Great How (Swirl Band)

This rocky shoulder sits on the high ridge between Brim Fell and Swirl How, offering a quieter vantage point than its more famous neighbours. As a Birkett and Synge, it provides a superb perspective over the industrial scars of the Coniston copper mines and the deep blue of Levers Water.

• •The name stems from the Old Norse 'haugr', meaning a hill or mound, while 'band' is a traditional Lakeland term for a prominent ridge or spur of land.
• •Author Bill Birkett included this as a separate summit to ensure walkers appreciated the rugged, intermediate terrain on the main spine of the Coniston Fells between Levers Hawse and the peak of Swirl How.
• •Looking north-east, the summit offers a clear view of the 'Prison Band'—a popular, rocky scrambling ridge that connects the Swirl How massif to the neighboring peak of Wetherlam.
• •The western slopes drop steeply away into the Duddon Valley, providing an excellent view of the remote Seathwaite Tarn and the craggy eastern face of Grey Friar.
• •It is the kind of summit where you often only realise you have reached the top because the wind hits you slightly harder just before the path starts going uphill again.