The Ruskin Museum 7 Day Weather Forecast

Attraction in Coniston, Cumbria.

CONISTON is a prime example of a place where nature and history, environment and man, meet in a topographical dimension, and together generate culture. One of ‘Britain’s Best Museums and Galleries’ according to Mark Fisher, [2004], and deemed ‘the most thought-provoking in the Lakes’ by The Rough Guide to the Lake District [all editions ], THE RUSKIN MUSEUM tells The Story of Coniston - its textbook geology and extractive industries of s...

Yewdale Road
Coniston
Cumbria
LA21 8DU

015394 41164

CONISTON is a prime example of a place where nature and history, environment and man, meet in a topographical dimension, and together generate culture.

One of ‘Britain’s Best Museums and Galleries’ according to Mark Fisher, [2004], and deemed ‘the most thought-provoking in the Lakes’ by The Rough Guide to the Lake District [all editions ], THE RUSKIN MUSEUM tells The Story of Coniston - its textbook geology and extractive industries of slate-quarrying and copper-mining; its dry-stone walls with their traditional features; its thousand year history of hefted Herdwick sheep;its Ruskin-inspired Arts & Crafts industries; and its links to ARTHUR RANSOME, author the 'Swallows and Amazons' books[the dinghy, Mavis, that inspired the fictional Amazon, is on show]. JOHN RUSKIN believed that ‘the right function of every MUSEUM’ is the public display of ‘what is lovely in the life of Nature, and heroic in the life of Men.’ THE RUSKIN MUSEUM honours this advice by starring two local Heroes : JOHN RUSKIN himself, the Victorian polymath, Britain’s greatest critic of art & architecture, and a brilliant draughtsman and water-colour painter, who subverted Capitalist views on industrialisation & political economy, inspiring the early Socialists, and laying the foundations for The Welfare State; and the iconic Speed Ace DONALD CAMPBELL, holder of seven World Water Speed Records, [four of which were captured on Coniston Water], who was killed in action on the lake when Bluebird K7 crashed whilst attempting to raise the Record to over 300 mph on 4 January 1967.

Bluebird K7 then spent over 34 years on the bed of the lake until she was recovered in 2001. The jet-powered hydroplane has been given to the museum, and is being fully conserved and rebuilt to operational order by volunteers, prior to low-speed engineering proving trials on Coniston Water, prior to display in the museum's new extension, The Bluebird Wing. Meanwhile, there is a great deal of Campbell/Bluebird memorabilia, including the prototype Bluebird JetStar ski-boat, plus a large screen photo presentation, and interactive touch-screens, already on display. As of 27 June 2015, Bluebird K7's replicated sponsons and conserved original spars have been placed on display in The Bluebird Wing. This shows how big Bluebird K7 is, and how heavily engineered. Up to date information about The Bluebird Project will be posted on : www.bluebirdproject.com

The Ruskin Museum is an Accredited Museum, [274]. It is VAQAS Accredited, and holds a Certificate of Excellence from TripAdvisor. It is open daily from mid-March until mid-November, 10.00am until 5.30pm; and for reduced winter hours, Wednesday to Sunday inclusive, 10.30am until 3.30pm, from mid-November until mid-March. Most visitors spend at least an hour in the museum.