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Lanehead is a historic period property located on the Eastern shores of Coniston Water.

Its elevated position provides sensational views of the lake and high fells beyond with the village of Coniston within walking distance.

The historic property was built in 1840 and was once owned by William Gershom Collingwood who acted as John Ruskin’s assistant until the latter’s death in 1903, and bought Lanehead so that he could be near Ruskin’s home at Brantwood.

Collingwood was a portrait and landscape painter, and also an antiquary, archaeologist and author, his first novel Thorstein of the Mere (1895) being a childhood favourite of Arthur Ransome, the author of Swallows & Amazons.

The Swallows & Amazons Connection

Collingwood met Arthur Ransome when he was a young man on holiday in the Lake District and invited him to stay at Lanehead. Thereafter the Collingwoods became his ‘second family’: he spent as much time as he could at Lanehead, learned to sail a dinghy from Robin Collingwood, and unsuccessfully proposed marriage to Barbara and Dora Collingwood.

Having turned down Arthur, Dora married Ernest Altounyan a doctor of Armenian-Irish descent and moved to Aleppo in Syria, where Ernest worked at a hospital established by his father. Swallows and Amazons, originally written for the Altounyan children, can be seen as a token of gratitude for the Collingwood family as a whole. Dora had five children – Taqui, Susie, Titty, Roger and Brigit who they would take to the Lake District every four or five years so that they could spend time with their grandparents.  With so many in the family party, the Altounyans stayed at Bank Ground Farm, next door to Lanehead.

When Ransome wrote ‘Swallows and Amazons’ for the Altounyan children, depicted as John, Susan, Titty, Roger and Brigit, he set the opening chapters at Bank Ground Farm, which he called Holly Howe. Lanehead’s boathouse is featured in the 1972 film version of the novel and the sailing dinghy “Mavis”, the inspiration of the fictional Amazon, is on display in The Ruskin Museum

In the 1960’s Lanehead passed into the ownership of a trio of Teesside councils who converted the property into an Outdoor Education Centre that operated until its closure in 2011.

New owners – a new vision

The current owners acquired the property in 2017 with a vision of providing a multi-purpose activity venue focusing on corporate training and development, sports and adventure and creativity and mindfulness.

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