Donald Campbell why Coniston

[n3il123]

Having just been to the lake district Mrs N3 asked why Campbell ran on Coniston rather than Windermere? I know that he ran on Ullswater for his previous attempts/ records so why did he swap to Coniston? and why not Windermere (being a bigger lake).

My guess for the reason that it wasn't Windermere was that there are quite a few islands in the middle of it.

Can anyone shed any light?


P.s. I don't want this to turn into another locked thread on why K7 should/ shouldn't run on Coniston again!

[RobM77]

I'm sure more knowledgeable people will be along soon, but looking at Google Maps you can see that Consiton would provide a longer unbroken straight run than Windermere. Although Windermere's bigger, if you try and draw straight lines down it you just can't get one as long as on Consiton. You can just about do it at the top of Windermere, but the lake's quite a bit wider than Coniston at that point, which I should imagine adds to the chance of higher wavelets pushed by the wind and aggregated over the surface as they travel.



Couple those factors with the probable more crowded nature of Windermere, even back then, and from memory the higher and more wooded ground around Coniston protecting from the wind, then that adds further weight to the Coniston argument.

All of this is me thinking through it, rather than direct evidence as to why Campbell chose it.

Plus of course Windermere has a 10mph speed limit

Edited by RobM77 on Thursday 17th October 11:37

[n3il123]

Ah good point hadn't taken into consideration how bendy Windermere was!

[maser_spyder]

Going south to north, build up some speed getting as far as the little dog leg, point about 10 degrees, let her rip.

I didn't realise both lakes were so long and slim, perfect for speed runs.

[n3il123]

I didn't realise that were that long either Windermere is 10.5 miles and Coniston is 7 odd miles long and Windermere is just over a mile at its widest point.

Guess who went on the lake tour whilst he was up there .

[speedtwelve]

Certainly going from The Wateredge Inn jetty at the north end of Windermere to Belle Isle mid-way down the lake takes no time at all at 33 knots once the wardens have knocked-off for the evening. Err, so I'm told... Probably a bit tight for a 300mph run in K7 as mentioned!