If you’ve ever turned the pages of Swallows and Amazons then you’re already
part way to imagining the scenes at Pier Cottage. The great lake that’s central
to the book is a combination of Windemere and Coniston (the shape of the former
with the mountain backdrop of the latter) and just as children laze idly in
their sailing boats, the scenery today is a speckling of dinghys, canoes and
slender, plastic kayaks. True, the fictional camping takes place on an island,
but the reality of Pier Cottage still isn’t far behind. The campsite rests on
an outcrop of shore and boasts a decidedly separate feel from the
surroundings, something only accentuated by a river channel running along one
side. There’s certainly a storybook charm to it all, an easy slide of boats
into the water and a beautiful pitch-up view across the lake, but there is one
obvious absentee – the pegs and guy-ropes of traditional canvas campers.
We know, we know. We said we wouldn’t and
we have. Pier Cottage takes the official title of a “Caravan Park” and in doing
so seems to wave it’s last goodbye to all the spirit and tom-foolery of nights
around the campfire. But not so
fast. Though Pier Cottage is a site for campervans, caravans and motorhomes
only, it still manages to leap like the Coniston fish over the bar we’ve set
for cool campsites. Facilities are relatively basic – the toilet and shower
block is well maintained but the sophisticated ablutions are mostly found in
people’s own motorhomes, connected to the water supply that runs to every pitch
– and the site has a simple, traditional feel. It is the location, though, that
makes this spot so impossibly hard to match.
Boat launchers, wind surfers and wild
swimmers are a stock customer here. Pier Cottage has its name for a reason and
it’s not from peering out from behind the mountains. No, this is a waterfront
spot that can brag spectacular lakeside views and a short walk to the Coniston
Boating Centre. Hire out your own raft or head out on their famous Steam Yacht
Gondola for a tour. The boating centre was never mentioned in Swallows and Amazons – perhaps paying
£20 for a kayak would dampen the quaintness of the storyline. Nevertheless it’s
not a bad price.
Away from the waters edge the fells that
poke the horizon all offer the walking that the Lake District National Park is so famous for.
A steady stroll around Tarn Hows is one of the nicer low level walks but those
with time should hike up the Old Man of Consiton, climbing away to the west of
the campsite to 2,635 feet. It’s one of the more hardy climbs around but well
worth it for the views and when you tumble back down into Consiton village you’re
already perfectly placed for one of the four pubs, the only difficult bit is
deciding which one to choose!