Coniston is a small slate-grey village at the head of Coniston Water, tucked beneath some of the Lake District's finest fells. The lake is inseparable from the memory of Donald Campbell, who died here in 1967 attempting a new water speed record, but Coniston has far more to offer than that single famous tragedy.
The village sits at the foot of the Coniston Fells, a compact group of mountains that reward proper exploration. The direct ascent of Coniston Old Man is popular but predictable. A far better route loops up via Goat's Water and Dow Crag, crosses to the Old Man, then follows the ridge north to Wetherlam with views over the whole southern Lake District.
Across the water stands Brantwood, the home of John Ruskin for the last three decades of his life, and there is a Ruskin Museum in the village itself. The Victorian steam yacht SY Gondola makes regular crossings of the lake and is the most atmospheric way to reach Brantwood. The beauty spot of Tarn Hows, one of the most visited places in Lakeland, is an easy walk from the village. The old copper mines on the hillside above the village have been worked since Roman times and make a good industrial archaeology detour on any walk toward the summit.