Coniston 13-15 March 2015

Friday

Last time we visited Coniston for the weekend was in 2009 and we arrived on Friday evening in the dark. This time we travelled on Friday morning so had an extra day's walk before picking up our luggage from the coach at 5.30 in daylight!
There were three walks on offer or the option of spending the afternoon in Coniston at leisure. I opted for the 'C' walk led by Frank which was a Coniston Circular taking in Tarn Hows, around 7 miles.
Our first stop was at the Dog House.....yes really. Eric Robson describes it as follows;

'I bet it's the grandest kennel you've ever seen. Built for the Marshall family, wealthy flax merchants from Leeds, who bought the Monk Coniston estate in the 1830s and set about creating a fantastical landscape as their bolthole from the pandamonium of the industrial revolution. (Tarn Hows, which you're bound to visit was the header reservoir for their estate sawmills and you'll never see a prettier reservoir.) But when they had to provide kennels for the Coniston foxhounds, no utilitarian kennel block for them. Instead they built a Gothic folly from which a very lucky pack of pampered hounds could look out on one of the great northern landscapes.'

We must have walked all of a quarter of a mile but it was a good place to stop for lunch, sheltered from the wind and with wooden seats down each side.
Suitably refreshed we set off along the Cumbria Way to Tarn Hows where we walked right around the tarn.
Close to the path we came across a money tree. It might look as though Jean and Kath were trying to take it out but I promise you they were hammering a few loose coins back in!

Tarn Hows

We arrived back in Coniston with time for a drink before collecting our luggage and booking in at the hostel or B&Bs. Steve, the driver, was in the YHA with us this time so he parked the coach in the hostel grounds. Not so far for us to carry the bags thank goodness.

Holly Howe YHA

Holly Howe is a short walk from the centre of Coniston and has a comfortable lounge area so more people stayed in to socialise rather than go out to the pub.

Saturday

Again a choice of three walks today and this time I opted for a 'B' walk again led by Frank.....he was a busy bee! Another Coniston circular along the lake side and then we headed for the hills to Walna Scar.

Coniston Old Hall

We had a few glimpses of the sun as we made our way alongside the lake into the woods beyond Coniston Old Hall with its huge chimneys. 

There was plenty of water coming down from the hills but none coming down from the sky thankfully.

We made our way steadily through the hills gaining a bit of height and enjoying the splendid scenery. A final decision, did we want to go up Big Hill or did we want to go straight down into Coniston. Well of course we chose Big Hill and as we reached the top of the pass we came across the 'A' party coming off The Old Man.

They looked a bit cold and said there had been an icy wind on the top. We all descended together passing the Coppermines YHA on the way down. Some people met up at The Sun, whilst others preferred tea and buns!

Another good day's walking over and back to the hostel for the evening meal followed by cards, chat, parties or even knitting before bed time!

Sunday

After breakfast Steve loaded the coach with luggage and we set off for our final walk of the weekend. Again there was a choice of three walks and this time I did the 'B' walk led by Keith. We were dropped off at Torver and we picked up the Cumbria Way and headed towards Broughton-in-Furness.

 We turned our backs on the mountains and followed the Cumbria Way for the first part of the walk before branching off on a more direct path. There were glimpses of the sea in the far distance.

Jean's photo

The walk ended at Broughton-in-Furness where some went to the pub and others went to the cafe for refreshments.

There was even time to play!

Thank you Margaret for posing for this photo.

The time of departure was set at 5.30 and the last person to board the coach was exactly on time, not a minute less or a minute more. The journey home went well and the coach reached Bradford well ahead of expectations. Thank you Steve for getting us there and back safely and putting up with muddy boots.
Thanks also to everyone involved with organizing the weekend and leading the walks. Especially Frank who has done this job for the last few years and is now about to take a back seat.