Cool Caravanning, Updated Second Edition. Caroline Mills
times: April to beginning of November
Facilities: 60 hardstanding pitches with hook-up, motorhome service point with chemical toilet waste disposal and small shop (basics only, including gas). No sanitation block.
How to get there: Junction 40 on M6 at Penrith, A66 to Keswick, B5289 Borrowdale and Rosthwaite. Turn right at signpost for Grange. Take care over double humpback bridge and through village. Site on right in 1 mile.
Food & drink: Two tea rooms in the village of Grange, meals for non-residents at Borrowdale Gates Hotel close to campsite. More hotels and cafes in nearby Rosthwaite and Seatoller. Supermarkets in Keswick.
Nearby attractions: The hamlet of Seatoller, The Cumbria Way, Lodore Falls (good viewpoint), walking and cycling, Keswick.
Alternative Campsite: Seatoller Farm (www.seatollerfarm.co.uk, tel.: 01768 777232). A very basic site with no hook-ups or service points but a fantastic location. Tight turn.
Left: Walking alongside Derwentwater; Top Right: Woodland pitches at Borrowdale Caravan Club Site; Bottom Right: The village of Grange in Borrowdale
Coniston Park Coppice
Cumbria
Coniston Water
On the map it’s shaped like a long, bony finger pointing towards the lesser-known tarns and Langdale Valley, but the dark depths of Coniston Water stirs up other connotations – Donald Campbell’s speed records in Bluebird and his resting place since 1967, before the recovery and burial of his body at Coniston village in 2001. Walking along the western shores of the lake, especially in early sunlight before the rest of the world treads the same path, one wonders if you can hear the roar of a jet engine, before realizing that the only noise is of water rustling where the lake meets land.
Look east across the lake and the multicoloured expanse of Grizedale Forest catches the eye; turn west and the conical-shaped Old Man of Coniston casts a watchful glance over the lake. Often snow-capped for several months of the year, the Old Man bears a passing resemblance to an ash-covered volcano ready to spit the Lakeland’s bowels onto the neighbouring fells.
In between the Old Man and the reflective waters sits the 63-acre wood that the Coniston Park Coppice campsite inhabits. Managed by the Caravan Club (non-members welcome), it’s a large site even by global standards, with 252 hardstanding pitches for caravans and motorhomes, each with an electric hook-up. But big doesn’t have to mean impersonal or featureless; with the trees providing a roof, shelter, backdrop and pitch dividers, the site has been thoughtfully landscaped with small clusters of pitches grouped in open glades, like modern cul-de-sacs, off two central roads. Each glade is named after one of the district’s lakes, and all the pitches are pretty much level, with some dug back into the woodland banks, while the site slopes gently down towards Coniston Water. As would be expected from such a large site, there are plenty of facilities in terms of service points and amenity blocks housing toilets, hot showers, baby changing, laundry and dishwashing facilities. But man-made entertainment has been avoided with the exception of some outdoor play areas for the tinies. Barbecues are allowed, but open fires are not permitted.
Pitches at Park Coppice
Under the trees, the site is refreshingly unsanitized – a place for lovers of the great outdoors not afraid of mud or the odd acorn that, come autumn, decides to plop from the overhead branches, causing a mini explosion on the ‘van roof. But the real boon for this site is its watery neighbour. There’s direct access from the campsite to miles of lakeside paths that the smallest of feet can toddle along and the most determined of experienced ramblers can enjoy. A mere 360 metres from the campsite is a launching point for canoes, windsurfers, rowing boats or dinghy sailing – a car park at the bottom of the campsite, close to the lake, is available for guests wishing to launch watercraft. Fishing is also possible with the right permission. And within a 1-mile lakeside walk is Coniston Pier, from where boats can be hired or a trip can be taken on the Steam Yacht Gondola, a beautifully restored Victorian lake cruiser that, between March and the end of October, glides a virtually silent path through the dark waters. Keeping up with environmentally conscious times, the Gondola no longer burns coal, opting for compressed waste-wood logs to power its steam engines.
A little farther on from Coniston Pier is the village of Coniston, a busy tourist magnet housing the Ruskin Museum, dedicated to the lives of three men – John Ruskin, Arthur Ransome and Donald Campbell – that have made a mark on the history of Coniston Water. On the eastern side of the lake, accessible by the Gondola, is Brantwood, the former home of art and social critic John Ruskin, with fabulous views over the lake and memories of writer Arthur Ransome, whose tales of adventures in Swallows and Amazons were partly based on Coniston Water.
And on the theme of literary giants, a few miles farther is William Wordsworth’s house, Dove Cottage, and his final resting place in the family grave at Grasmere. The neighbouring Wordsworth Daffodil Garden, in tribute to his poetic classic, is worthy of a reflective visit, especially in spring when the yellow trumpets are in full bloom. Or you can return to your childhood with a visit to Hill Top, the snug home of Beatrix Potter at Near Sawrey. It’s possible to sink a pint of the local in the Tower Bank Arms next door, too; you’ll recognize the pub, if only subconsciously, for it features, with identical detail, in The Tale of Jemima Puddleduck.
Coniston Park Coppice Caravan Club Site
Coniston, Cumbria, LA21 8LA
01539 441555
Opening times: Open all year
Facilities: 252 hardstanding pitches all with electric hook-up, three amenity blocks with hot showers, motorhome service point, laundry and baby-changing facilities, dishwashing area, recycling, play areas, shop including gas, public transport 400 yards from entrance. Dogs welcome.
How to get there: Junction 36 on M6 and A590 towards Barrow. At Greenodd, turn onto A5092, signpost Workington. In 2 miles fork right onto A5084 towards Coniston. At Torver, turn right onto A593. Site is on right in 11⁄4 miles.
Food & drink: Heritage Meats (www.heritagemeats.co.uk), based at Yew Tree Farm (once owned and lived in by Beatrix Potter) near Coniston, sells lamb and beef direct from the working hill farm, including local Herdwick sheep. It’s ideal if you’re looking to put something on a BBQ. For some of the best Cumberland sauce and a massive selection of other locally made condiments, head to the Hawkshead Relish Company in Hawkshead.
Nearby attractions: Coniston and Hawkshead offer plenty of tourist shopping and tea rooms. In Coniston the Ruskin Museum pays tribute to the lives of Arthur Ransome, Donald Campbell and John Ruskin, while in Hawkshead the Beatrix Potter Gallery shows a changing exhibition of original illustrations from the author’s books. Grizedale Forest Park provides plenty of opportunity for gadding about in the fresh air.
Alternative campsite: Hawkshead Hall Campsite (www.hawksheadhall-campsite.co.uk, tel.: 01539 436221). A grass-only site with limited pitches for caravans/motorhomes, so booking is advisable.
Top Left: Woodland