Donald Campbell's deathbed - Coniston Waters, Lancashire

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I was going through some old photos and came across some of Coniston Waters. This is the lake where Donald Campbell died in 1967 while attempting to break the water speed record. In 1964, Donald Campbell made his attempt on, and broke, the world water speed record on Lake Dumbleyung in the Great Southern area of Western Australia. . We passed the lake often on our way from our home town to Ravensthorpe where we were living. The water level often gets really low in summer. Salinity levels have risen markedly over the years but many types of water birds take advantage of the area. The lake is 13km (8 miles) long and 6.5km (4 miles) wide. The area is recognised as an important wetland area and a drought refuge for waterbirds. The water speed record attempt took place on 31 December 1964. Campbell's boat Bluebird K7 broke the record with a speed of 444.55 km/h (276.3mph). At the time, it was Campbell's aim to break both the land and water speed records in the same year. On 17 July, 1964 he had broken the land speed record on Lake Eyre in the centre of Australia. Conditions had been far from ideal but, with the track still damp, he managed an average of 403.1 mph, peaking at 429mph (609 km/h) to secure the record. Donald Campbell died on 4 January 1967 during a high speed crash on Coniston Water, Lancashire, while making an attempt on the World Speed Record. We free-camped beside Coniston Waters when in the Lakes District of England in 2015. Not far away was the Lakeland Motor Museum which houses a Campbell Bluebird Exhibition, commemorating the careers of Sir Malcolm Campbell and his son, Donald. This includes full-size replicas of the 1935 Blue Bird car, 1939 Blue Bird Boat K4 and 1967 jet hydroplane Bluebird K7. The photo is of the lake. It looks quite foreboding really.