Walk : Dow Crag
(2,555 ft) from the Walna Scar car park
Date : 27th
May 2021
Weather : Sunny, dry
@ 17°C
Distance : 6.5
miles round trip
Time Taken : 2 hour to
summit
Which
part of Lakeland is this walk situated
Terrain Overview
Overview
An absolutely
wonderful walk, with amazing views from Goats Water and beyond. A well defined
path to follow which has in recent years been
stepped to
assist with the steeper parts of the climb. A very compact summit that if
weather conditions permit provides a wonderful place to just
sit for a while
and enjoy the amazing views
The start point
for this walk is the Walna Scar car park which at the time of writing this was
£8 for nine hours. Given that this is a very popular
area for walkers
space can at sometimes be at a premium.
Starting off down
the Walna Scar track from the southern end of the car park
Looking up to
Coniston Old Man from the track
The track
meanders gently around Little Arrow Moor
There are 2 areas
along this track where a little rock handling is required – but nothing to
strenuous
Further down the
track and worth noting the path veering off to the right. It is at this point
to turn and head towards Goats Water
Heading up the
track towards Goats Water
A big cairn ..
as well as a massive pile of stones
The second
scrambly bit
Looking back
along the track
Fairly soon
after the second scrambly bit the imposing north face of Dow Crag comes into
view
Goats Water from
the track which drops down to the water edge. There are some fairly big
boulders along the way that need to be negotiated
and if you are
walking with a dog you may possibly need to pick them up over these parts –
nothing too difficult though
The five buttresses
that make up the north face of Dow Crag
At the western
end of Goats Water there is a 400 foot climb to reach the ridge line between
Coniston Old Man and Dow Crag. At the top
make a left turn
Thankfully the
path is stepped to assist the climb. This is the steepest part of the walk
Looking back
down to Goats Water from the path
Looking up to
the
At the top of
the path now and the dramatic views start to unfold. Here the Scafells
From the top of
the ridge turn left and follow the well defined path which is cairned. The
loose scree can be avoided by keeping to the grass
on either side
On the summit
approach
At various
points the path to the summit skirts the steep drop of the North Gully
Team shot on the
summit of Dow Crag. Click here for a 360 degree view … https://youtu.be/YTsStTL6QaQ
Despite
providing a humungously large dinner for the Spud Meister – he is always on the
look out for more
Coniston Water
from the summit
The massively
popular summit of Coniston Old Man … Just how Wainwright sketched it in Book
Four in 1960
The ridge line
of Brim Fell, Swirl How, Great Carrs
Looking west towards
Harter Fell from the summit
Close up on the
Scafell Massif. We stayed on the summit for over an hour taking in the
marvellous views. A highly recommended walk
We eventually
returned back down and was lucky enough to bump into Dave, Angie and Fudge The Masarnen Ramblers at the Sun
Inn
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