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Each year families, friends, and couples spend their holidays in Lakeland by booking a Lake District Cottage. This has some amazing advantages, not least acting as a comfortable home from home that can be used as a base to explore some amazing lakes and fells. Lake District Cottage Holiday Not only does it have spectacular scenery and quaint pubs and restaurants, but it’s also one of the most family-friendly destinations in the UK.What most people may not realise is that there are some amazing views and trails just outside their cottage front door. Rather than heading out in the car…

By Rachael Parkin Whether they’re done on short legs or long, young legs or slightly older, wearing size 1 wellies or size 12 boots, get on your feet and stretch your legs on one of these fantastic family walks. These short, easily achievable walks allow the whole family to get out and about, enjoying the fresh air and stunning surroundings of the Lakes together. The walks all offer something extra as a point of interest, to encourage even the most reluctant walkers in the family onwards and upwards; be it the lure of a cave to explore or the simple…

By Rachael Parkin The Coppermines Valley, home to The Coppermines Lakes Cottages, is not only awe-inspiringly beautiful, but it is also important in a national context, being part of the newly listed UNESCO World Heritage Site, included in The Schedule of Ancient Monuments and is also a Site of Special Scientific Interest. Now the valley has become even more special having recently become home to the Coppermines Conservation Area. The owner and founder of the Coppermines Lakes Cottages, Philip Johnston, acquired 65 acres of fell-side towards the southern end of the Coppermines Valley known as Foul Scrow. Since its acquisition…

By Rachael Parkin Depending on your point of view, snow during your stay in the Lake District can be either a blessing or a curse. For some, a pristine blanket of fresh, glistening snow transforming the mountainous landscape to a sparkling winter wonderland can catapult a holiday into the realms of frozen fantasy. For others, the slightest hint of a snow flurry can send them hurrying for warmth, shelter and a hot chocolate. The prospect of being cut off from the rest of the world by a heavy fall can either become an absolute dream come true or a complete…

By Rachael Parkin Coniston Mountain Rescue answered over 50 call-outs throughout 2018. The calls covered everything from walkers missing in wintery weather, people in need of medical assistance, injured mountain bikers and even stranded dogs. Some callouts required the presence of up to 20 mountain rescuers, all of whom work as unpaid volunteers. And this is just the Coniston team, similar teams are based at Cockermouth, Duddon and Furness, Kendal, Keswick, Kirkby Stephen, Langdale Ambleside, Patterdale, Penrith and Wasdale and together attend to around 500 call-outs every year. Each team consists of highly trained volunteers who are fully prepared to…

I can’t believe it’s been over a year since I’ve been doing these blogs and I have not yet featured one on swimming. I know. It’s ridiculous considering for quite some time I was known as Sean Conway – The Swimmer. It even says that on my Wikipedia page (If someone knows how to change that I’d be ever so grateful) Anyway, living in Coniston and not swimming is like being French and not eating all the baguettes, and when it comes to dipping your toes into the often-icy water there is one particular swim that I love the most.…

Explorefromthedoor with Sean Conway – #10 Trouté Diem – Seize the Trout Now when I decided to start this blog series about adventures in and around my home in Coniston, I have to admit it was all adrenalin this, running that, cycling here, canoeing there and all other manor of activities to get your heart racing. Don’t get me wrong. My next blog after this one is probably one of the toughest local challenges I’ve come up with, but for now, I fancied doing something a little more relaxing. OK, a lot more relaxing – fishing. This came about because…

Six Easy Wainwright Fells to Bag on your Holiday by Rachael Parkin If you fancy bragging about bagging half a dozen Wainwrights during your Lake District holiday but don’t feel like your legs are quite up to scaling over 3,000 feet up the dizzying heights of Scafell or Helvellyn and the likes, or if you are coming on holiday with children and are looking for lower, safer summits to conquer without missing out on the spectacular scenery the Lakes has to offer then we’ve put together a list of some the easier, but no less rewarding, fells to climb during…

Explorefromthedoor with Sean Conway – #9 The Double-Double Awakener! It’s been almost exactly a year since I finished my world record bike ride across Europe. And in this year, I have cycled only three times and one of those times was to get some bread from the bakery 200 meters from our house. I always do this – go cold turkey right after a big block of cycling and I have to admit, I always regret it. It’s far easier keeping a steady fitness than trying to build it up again from scratch. Never the less, it’s now May, the…