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A memorial seat and plaque to Campbell decorates the green in the slate-grey village of CONISTON (a derivation of "King's Town"), hunkered below the craggy and copper-mine-riddled bulk of The Old Man of Coniston . Campbell's grave is nearby, in the new cemetery (behind the Crown Hotel ). Having studied this and Ruskin's grave, which lies in St Andrew's original churchyard beneath a beautifully worked Celtic cross, you've seen all that Coniston has to offer, save for the excellent Ruskin Museum on Yewdale Road (Easter to mid-Nov daily 10am-5.30pm; mid-Nov to Easter Wed-Sun 10am-3.30pm; GBP3.50; ), which combines local history and geology exhibits with a fascinating look at Ruskin's life and work. Coniston Water itself is hidden out of sight, half a mile southeast of the village. Boat speeds are limited to 10mph, a graceful pace for the sumptuously upholstered Steam Yacht Gondola (Easter-Oct 5 daily; GBP4.80 round trip; tel 015394/63856), built in 1859, which leaves Coniston Pier for hour-long circuits, calling at Park-a-moor landing stage then Ruskin's Brantwood. The wooden Coniston Launch (Easter-Oct hourly; Nov-Easter up to 4 daily depending on the weather; tel 015394/36216, ) operates a year-round service to Brantwood on two routes, north (GBP3.60 return) or south (GBP5.80) around the lake. Both steam yacht and motor launches dock beneath the magnificently sited Brantwood (mid-March to mid-Nov daily 11am-5.30pm; mid-Nov to mid-March Wed-Sun 11am-4.30pm; GBP7.50; house only GBP4.50; gardens only GBP2; ), two and a half miles by road from Coniston, where art critic and moralist John Ruskin lived from 1872 until his death in 1900. Champion of J.M.W. Turner and the Pre-Raphaelites and proponent of the supremacy of Gothic architecture, Ruskin insisted upon the indivisibility of ethics and aesthetics, and was appalled by the conditions in which the captains of industry made their labourers work and live, while expecting him to applaud their patronage of the arts. A twenty-minute video expands on his philosophy and whets the appetite for rooms full of his watercolours. His study and dining room boast superlative lake views, bettered only by those from the Turret Room where he used to sit in later life in his bathchair, itself on display downstairs, along with his mahogany desk and Blue John wine goblet, among other memorabilia. Various other exhibition rooms and galleries display Ruskin-related arts and crafts, while the Jumping Jenny Tearooms - named after Ruskin's boat - has outdoor terrace seating for meals and drinks.
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