After passing through Rhewl I had difficulty finding the path off the road and wandered around for a while until eventually I gave up and headed down the road, but then suddenly I came across the footpath that bypasses a farmyard but is not clearly marked on maps. Navigation continued to be tricky as I crossed several fields to reach Llandynan and beyond there to pass through a wood. By this point in the day I was feeling very tired, possibly because of the heat or maybe the result of two weeks of strenuous walking, so I wearily made my way along the narrow footpath through the wood and down through a field where I had great views up the Eglwyseg Valley towards the rocks that I had walked past two days previously.

At the bottom of the valley, more road walking brought me to the famous Horseshoe Falls of Llangollen, but I struggled to see what the fuss was about, partly because there were so many people there, including in the water. Part of my problem is because the falls are actually man-made, created to feed the Llangollen Canal that starts at this point, and I followed this along the towpath all the way into Llangollen. This was a pleasant walk and at one point I took advantage of a metal ladder that took me down to the river bed where I had stunning views up and down the valley. Returning to the canal I continued along the towpath until eventually I arrived in Llangollen where I dropped down to the railway station whose position right next to the river was simply magical. I have driven through Llangollen and the Dee Valley many times on my way to Snowdonia, so it was great to finally stop and take in the fabulous scenery. The earlier sunshine had now been replaced by muggy, overcast heat so I was happy to just wander around Llangollen and wait until the next bus could take me back to Corwen.

The next day I drove to the village of Dyserth and parked beside a tall waterfall, but it was difficult to find a right-of-way path to the falls with a shop claiming 50p for access through their premises and once I was above the waterfall I still could not work which way to go. The valley above the waterfall was beautiful but short lived and soon I was back on a road. While trying to head upstream I came across a field protected by a large bull, which was tricky avoiding until eventually I managed to escape and finally I reached the Offa’s Dyke Path so I could complete the last four miles of the trail. The first mile was across dull fields that reminded me of why I had missed out sections of the Offa’s Dyke Path before finally I came to the steep terrain of Prestatyn Hillside Nature Reserve that had drawn me to the area. The trail turned many times but was well-signed and took me up to the escarpment edge where I had hazy views over the town of Prestatyn and towards the sea where the trail ends. Eventually I began to descend and finally reached the urban jungle, which I had planned to avoid, heading straight back to Dyserth, but on a whim I decided to walk all the way to the sea and the official end of the Offa’s Dyke Path. After passing through the town, over the railway line and past the crazy golf I reached the metal structure that marks the end of the trail, two weeks after I had left Sedbury Cliffs on the Offa’s Dyke Path and now I was at the end at Prestatyn beach.

Would I have felt more of a sense of achievement if I had walked all 177 miles of the trail? I probably missed out about seventy miles with the largest section lost in the Severn Valley, but I still had some fabulous walking where I visited places that I had never been to before, or previously driven past without stopping so the Offa’s Dyke Path was great in taking me to undiscovered places. I was in a low mental state at the start of the holiday but this holiday revived my spirits with the good weather helping in my recovery. After a stroll across the sands, I returned to the start/end of the Offa’s Dyke Path and followed it as far as the railway station where I diverted onto an old line that slowly climbs back up to Dyserth where I once again tried to negotiate the maze of paths past the waterfall and finally returned to my car.