Coniston Water is about five miles long and half a mile wide. Above its western shore, the mountain of the Old Man of Coniston towers above the lake and the village. The lake is half a mile down from the village, where you can hire boats and bikes from Coniston Boating Centre. There are shops, pubs and places to eat in the village, a range of guest houses, B&Bs and holiday cottages in Coniston and nearby.
Have family days out on Coniston water. Book boat hire; motorboats, canoes, kayaks, paddleboards, electric bikes and more. Our staff will help you make the most of your adventure, Bluebird Café has delicious food and drinks.
The Coniston Launch has various cruises around the lake. It sails from Coniston Boating Centre, with stops at Brantwood and other jetties around the lake. Sails all year round, but not every day, November to February.
Steam down the lake on the rebuilt Victorian Yacht, run by the National Trust. Sails from spring into autumn until the end of October.
Our printable map of Coniston Water shows you where to park, where to hire boats, footpaths and cycle routes, where to catch a boat trip from, and of course where to hire your boats and bikes at Coniston Boating Centre.
This pretty village's cobbled lanes are best explored by foot. There are many pubs, shops and cafes. You can see Wordsworth's schoolboy signature carved in a desk at Hawkshead Grammar School. The Beatrix Potter Gallery occupies rooms once used by the solicitor William Heelis, Potter's husband.
This small lake, just two miles long, near Hawkshead is privately owned. However there is a footpath to the lake from the road just south of Hawkshead which follows the shore for a short time. There is also a small public access area by the lakeshore just before Sawrey.
The home of John Ruskin, the house, gardens and estate host many of Ruskin's treasures, along with contemporary exhibitions, concerts, courses and special events.
The museum, in the centre of Coniston village, tells the story of Coniston from the first Stone Age fell-walkers, who made and traded stone axes, to the Jet Era when the 1950s speed ace Donald Campbell used Coniston Water as Bluebird K7’s race-track.
See the remains of Coniston Copper Mines.With insights into the geology, how the copper mining industry developed, and the miners and their families who earned their livelihoods from it, it gives a great glimpse into Coniston's past. Download a self-guided trail
Book your place on our free guided walks near Coniston and Hawkshead
A collection of walks in Rusland, an area that stretches between Winderemere and Coniston Water to the south of Grizedale forest.
There are regular buses to Coniston from Ambleside and Hawkshead (service 505, Stagecoach) and from Ulverston and Barrow (Service X112, Blueworks Travel) For more details and links to timetables see Travel and Transport.
