Tarn Hows

Tarn Hows is one of the most photographed small stretches of water in the Lake District, a landscaped tarn about two miles northeast of Coniston that the National Trust acquired in stages from 1930, partly through Beatrix Potter, who bought the wider Monk Coniston estate with her husband and later left her share to the Trust in her will.

A wide, firm, compacted-stone path leads from the main car park to the shore in a few minutes, close enough for a view over the water to the Coniston fells and the Langdale Pikes beyond without much of a walk at all. The Trust promotes the full circuit, around one and three-quarter miles, as its own accessible route, suitable for pushchairs and many wheelchairs, though some sections have gradients steeper than a standard wheelchair gradient and are better suited to a mobility scooter; the Trust keeps a small number of these on site.

Because the path has no steps, reaching a clear view of the tarn and the fells behind it is quick even for visitors who cannot manage a longer walk, while the full loop remains there for anyone who wants to continue around the water. Few spots in the Lakes have this combination of an easy, gravel path and a view this often used to represent the district on postcards and calendars.

It suits families, older visitors and anyone with limited walking ability who still wants a mountain backdrop. It does not suit anyone who came for a quiet corner of the Lakes to themselves, since its ease of access makes it one of the busiest small car parks in the area on any good day.