Waterhead Coniston

No availability at present on Pitchup.com 9.5 51 reviews
Visitor image of the view at dusk
Visitor image of the view at dusk
Visitor image of early morning
Big open field
Green grass and blue skies
Great views of the fells
Lake shore
Trees on the shoreline
Gateway to the field
1/42
Visitor image of early morning
Big open field
Green grass and blue skies

  • Quiet, back to basics pop-up site on the shoreline of Coniston Water
  • Tarn Hows and lake cruises within walking distance
  • A 10-minute walk from Coniston village; two minutes to local pub
Waterhead Coniston is a pop-up site in a properly prime position, right on the shoreline of Coniston Water and a 10-minute walk from the centre of Coniston village (for pubs, cafés, takeaways and shops). Rather than being your standard campsite, this quiet little Cumbria site has been set up in a farmer’s field in a small, eco-friendly farm with animals. It has just basic facilities in the form of fresh water and portable toilets. There's also private access to the lake. The views from here are unsurprisingly splendid, looking over the water and up to the fells – and it’s easy to get out to see a bit more of the Lake District surroundings without using the car, as you can head straight out on walks up to Tarn Hows and local fells or get going on bike rides or hikes by the lake. The refurbed Coniston Inn is a couple of minutes’ stagger away upon your return, although you’re welcome to bring a barbecue along instead if you like. For more leisurely ways to see the area, take a ride on the Steam Yacht Gondola across Coniston Water or set out for wanders around Brantwood and Hill Top; if you’d prefer to keep the activity going there are plenty of fells and lakes to hike around, and a Go Ape adventure park is 20 minutes’ drive away.

Campground type

Tent sites 20
Opens
Please note
  • This park has no on-site shower facilities.
  • Under 18s must be accompanied by their parents or legal guardians.
  • The park does not accept breeds/crossbreeds listed in the Breed-specific legislation (i.e. Pit Bull Terrier, Japanese Tosa, Dogo Argentino, and Fila Brasileiro).
  • Group bookings of 3 or more units (e.g. tent, caravan, RV or accommodation hire) traveling together are not permitted via Pitchup.com.
  • No bachelor/bachelorette parties permitted via Pitchup.com.
  • Discount cards and gift vouchers cannot be applied to bookings made via Pitchup.com.
  • Guests are advised to bring a good quality flashlight with them as parts of the park are unlit.
  • Please note that the toilet facilities are unisex.
  • There is no reception building on-site: on arrival please contact the number provided on your booking confirmation.

Languages spoken

English

Reviews

9.5

Overall rating based on 51 reviews View breakdown

Lake and/or mountain

Voted 87% of visitors View breakdown

100%

would recommend this campground to a friend

98%

would stay here again

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    8
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    1

Only showing reviews for the last 30 months.

Didnt get to stay due to weather but good communication, quick refund

Overall 8/10
Location 10
Value for money 10
Accommodation 8
Facilities / Activities 6
Customer service 10
Child friendliness 6
Cleanliness 8
Wifi No rating
Anonymous The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Primitive grass tent or trailer tent campsite

Liked: Friendly staff
Great communication

Recommend to friends Visit again

Gorgeous site with great views

Overall 10/10
Location 10
Value for money 10
Accommodation 10
Facilities / Activities 10
Customer service 10
Child friendliness No rating
Cleanliness No rating
Wifi No rating
Gemma B. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Primitive grass tent or trailer tent campsite

Liked: Views are stunning across the lake, and proximity to Coniston is superb - walking distance to plenty of pub, shops and amenities. The site owner was lovely, super communicative and kind. Loads of space to camp. Great value for money.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Friendly and approachable host on a site very close to Coniston

Overall 8/10
Location 10
Value for money 8
Accommodation 8
Facilities / Activities 6
Customer service 10
Child friendliness 6
Cleanliness 8
Wifi 4
Jess C. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Primitive grass tent or trailer tent campsite

Liked: The host was super lovely, we struggled to find the site at first but once we called her she guided us closer to the site and allowed us to follow her to the site which was very helpful. The host was also very friendly and seemed approachable.
Peaceful campsite
Port a loos were always fully stocked with plenty of toilet roll which is sometimes an issue when
Very close to Coniston centre

Disliked: The site was very very boggy and my car got stuck in the mud trying to leave despite the host having put hard flooring down near the exit. This is absolutely no criticism to the host as the weather was awful when we camped so this couldn’t be helped but may be useful to put more flooring down in poor weather

Recommend to friends Visit again

. Perfect location for what I needed. Would recommend to others

Overall 8/10
Location 10
Value for money 10
Accommodation 4
Facilities / Activities 4
Customer service 10
Child friendliness 4
Cleanliness 6
Wifi 2
Anonymous The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Primitive grass tent or trailer tent campsite

Liked: Location was great

Disliked: The drinking water bowser has flaws. This includes the hose being in the mud and being in close proximity to the loos.

Entrance is churned up and needs some TLC.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Lovely little pop up site

Overall 10/10
Location 10
Value for money 10
Accommodation 10
Facilities / Activities 10
Customer service 10
Child friendliness 10
Cleanliness 10
Wifi No rating
Sarah S. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Primitive grass tent or trailer tent campsite

Liked: Quiet little site situated on the waters edge.
Owner Amy visited and checked on site regularly
Basic facilities but toilets always clean

Disliked: Weather which couldn't be helped left entrance area very muddy, owners had put matting down to help. You had to navigate this to get to toilets

Recommend to friends Visit again

Will be back soon

Overall 10/10
Location 10
Value for money 10
Accommodation 10
Facilities / Activities 10
Customer service 10
Child friendliness 10
Cleanliness 10
Wifi 2
Emma c. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Primitive grass tent or trailer tent campsite

Liked: Loved it great relaxing quite relaxing yet so close to small town in coniston brilliant facilities stone's throw from a beautiful pub

Disliked: Nothing

Recommend to friends Visit again

Fantastic back to basics pop up site within the heart of coniston

Overall 8/10
Location 10
Value for money 10
Accommodation 10
Facilities / Activities 8
Customer service 10
Child friendliness 10
Cleanliness 8
Wifi No rating
Daniel D. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Primitive grass tent or trailer tent campsite

Liked: Fantastic little pop up campsite with stunning views of the water and a lovely little look out onto the lake for taking rafts etc... onto the water or just sitting watching the waves come in under the moonlight.
As always the lady that checked our booking was lovely and text ahead of time with advice regarding the weather.

Disliked: The only downside was the condition of bathroom facilities on site which weren't ideal but to be expected and can't be blamed on the site it's self but rather the disregard of other campers.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Fantastic site.

Overall 10/10
Location 10
Value for money 10
Accommodation 10
Facilities / Activities 6
Customer service 10
Child friendliness 10
Cleanliness 10
Wifi No rating
Sarah B. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Primitive grass tent or trailer tent campsite

Liked: Very clean site, plenty of space not over run. Next to the pub and fantastic views and local to all pubs/ shops/walks

Recommend to friends Visit again

Well located, basic campsite

Overall 8/10
Location 10
Value for money 8
Accommodation 6
Facilities / Activities 4
Customer service 8
Child friendliness 8
Cleanliness 6
Wifi 2
Anonymous The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Primitive grass tent or trailer tent campsite

Liked: Location is great, right on the lake, 1 minute walk to the pub.

Disliked: Basic facilities but this is a given for the type of campsite

Recommend to friends Visit again

Great value, superb location, would come again

Overall 10/10
Location 10
Value for money 10
Accommodation 10
Facilities / Activities 6
Customer service No rating
Child friendliness No rating
Cleanliness 10
Wifi No rating
Paul S. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Primitive grass tent or trailer tent campsite

Liked: Close to the lake, the pub/restaurant and less than ten minutes walk from the village. Approx 12 mins walk from the entrance to the hike up Old Man/Copper mine.

Disliked: Nearly died at the smell in the toilets, but they're festival toilets so that's what to expect. Perhaps they need emptying more regularly, as the site wasn't overly busy, but the toilets were 'well used'

Recommend to friends Visit again

Features

Portable toilet

Pop-up campground

Dogs allowed

Leisure on park

Bar or club house Cycle hire Evening entertainment Fishing Fitness centre Indoor swimming pool Kids' club On-site restaurant/cafe Outdoor swimming pool Playground Recreation room/arcade TV room Takeout Tennis Watersports Wild swimming

Amenities on park

Bath available Car parking by site/unit Composting toilet Dog park Drying room Free wifi Grocery store Ice pack freezing Internet access Laundromat Parent & baby washroom Payphone Pick-up from public transport Portable toilet Pub toilets Restrooms Shower available Washing-up area Wifi

Groups welcome

Family friendly Motorcycle friendly Scouts welcome Single-sex groups welcome Student groups welcome

Rules

Barbecue grills allowed Barbecue provided Campfires allowed Commercial vehicles allowed Dogs allowed Dogs allowed all year

Themes

Hikers’ paradise Lake and/or mountain Peaceful Remote location Spectacular scenery

Utilities

Charging facilities Dump station Electric car charging point(s) Propane/gas cylinders available Recycling available Renewable energy

Nearby amenities

Bar nearby Convenience store nearby Dog walk nearby Public transportation nearby

Type

Farm Pop-up campground Small (11-25 sites)

Nearby leisure

Canoeing/kayaking nearby Climbing nearby Cycling nearby Fishing nearby Mountain biking nearby Restaurant nearby Sailing nearby

Location

Waterhead Coniston

Coniston

Cumbria

England

LA21 8AJ

Directions

Timezone

Europe/London +0100 (GMT+01:00)

GPS

54.36851°N
-3.06119°W

Route directions

Please follow the dirt track and stop next to the bamboo gate before phoning the site.

Nearest transport

Bus
5.8 mi Kelsick Road opposite Library
6.1 mi Daffodil Hotel for Dove Cottage
6.2 mi Lakeside House for Dove Cottage
Rail
6.4 mi Windermere Rail Station
9.8 mi Staveley Rail Station
9.8 mi Foxfield Rail Station
Ferry
0.1 mi Waterhead Hotel (Coniston) Ferry Landing
0.4 mi Monk Coniston Ferry Landing
0.4 mi Coniston Ferry Landing

Please note: All distances on this page are calculated "as the crow flies" - please check actual distance depending on your mode of travel using the Get directions button above.

Local attractions

Attractions and activities nearby include: - Steam Yacht Gondola cruises: 10 minutes’ walk - Tarn Hows: 45 minutes’ walk/10 minutes’ drive - Brantwood (former home of artist John Ruskin): 10 minutes’ drive - Hill Top (Beatrix Potter’s former home): 10 minutes - Go Ape Grizedale: 20 minutes - Windermere (west shore): 20 minutes - Claife Heights: 25 minutes - Lakeland Motor Museum: half an hour.

Water quality at nearby bathing waters

Name Distance Type 2020201920182017
Haverigg 15.4 mi Sea PoorN/AN/AN/A
Silecroft 15.6 mi Sea N/AExcellentExcellentExcellent
Seascale 17.3 mi Sea N/AGoodGoodGood
Walney West Shore 19.1 mi Sea N/AGoodGoodN/A
Walney Sandy Gap 20.1 mi Sea N/AGoodGoodN/A

Data source: European Environment Agency

Must see

Beatrix Potter Gallery 2.5 mi

Hill Top 3.8 mi

Brockhole - Lake District Visitor Centre 5.3 mi

Windermere Lake Cruises, Bowness 5.6 mi

The World of Beatrix Potter 5.7 mi

National Trust

Gondola' 0.4 mi

Coniston and Tarn Hows 0.6 mi

Beatrix Potter Gallery 2.5 mi

Hill Top 3.8 mi

Grasmere and Great Langdale 5 mi

Cycle routes

Find local routes on the National Cycle Network - over 12,000 miles of cycling routes.

Other

Coniston and the Yewdale Fells 0.5 mi

Coniston - Little Arrow - Coniston Lakeshore 0.5 mi

Coniston - Holme Fell 0.5 mi

Coniston - Levers Water - Coniston 0.5 mi

Coniston - Tarn Hows - Coniston 0.6 mi

Local events

  • Kendal Calling (Thursday, July 31, 2025 – Thursday, July 31, 2025)

    Penrith, England 21.4 mi

Please note: All distances on this page are calculated "as the crow flies" - please check actual distance depending on your mode of travel using the Get directions button above.

Offers

Conditions apply - see campsite type section for details

Nearest campgrounds

Unfortunately, we have no nearby bookable campgrounds.

Want to know more about camping in The Lake District and Cumbria?

Frequently asked questions

  • Does Waterhead Coniston have a swimming pool? No View all features
  • Is Waterhead Coniston dog friendly? Yes View all features
  • What attractions are near Waterhead Coniston? Attractions and activities nearby include: - Steam Yacht Gondola cruises: 10 minutes’ walk - Tarn Hows: 45 minutes’ walk/10 minutes’ drive - Brantwood (former home of artist John Ruskin): 10 minutes’ drive … Read more
  • When can I check in and check out of Waterhead Coniston?
    RV, travel trailer and tent sites
    Arrive:  11 a.m. –  9:30 p.m.
    Depart by:  1 p.m.
    Read more