Cool place of the day: YHA Coniston Holly How, Cumbria

Every day, a new place to discover or explore from coolplaces.co.uk

The YHA Coniston Holly How, Cumbria

There are two very good reasons for telling you about this brilliant hostel this week. First of all, much of the recent Swallows & Amazons film was shot on the Lake District's Coniston Water, and we can’t think of a better place from which to launch your own water-bourne adventure. Secondly, it’s ‘YHA Day’ on 3 September, which is a good time to celebrate the YHA (Youth Hostels Association) and its network of fabulous properties, of which this is definitely one: a traditional and stunning Lakeland house, minutes away from the village and Coniston Water, with a mixture of comfy private rooms and eight-bed dorms.

There's something for everyone on Coniston, from water sports and sailing, to mountain biking and hiking; and once you’re done the hostel has two comfortable lounges, a drying room to hang your muddy boots and clothes and a large communal kitchen. There's also a licensed bar and restaurant which serves decent hot meals throughout the day.

There are camping pitches available on the front lawn, in a wooded area which has an impressive variety of trees – 300 of them, including the Lake District's tallest and oldest Monkey Puzzle tree –along with some brand-new tipis, which come with their own fireplace and mattresses on a raised, partly carpeted wooden floor. Basically it’s a fantastic base camp for families and couples to reconnect with the great outdoors in what is by any standards a wild and beautiful part of the Lake District.

Cool Places is a website from the creators of Rough Guides and Cool Camping, suggesting the best places to stay, eat, drink and shop in Britain (coolplaces.co.uk)