There are maps and guidebooks in the house. Coniston’s Tourist Information Centre is 50 yards from the front door.

Hawkshead

4 miles over the hill from Coniston, Hawskhead is a picturesque village with 2 gastro-pubs. It has the schoolhouse where Wordsworth was educated and a gallery of Beatrix Potter’s paintings.  3 miles further on is Potter’s farmhouse Hill Top - very pretty, but best visited out of peak times. The narrow road past Hill Top leads on to a car ferry across Lake Windermere to Bowness.

Windermere

England’s longest lake – beautiful, though touristy, especially around the towns of Windermere and Bowness.  Several lows fells give great views after a short climb; Blackwell is a marvellous Arts & Crafts house with art displays; even lovelier is the old farmhouse of Townend. A steam railway runs from Haverthwaite to the south end of the lake, where there is a great aquarium and boats run up the lake. 

Half an hour’s drive east Windermere brings you to the larger town of Kendal, where Abbot Hall gallery has the best art exhibitions in the region.

Ambleside

At the north end of Lake Windermere, Ambleside is the nearest town to Coniston (7.5 miles away).  Busy but likeable, it has lots of cafes, gift shops, outdoor shops, bookshops, a cinema and the Armitt Museum of local history.  It doesn’t have a large supermarket: the nearest one is Booths, next to Windermere Station. There is a fantastic range of walks from Ambleside - along the side of Rydal Water, on low fells like Loughrigg, or up high fells like the Fairfield horseshoe.

Grasmere

The most touristy village in the Lake District is worth visiting for Dove Cottage, where Wordsworth wrote his greatest poems. It has a brilliant programme of exhibitions and poetry readings. Wordsworth is buried at the church, and his later home Rydal Mount can be visited nearby. There are breathtaking walks in every direction. 

Grasmere is half an hour by car from Coniston. From Grasmere, one road heads north-west over Dunmail Raise to Keswick and Derwent Water; another road heads north-east over Kirkstone Pass to Helvellyn and Ullswater.

The Langdales

4-5 miles north of Coniston on narrow lanes, Little and Great Langdale have waterfalls, small lakes and miles of stunning fell walks. Parking is limited, so you have to arrive early on summer weekends. The best fell-walks take a day each – up the Langdale Pikes, or over Crinkle Crags and Bowfell, or all the way to Scafell Pike, highest mountain in England.

Duddon Valley and the west coast

The steep lane through Little Langdale climbs over Wrynose Pass to the quiet Duddon Valley, which has lovely walking. The road continues over Hardknott Pass to the spectacularly located remains of Hardknott Roman Fort, then down through beautiful Eskdale to Muncaster Castle and Ravenglass, the one pretty village on the coast.

Ulverston and the south coast

15 miles south of Coniston, Ulverston is a market town with good pubs, a good supermarket and a museum to Laurel and Hardy (as Stan Laurel was born there).  The coast is flat, muddy and industrial, but it’s not far to interesting places for rainy days like Levens Hall,Cartmel Priory and the Docks Museum at Barrow in Furness.

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