16
A Coniston
Weekend
Coniston water is the third largest lake in the Lake District , and is surrounded by lots of the beauties of the national park .
Words by James Ibbotson
So Myself , Kerry , David , and Tamsyn decided to take advantage of the Experience Freedom glamping site situated next to the lake for a weekend getaway . We opted for the glamping cabin , offering a little more space and luxury .
When we arrived on Friday afternoon we decided it was the perfect opportunity to go for a walk from the site . It was a short walk down to the waterfront where you could see the full length of the lake . The gusty wind meant there were some meaty waves breaking on the bank , not a day for SUPing on there . We continued along the shoreline taking in the beauty of the water and hilly landscape . On our side of the lake was one of the national park ’ s highest fells , The Old Man of Coniston . Sitting at over 2633 ft high , the fell overlooks the village of Coniston and its waters . Once the cobwebs had been blown away we retreated to the cabin for a cosy night of lasagna and uno !
The next day the wind had relented a little so it was time to explore some water ! Recent rains had meant that the rivers were full ! This left us with an abundance of rivers to choose from for our paddle . Just a 20 minute drive away was the River Duddon , offering a good few miles of grade 2 to 4 water . We started on the lower section , stretching 3.5 miles and cutting through some stunning scenery . This stretch of river provided lots of playful waves and eddylines and made for a brilliant paddle . Once at the bottom we considered our next move . Do we go run the upper section , head to the River Leven , or check out nearby Skelwith Force falls ?
We decided it was perfect conditions to run Skelwith Force , so drove back past the glamping site and 15 minutes the opposite direction . The falls are an easy park and play rapid with a public car park right by them . A public footpath walks you along the river and right past it , and a bridge even runs over it just upstream a little . As we scouted the falls we began to draw a crowd , interested to see three kayakers running it . While two ran safety below , one ran the falls . We rotated this so we all had a chance to enjoy the water . Once all down we had some quick fun in the play hole below before jumping off and walking back up to the cars , and back to the cabin . www . britishcanoeing . org . uk