I dont get it, i have ridden it a few times and it is described by many as a good lakes descent.
I have always ridden up from the skelwith bridge side, eventually get to that last gate on the top, desend to the gate at the bottom and thats it, last all of about 30 seconds and is not technical at all. In fact whilst it may be fast it doesnt feel much more than a fire road.
Have i got it completely wrong?
Where is this great "iron keld descent" that you speak of
you went the wrong way. 
So i should be descending down to the road that takes you to skelwith bridge? 
I followed the route in the lakes MTB book
Think that route in the Lakes VG Guide takes you up the good bit - it's not that long but on that route the bit where you fork left to a singletrack climb after going through a wall, would make a good descent the other way. Not done it meself though.
As Del Boy often said......
You plonker
Was it not obvious?
Was it not obvious?
It is now
Why did they put it the wrong way round in the book then?
It did actually use to be much better before they did all the tree clearance about ~7-8 years ago. Now the section you describe is much more fun heading North towards Skelwith Bridge and hitting the road.
most guide books and magazine route guides do routes " the wrong way " because the locals who take the journos round like to show how `ard they are. imo ofcourse 
It's that way round because it makes a good loop.
The best way to do the route is instead of coming up the road from Skelwith Bridge to Coniston to do it as a climb, go from Skelwith Bridge head for the Drunken Duck pub then towards Hawkshead and take a sharp right onto a byway to come to the bottom of the 30 second descent you mention above. Then you go up and over (enjoying the now quality descent) and when you hit the road turn left and then take the third right to get you into Tilberthawite quarry that links you up with the rest of the route.
I don't really rate it, I normally climb the "good" bit as part of the ambleside/grizedale loop from this very site. Have been down it a couple of times and it's OK, got all the ingredients for a proper downhill, steep bits, fast bits, rocky bits, few corners (well...bends) but it never really does it for me - dunno why. Better than stuff back home but much better stuff in the lakes. Cracking tech climb tho.
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