| Coniston Water | |
|---|---|
 View fromHolme Fell, 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north | |
| Location | Lake District, Cumbria |
| Coordinates | 54°21′N3°04′W / 54.350°N 3.067°W /54.350; -3.067 |
| Primary outflows | River Crake |
| Basin countries | United Kingdom |
| Max. length | 8.8 km (5.5 mi) |
| Max. width | 793 m (0.49 mi) |
| Surface area | 4.7 km2 (1.8 sq mi) |
| Average depth | 24.1 m (79.1 ft) |
| Max. depth | 56.1 m (184.1 ft) |
| Water volume | 1.133×108 m3 (4.00×109 cu ft) |
| Residence time | 340 days |
| Shore length1 | 20.2 km (12.6 mi) |
| Surface elevation | 43.6 m (143 ft) |
| Islands | 2;Peel Island, Oak Island. 1 partial; (at high water) Fir Island |
| 1 Shore length isnot a well-defined measure. | |
Coniston Water is a lake in theLake District inNorth West England. It is the third largest by volume, afterWindermere andUllswater, and the fifth-largest by area.[1] The lake has a length of 8.7 kilometres (5+3⁄8 mi), a maximum width of 730 metres (800 yd), and a maximum depth of 56.1 m (184 ft 1 in). Its outflow is theRiver Crake, which drains intoMorecambe Bay via the estuary of theRiver Leven. The lake is in the unitary authority ofWestmorland and Furness, the historic county ofLancashire, and the ceremonial county ofCumbria.
Coniston Water is situated withinFurness, part of theNorth Lonsdaleexclave of thehistoric county ofLancashire. It has been within the ceremonial county of Cumbria since 1974, and the Westmorland and Furness district since it replacedSouth Lakeland in 2023.
The lake is an example of a ribbon lake formed byglaciation. The lake sits in a deep U-shapedglaciated valley scoured by aglacier in the surrounding volcanic and limestone rocks during the lastice age.
To the north-west of the lake rises theOld Man of Coniston, the highest fell in theConiston Fells group and the highest point in the historic county of Lancashire.
" 'The king's estate or village'. The second el.[ement] is OE tūn, and the whole name may, like numerous English Kingstons, be from OE 'cyninges-tūn'. ... Scand[inavian] influence is, meanwhile, shown by the '-o-' of early and modern spellings, and Ekwall[2] speculated that this could have been the centre of a 'small Scandinavian mountain kingdom' ".[3]Plus "OE 'wæter', with the meaning probably influenced by its ON relative 'vatn'."[4](OE=Old English; ON=Old Norse).
Remains of agricultural settlements from theBronze Age have been found near the shores of Coniston Water. TheRomansmined copper from the fells above the lake. A potash kiln and two iron bloomeries show that industrial activity continued in medieval times.[5] In the 13th and 14th centuries, Coniston Water was an important source of fish for the monks ofFurness Abbey who owned the lake and much of the surrounding land. Copper mining continued in the area until the 19th century.
The lake was formerly known as"Thurston Water", a name derived from theOld Norse personal name 'Thursteinn' + Old English 'waeter'.[6] This name was used as an alternative to Coniston Water until the late 18th century.[7]
TheVictorian artist andphilosopherJohn Ruskin ownedBrantwood House on the eastern shore of the lake, and lived in it from 1872 until his death in 1900. Ruskin is buried in thechurchyard in the village ofConiston, at the northern end of the lake. His secretary the antiquarianW. G. Collingwood wrote a historical novelThorstein of the Mere about the Northmen who settled on the island in the lake.
The Victorian and Edwardian artistHenry Robinson Hall settled in Coniston during theGreat War and is buried in the parish church graveyard.
Arthur Ransome set his children's novelSwallows and Amazons and the sequelsSwallowdale,Winter Holiday,Pigeon Post andThe Picts and the Martyrs around a fictional lake derived from a combination of Coniston Water andWindermere. The fictional lake resembles Windermere, but the surrounding hills and fells resemble those of Coniston Water. Some of Coniston Water's islands and other local landmarks can be identified in the novels. In particular the books'Wild Cat Island with its secret harbour is based onPeel Island. The Amazon River is based on theRiver Crake. TheSwallows and Amazons series involve school holiday adventures in the 1930s. Themovie adaptation (2016) of these stories was also partly filmed on Peel Island, Coniston Water.[citation needed]
Historically, Coniston was part ofLancashire (North of the Sands), until Local Government reorganisation in 1974 when Cumbria was created.
The lake is ideal forkayaking andcanoeing and there are a number of good sites for launching and recovery. It is paddled as the second leg of theThree Lakes Challenge.[8]Thesteam yachtGondola tours the lake in the summer months, along with two smaller motorised launches (Campbell (previously Exonia and Cygnet).
Boats can be hired from the lakeside near the steam yacht, with various sizes of boat for hire, from small canoes and kayaks to large personal craft. Along with Ullswater and Derwentwater, Coniston Water has a mandatory waterspeed limit of 10 miles per hour (8.7 kn; 16 km/h). This is suspended temporarily for boats attempting new world waterspeed records during Records Week, usually the first week in November.
In the 20th century Coniston Water was the scene of many attempts to break the worldwater speed record. On 19 August 1939Sir Malcolm Campbell set the record at 141.74 miles per hour (228.108 km/h or 123.168 kn) inBlue Bird K4. Between 1956 and 1959 Sir Malcolm's sonDonald Campbell set four successive records on the lake inBluebird K7, ahydroplane; in 1967 he was killed just after achieving a speed of over 320 miles per hour (515 km/h or 278 kn) inBluebird K7 in a record-breaking attempt.
Coniston Power Boat Records Week is an annual powerboat speed record event held on Coniston Water each November, organised by the Windermere Motor Boat Racing Club.[9] The event brings together all classes of powerboat to attempt British and world speed records over a measured kilometre course.
The inaugural BP National Powerboat Record Attempts took place on Windermere in October 1970, with Norman Buckley instrumental in establishing the event.[10] Following the introduction of a 10mph speed limit on Windermere in 2005, Records Week relocated to Coniston Water, regarded as the spiritual home of water speed record breaking due to the lake's association with the Campbell family.[11]
The lake's speed limit is temporarily suspended during the event, which is run by approximately 60 volunteers.[12] Successful record holders receive the K7 Silver Star, honouring Donald Campbell's Bluebird K7.[13]
In November 2023, nine-year-oldTate Mantripp from Lowestoft became the youngest competitor in the 51-year history of Records Week to set a speed record, achieving 39.16mph in the GT15 class.[14]
In recent times, Coniston Water has become known for a controversial murder case. Mrs Carol Park was dubbed the"Lady in the Lake" after theRaymond Chandlernovel of the same name.[15]
Letitia Elizabeth Landon's escapist poem "Coniston Water" illustrates an engraving of a painting entitledConiston Water from Nebthwaite, Lancashire byThomas Allom.[16]
In 1995, the music video forKadim Al Sahir's “Ha Habibi” (“Hey, My Beloved”) was filmed at the Sunny Bank area near Coniston Water.[17]
