Coniston Water in the Rain

A damaging brick, plenty of rain and getting lost!

For many years our group of friends have been heading to the Lake District for a very sociable walking weekend a few times each year.  The destination has always been Keswick until last weekend, as we have been forced to reconsider our venue due to the owners of our favourite B&B deciding to retire from the business.  This was our first foray into the unknown territory of Coniston, not as far north as Keswick and with smaller mountains! Coniston Water is the lake where Donald Campbell broke world water speed records and, sadly, lost his life 50 years ago in a final attempt on the world record.

The weekend had an unpromising start as our car was hit by a brick thrown up by a passing wagon on the road to the motorway.  Thankfully no-one was hurt (just the car) so after a 2 hour delay we were on our way again in another vehicle, a little shaken and ready for some R & R.

We all met up in the Old Rectory, a B&B in a small village called Torver just south of Coniston.  The weather had been warm and sunny that afternoon and two of our friends had enjoyed a good walk up a hill called 'The Old Man of Coniston'.  The weather, however, was about to turn and Saturday ended up being really wet with constant rain showers. Despite this we decided to walk up to Coniston, taking a route along the lake.

Walking in the rain

Our route went through a campsite where there were some 'glamping' tents, yurts and tipis.  They looked impressive but I really wouldn't have wanted to be camping in the rain, however glamorous it was! The tipis here are available to book through BaseCamp Tipi.

Tipis next to Coniston Water

We also walked through the Hoathwaite campsite which is run by the National Trust and is in a brilliant location next to the lake.

Tree with exposed roots next to Coniston Water

Once in Coniston village we sampled local beers in one of the pubs and wandered around the shops. The museum has a display commemorating Donald Campbell and other local celebrities such as John Ruskin, the Victorian art critic and social thinker who lived in the area.

The route down to the lake passes some businesses selling outdoor gear, house decorations and the most important local product - Fudge.

The footpath signs gave us the choice of footpath or fudge - a difficult decision!

Coniston directions

Having followed 'Footpath' we arrived at the Bluebird Cafe on the shores of the lake which was a good spot for a coffee and ideally positioned to watch the finish of the children's canoe race on the very choppy Coniston Water.

Canoe race on Coniston Water

Even though it was raining there were lots of ducks and a pair of swans delighting some young children along the shoreline.  One little girl was determined to get into the water in her wellies to join the ducks and her mum had to grab her quickly to save her from getting soaked!

Swan on Coniston Water

After exploring the village we decided to head back to the B&B as the rain was getting heavier.  The 'Old Man of Coniston' was well hidden under the clouds.

Coniston overshadowed by rain clouds

On our way back through the campsite we were asked if we would like a barbecue - not a meal invitation but the actual kettle barbecue itself.  The owner couldn't fit it back into his car as he was packing to leave.  We declined as we wouldn't need it but hopefully someone else was able to benefit!

Sunday was also wet so the consensus was to do a forest walk so we could get a bit of shelter from the trees.  We decided to follow a trail though Grizedale Forest to Carron Crag which is a small fell in the forest with panoramic views.  Getting there from the car park was an easy 3 mile walk and we made it to the top OK but didn't really get the best views as there was low cloud covering the area. We did spot the sea over to the west and we also spotted a strange circular sculpture, seen below.

Circular sculpture in Grizedale Forest

On the way back we thought we would retrace our route so we could get back to the car park in good time and head back home to sort out our damaged car.  One of the group suggested making it into a circular walk by following another path.... Big mistake - we got very lost, in the forest all paths look very similar and we lost sight of the signposts.  Hours later we ended up back at the spot where we had decided to take the alternate path! When we finally arrived back at the car we had covered 14 miles instead of the expected 6 and were exhausted!

Grizedale Forest

Back home, later than expected, we still had the car to sort out... it felt like a very long day.  Despite the brick, the rain and getting lost we did have a sociable and enjoyable trip but hope the next one will be less adventurous!