Old Man of Coniston
| Old Man of Coniston | |
|---|---|
 Old Man of Coniston
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| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 2,634 ft (803 m) |
| Prominence | 416 m (1,365 ft) |
| Listing | Hewitt, Marilyn, Nuttall, Wainwright |
| Coordinates | 54°22′12″N 3°07′08″W / 54.37°N 3.119°WCoordinates: 54°22′12″N 3°07′08″W / 54.37°N 3.119°W |
| Geography | |
| Location | Cumbria, England |
| Parent range | Lake District, Southern Fells |
| OS grid | SD272978 |
| Topo map | OS Landranger 90, Explorer OL6 |
The Old Man of Coniston is a fell in the Furness Fells in the English Lake District. It is 2,634 feet (803 m) high, and lies to the west of the village of Coniston and the lake of the same name, Coniston Water. The fell is sometimes known by the alternative name of Coniston Old Man, or simply The Old Man. The mountain is popular with tourists and fell-walkers with a number of well-marked paths to the summit. The mountain has also seen extensive slate mining activity for eight hundred years and the remains of abandoned mines and spoil tips are a significant feature of the north-east slopes. There are also several flocks of sheep that are grazed on the mountain.
The Old Man is the highest point in the historic county of Lancashire (administratively in Cumbria). This assertion rests upon its being higher than its near northern neighbour, Swirl How. There appears to be some doubt in the current literature over whether the height of Swirl How is 802 or 804 m, following resurveying. If modern measurement has not added 2 m to its rival then The Old Man of Coniston is the highest point in the Furness Fells, and the twelfth most prominent mountain in England.
The Coniston (or Furness) Fells form the watershed between Coniston Water in the east and the Duddon valley to the west. The range begins in the north at Wrynose Pass and runs south for around 10 miles (16 km) before petering out at Broughton in Furness on the Duddon Estuary. Alfred Wainwright in his influential Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells took only the northern half of the range as Lakeland proper, consigning the lower hills southward to a supplementary work The Outlying Fells of Lakeland. Later guidebook writers have chosen to include the whole range in their main volumes.
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