The Ruskin Museum

Polly Checkland Harding
The Ruskin Museum.

The Ruskin Museum tells the story of Coniston in Cumbria – a place of copper mines and slate quarries, Swallows and Amazons country where Beatrix Potter owned farms and Stone Age fell walkers once dwelled. It’s also home to the Ruskin Gallery, which offers a comprehensive overview of Victorian intellectual John Ruskin’s life and work.

Opening times vary depending on season.

The Ruskin MuseumConiston, CumbriaLA21 8DU View map
Telephone: 01539 441164 Visit Now

Admission Charges

Adult £6 / Child £3

Opening Hours

  • Monday10:00am - 5:30pm
  • Tuesday10:00am - 5:30pm
  • Wednesday10:00am - 5:30pm
  • Thursday10:00am - 5:30pm
  • Friday10:00am - 5:30pm
  • Saturday10:00am - 5:30pm
  • Sunday10:00am - 5:30pm

Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.

What's on near The Ruskin Museum

Tom Branfoot. Photo Eleanor Hall, Museum of the Home
LiteratureWest Yorkshire
Poetry at the Dusty Miller

Poetry at the Dusty Miller is a now regular night with invited readers, organised by Carcanet-published Carola Luther and Judith Willson in the Coiners’ Room in the Mytholmroyd pub.

free entry

Where to go near The Ruskin Museum

LawsonParkFarm, courtesy of venue
Cumbria
Bed & Breakfast
Lawson Park Farm Cottage

Award-winning self-catering holiday accommodation that is not only beautiful but also supports the pioneering work of Grizedale Arts.

Brantwood, image courtesy of venue
Cumbria
Museum
Brantwood

The Lake District home of the radical social and cultural thinker, John Ruskin.

Cumbria
Gallery
Grizedale Arts

Grizedale Arts continues to explore the role of art in society from its award winning eco-base near Coniston.

Cumbria
Gallery
Grizedale Forest

Home to 60 site specific sculptures, Grizedale Sculpture in Grizedale Forest near Hawkshead offers a pioneering and permanently evolving environmental arts and adventure programme.

Cumbria
Museum
Hill Top

Beatrix Potter bought Hill Top in 1905 with the proceeds from her first book.

The Merzbarn today, courtesy Littoral Arts Trust
Cumbria
Gallery
Kurt Schwitters’ Merzbarn

Tucked away in a remote corner of the Lake District is Kurt Schwitter’s Merzbarn, an artistic epitaph to the avant garde ‘godfather of modern art’.

Cumbria
Museum
Wray Castle

A mock gothic castle, far from the usual Windermere crowds, with stunning grounds and a short walk to Claife Viewing station.

Windermere
Tourist Attraction
Brockhole on Windermere

Attempt to hit a clay flying at 65mph or navigate the obstacles along a wood chip track on a Krazy Kart, at this Arts and Crafts style house in Cumbria.

Cumbria
Restaurant
The Gaddum Restaurant

A high-end restaurant in the Lake District, combining traditional British ingredients with original modern ideas.

Cumbria
Restaurant
Fellini’s

Fellini’s does fancy ‘Vegeterranean’ food and films. What better way to treat yourself after a hard tramp in the Lake District?

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