The copper mines around Coniston were worked from at least the middle of the 16th century and, with a number of breaks in production in between, up to end of the 19th when competition from high-grade ore imported from overseas killed this local Lake District industry.

Coniston Old Man, the mountain behind Coniston village, was a source of large amounts of copper ore. This ore was initially carried by pack horses to be processed at Keswick but from the 18th century onwards was transported by boat down Coniston Water and then carted by road to the coast.

Today the homes of generations of Coniston copper mine workers are mostly holiday cottages and the old mine workings are a tourist attraction, albeit mostly for those with enough energy to do some walking.

Anyone interested in old industries, or simply in the ways our forefathers earned their livelihood, or in the processes by which today’s Lake District landscape was shaped, will want to explore this aspect of Coniston’s past – either on the ground or in an armchair (see Coniston Copper Mines: A Field Guide by Eric G Holland).

I have today posted a new article on the Coniston coppermines on our main English Lakes web site, expanding on this fascinating aspect of Lake District history: .

Eric Holland’s much larger book, Coniston Copper: A History, gives a more extensive treatment of the subject. It is out of print but can still be found, albeit often quite expensive, at some book dealers either new or secondhand.

The overcrowding of the Lake District roads has long been a problem at peak times of the year. Why not contribute to the traffic reduction by leaving you car either at home completely or in the hotel carpark or on the campsite?

What!? I can almost hear the howls of outrage. It’s surely impossible!

Maybe. Maybe not. Certainly without a degree of planning it would be difficult to use public transport to move around the Lakes, but with planning a great deal changes. What’s more, this afternoon I’ve found a tool that should be a massive help.

It’s an online public transport journey planner for Cumbria. (Actually it’s for the Northeast and Cumbria!). I tested it by requesting timetables for Glenridding to Newby Bridge, and Staveley to Buttermere.  Sure the journey time for the first of these was long, not advisable for a day trip unless you really like looking out of a bus window, but I was very impressed with the second.  This system really does work, and for short journeys I’d describe it as an outstanding resource.

Take a look, and see whether you can contribute to emission reductions in the Lake District.

- David Murray -

What is now the Keswick Country House Hotel was originally built by the company that in 1865 launched the Cockermouth, Keswick & Penrith Railway. As their new railway line into the northern Lake District replaced the previous three-hour (minimum!) journey from the Penrith mainline station by horse-drawn coach, the tourist trade expanded rapidly. A new hotel was needed alongside the station. A hundred and forty years later the hotel has adopted twentyfirst century standards while the station house now houses several executive class rooms as an extension of the hotel. The trains stopped coming to Keswick more than thirty-five years ago.

Last night while searching through a pile of old Lake District brochures in my study, looking for something entirely different from what I eventually found, I came across a book I’d forgotten about but which I presumably bought on a visit to Keswick some years back. It kept me up late reading. Here it is, a fascinatingly detailed account of the history of the railway line that ran east to west across the northern lakes area.

I’ve created a page about it on our English Lakes site with the title, “By Train to Keswick“, but if you really want to know more about this piece of Lake District history, click on the book here to see whether there’s a copy available from Biblio.com. Alternatively, try Amazon.co.uk.

Note: This book seems now to be quite rare. Shop around between the two sources here, as each will probably list several alternative book dealers – and prices tend to vary widely.

- David Murray -
England’s Lakes