Hawkshead & Coniston
Hawkshead
Nestled in the Vale of Esthwaite deep in the heart of Beatrix Potter country lies the village ‘Hawkshead‘ situated 2 miles west of Lake Windermere and aptly named ‘the prettiest little village in the Lake District‘.
Visitors will find a wonderful mixture of the historic and picturesque; whitewashed walls contrast against narrow cobbled streets adorned with hanging baskets aglow with a profusion of colour.
The pubs are not only friendly but offer some tantalising fayre to whet the appetite. A tremendous community spirit can be found in Hawkshead one that will keep you coming back for more, time and time again.
Tarn Hows
The well known and much loved Tarn Hows is a lovely walk from Hawkshead, and is a great place for a picnic, with its scenic backdrop of Coniston Old Man, around to the Langdales and the Fairfield Horseshoe. Left to National Trust by Beatrix Potter there is a reasonably level circular path suitable for pushchairs and wheel chairs with assistance.
Coniston
Coniston is a popular spot for hill-walking and rock-climbing.
The creation of the national park in the 1950s provided a further boost to tourism, with attractions such as the John Ruskin Museum and ferry services across the lake developing. Donald Campbell added to the profile of the village and lake when he broke four World Water Speed Records on the lake in the 1950s. He died attempting to break the world water speed record for the eighth time in 1967, when his jet boat, "Bluebird K7", crashed at 290 mph (470 km/h), having already set the record for the seventh time at Dumbleyung Lake, Western Australia in 1964. His body and boat (Bluebird K7) were discovered and recovered by divers in 2001 and he was buried in the new graveyard in Coniston in September 2001. A new wing has been built at the Ruskin Museum to accommodate the fully restored Bluebird K7 boat. It opened in late 2009 with the K7 due to arrive in late 2011 or early 2012.
The village is also home to a number of hotels and two Youth Hostels, one at the edge of the village, the other in the nearby Coppermines Valley.
The scenery around Coniston derives from Coniston Limestone and rocks of the Borrowdale Volcanic Group.
Please "click" on the links below for more information on local places of interest.
www.conistonboatingcentre.co.uk