Dow Crag, Old Man of Coniston, Swirl How, Great Carrs, Grey Friar, Seathwaite Tarn and Wallowbarrow Gorge

Sometimes things do not turn out as you wanted them to. I had gone to bed excited after weather forecasters promised a day of sunshine, only to wake up and find the view from my bedroom window obscured by thick cloud—the outdoor enthusiast's dilemma! Still, I was on day three of an autumn break in the Lake District and wasn't going to waste it. After grumbling through breakfast and driving from Eskdale over Hardknott Pass into the upper Duddon valley to Seathwaite, I set off.

Arriving in Seathwaite, I parked by the Parish Room. Walking north-east up the road, the chirrup of birdlife and trickling water in Gobling Beck restored my mood. Passing Turner Hall Farm and crossing fields to Hollin House Haw, I reached Walna Scar Road.

Climbed steadily into the cloud line toward Brown Pike, stopping once for a 45-minute hopeful sit-down as handkerchiefs of sunshine teased the fells before fading. Reaching the summit of Brown Pike, the cloud briefly lifted to reveal my goals of Buck Pike and Dow Crag. My spirits lifted immediately!

As Wainwright noted of Dow Crag: "Second only to Scafell Crag in the magnificence of its rock architecture..." The airy path from Brown Pike across Buck Pike to Dow Crag is thrilling, peering right down over the plunge of Goat's Water over 200 metres below.

Descending to Goat's Hawse—the saddle linking Dow Crag to the Old Man of Coniston—I dropped my engine into a lower gear and climbed 150 metres back into the mist toward the Old Man.

Reaching the trig point at 803m on the Old Man of Coniston, the weather performed a trick and cleared just as I arrived. Looking across the majesty of the Coniston Fells toward Swirl How and Great Carrs revealed one of the greatest ridge paths in the Lake District.

Passing Brim Fell Rake, Levers Hawse, Great How Crags, and Swirl Band, I reached Swirl How—the geographical centre of the Coniston Fells. From here, I continued north to Great Carrs before turning west across Fairfield and Black Spouts to Grey Friar, where I took a final summit break in gorgeous warm sunshine.

Descending Grey Friar past Sheep Crag and across Troutal Fell in a sea of warm light greens and greys, I reached the remote and peaceful shores of Seathwaite Tarn.

Following the track past Tongue House through the pastureland valley, I crossed the River Duddon at Fickle Steps—stable stepping stones with an optional hand-line.

The grand finale of the walk was the thrilling path through Wallowbarrow Gorge. Skirting steep crags and navigating massive boulders fallen from the cliffs above, it provided a wonderful, adventurous conclusion before crossing Wallowbarrow Gorge Bridge and returning through woodland back to Seathwaite.