Brim Fell

North of the Old Man of Coniston, the ridge to Swirl How crosses the broad, grassy top of Brim Fell. Far more walkers pass over it that way than climb it directly.

To climb it on its own, start at the fell gate car park where the tarmac ends above Coniston. An old quarry track leads round towards Crowberry Haws, and a miners' path contours into Boulder Valley, where huge boulders lie among the old copper workings. From there a grass rake slants up across the south side of Raven Tor, past the abandoned Gnospelious Level, to the col behind the Tor, and the east ridge takes you to the top. The whole climb is about 2.3 miles and 2,050 feet. You can also come up from Coniston by Levers Water to Levers Hawse, or from the Duddon side along the Walna Scar Road to Goat's Hawse.

The two sides are nothing alike. To the west, smooth grass runs down to Tarn Head Beck. The Coniston face is all crag, including the broken cliffs of Raven Tor, and pathless lines up the Tor give a rougher finish if you want one.

On top there is a good slate cairn on grass, with a second big cairn to the north-east. The view is wide, though the long ridge hides the ground close by. Levers Water, below, was dammed for the mines and is about 125 feet deep. The smaller Low Water lies in its corrie under the Old Man.