Who set a water speed record of 225.6 m.p.h. at Coniston Water in September 1956?
Water speed record new record of on Ullswater in July 1955. Campbell and "K7" went on to break the record a further six times over the next nine years in the USA and England (Coniston Water), finally increasing it to at Lake Dumbleyung in Western Australia in 1964. Campbell thus became the most prolific water speed record breaker of all time. At the time Campbell set the absolute record, the piston-powered propeller-driven record was held by the George Simons' "Miss U.S. I" at . This record was set at Guntersville, Alabama in 1962 by Roy Duby and stood for 38 years. Donald Campbell's
Coniston Water islands and other local landmarks can be identified in the novels. In particular the books' "Wild Cat Island" with its secret harbour is based on Peel Island. The Amazon River is based on the River Crake. The Swallows and Amazons series involve school holiday adventures in the 1930s. Historically, Coniston was part of Lancashire (North of the Sands), until Local Government reorganisation in 1974 when Cumbria was created. In the 20th century Coniston Water was the scene of many attempts to break the world water speed record. On 19 August 1939 Sir Malcolm Campbell set the record at 141.74 miles