Introducing Coppermines Valley

Start: Coniston Tourist Information Centre

Distance: 2.5 miles/4km

Time: 2 hours

Points of Interest

1 Ruskin Museum

For more details on the history of Coniston and much more. Visit the website for information and visiting times.

2 Miners Bridge

Lines of packhorses crossed this bridge to take processed copper ore from Bonsor Mills down to Coniston Station.

3 This is Coppermines Valley

The valley was millions of years in the making. Ancient super volcanoes laid down this land, while earthquakes tilted and cracked it leaving fissures that slowly filled with molten copper ore. Miners
found these hardened ore veins over 400 years ago and risked their lives to follow them deep underground, prising out the ore with picks, fire and gunpowder. The fast-flowing waters of the becks and gills
were harnessed by waterwheels to power
mine pumps, wagons and ore hammers.

4 Irish Row

These terraced houses were built in the 1800s as homes
for mining families. In 1861 the heads of most households were born in Ireland. The Redmonds are typical. Mark and Hannah live here with their four daughters and one son. Mark is 37, Hannah 35,
and both are Irish. They’ve lived in Coniston for 12 years. Mark works as a copper mine lad. Their eldest daughters, Eleanor aged 13 and Elizabeth who is 11, plus their nine-year-old son Peter, are all
copper dressers at Bonsor Mill.

5 Smelting Slag

These lumps are waste slag from the valley’s own short-lived copper furnaces. They started smelting copper ore here in 1893, rather than selling it to furnaces further away. Technical problems and a destructive gale ended the project within two years.

6 Bonsor Mills

You are in the heart of one of Coniston’s vast copper
processing factories. Find the information panels to learn more about the factory and see how it would have looked at its height in 1870. The Heritage Centre illustrates the valley’s bygone trades.

A fragile environment

Mines are dangerous places with hidden shafts and drops, and should never be entered. Take care on the
fells and please keep to the paths. Though it has survived hundreds of years, the site can be easily damaged. The site is legally protected as a Scheduled Monument and a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The Lake District is recognised as a World Heritage Site with outstanding universal value.
Local industries like copper mining have contributed to its unique character. Please help preserve the Lake District’s heritage by leaving the site exactly as you find it.

Need to know

These are walking trails. There is no access for vehicles. You’ll need walking boots, outdoor clothing and waterproofs. The trail maps are not a substitute for an Ordnance Survey
map, so it is recommended you take ‘OS Explorer Map OL 6, English Lakes, South West’ on to the fells.

Getting there

Coniston is served by regular buses on service 505 from Ambleside and Hawkshead. There are also buses linking from Ulverston. For more details and latest times visit Traveline