Elterwater to Coniston (Cicerones Tour of the Lake District)

Route Essentials

Walk Route: Elterwater - Coniston

Duration: 2 - 3 hours

Miles: 6 (10km)

Route Overview

Elterwater (from the Norse for 'swan lake') guards the entrance to the Langdale valley, a playground for hillwalkers and climbers, and deservedly popular with visitors for much of the year.

Route Details

The Tour heads past on slightly quieter routes, first into Little Langdale before continuing through Tilberthwaite to Coniston.

If your itinerary permits, a stop-over day in Elterwater is very worthwhile - a pleasant riverside stroll or a hike up the Langdale Pikes that dominate the head of the valley are all possible from here. Now firmly devoted to tourism, Elterwater still maintains a working slate mine, and it is worth a peek from the nearby footpath into the vast hole in the ground just to marvel at the scale of operations.

The geology of the valley has been worked for millennia - the Langdale Pikes was an 'axe factory' in Neolithic times, producing axe rough-outs that still appear in the screes today. Axes originating from Langdale rock have been found in other parts of Britain and abroad. In the 1990s further links to prehistory were uncovered with the discovery of ancient man-made markings on two boulders at Copt Howe, 20 minutes' walk from Elterwater.

Please see Cicerones Tour of the Lake District guide for more route details.

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Route Information

Detailed route information
Time/Effort:	2 out of 5
Navigation:	2 out of 5
Technicality:	2 out of 5
Height gain/loss (metres):	250metres (820feet)
OS map:	Cicerone Tour of LD Guide, OS OL 7
Toilets:	Elterwater, Coniston
Refreshments:	Elterwater, Coniston