Holker Hall & Gardens
A big stately home near Cartmel with 25 acres of gardens, fallow deer grazing towards Morecambe Bay and free entry for under-12s. The parents pay, the children roam; it works best with a picnic.
Days out with the kids in Grange-over-Sands
1 place in Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria. Everything below is within easy reach if you live locally.
1 in Grange-over-Sands
Holker Hall is the reason this page exists. The house is at Cark-in-Cartmel, near Grange-over-Sands, with 25 acres of gardens and fallow deer in the park, and children under 12 get in free. Adults pay £11.95 for the gardens or £15.95 with the hall, so the sums favour a big family with a picnic.
The season runs Wednesday to Sunday from March until 22 December. The estate puts on Halloween days on 30 and 31 October and a Christmas grotto on five December dates from the 12th, each ticketed separately from ordinary entry.
Places in Grange-over-Sands
What’s on in Grange-over-Sands
2 dated events coming up.
Halloween at Holker
Holker Hall & Gardens, Cark-in-Cartmel · Grange-over-Sands
30 Oct to 31 Oct. Friday 30 and Saturday 31 October, 10.30am to 4.30pm
Pumpkin carving, a ghostly trail through the gardens and monster crafts, with Halloween face painting paid on the day. Storyteller Taffy Thomas tells seasonal tales in the library at 11am and 2pm, £5 a head for everyone including adults.
Written by us
Holker's Christmas Grotto
Holker Hall, Cark-in-Cartmel · Grange-over-Sands
12 Dec to 21 Dec. 12, 13, 19, 20 and 21 December
An elf welcome, festive crafts, a treasure hunt round the formal gardens and Father Christmas in the library with a gift, plus free hot chocolate and mulled wine and 10% off in the Courtyard Cafe. Only five dates and limited tickets, which Holker says are likely to sell out, and they are not on sale yet.
Written by us
Also worth the drive
Not in Grange-over-Sands, but close enough for a day out.
Windermere Lake Cruises
England's biggest lake from the deck of a proper boat, with red, yellow and green routes so you can pick a 45-minute hop or a full lake cruise. Combo tickets pair it with the aquarium or the steam railway.
Brockhole on Windermere
The national park's visitor centre with treetop nets, archery, mini golf, boat hire and a big adventure playground running down to the lake shore. Free to wander; the activities are pay-as-you-go.
The World of Beatrix Potter
Peter Rabbit's world recreated in walk-through scenes, ending in the garden with Mr McGregor's vegetables. Squarely for the under-8s; it is small, sweet and unashamed of it.
Lakes Aquarium
A small, well-done aquarium at the quiet end of Windermere with an underwater tunnel walk beneath the lake's own fish, plus otters and rays. Pairs naturally with the steam railway next door.
Lakeside & Haverthwaite Railway
A short, perfectly-formed steam line through the Leven valley that connects with the Windermere boats at Lakeside. Do train plus cruise and you have built the classic Lakes day without a single car park argument.
Lakeland Motor Museum
Thousands of vehicles and period pieces packed into a riverside mill, with the Campbell Bluebird story told properly in its own gallery. One for kids who like machines; a surprisingly good wet-weather card.
Whinlatter Forest
England's only true mountain forest: Gruffalo sculptures on the trail, the WildPlay adventure area, red squirrels if you are lucky, and Go Ape for older kids. Views over Derwentwater thrown in.
The Puzzling Place
An anti-gravity room where water appears to run uphill, a hologram gallery and a room that shrinks the grown-ups. Cheap, indoor, and exactly the right length for the age group.
What’s on near you, every Friday
One email a week: what is on this weekend within a sensible drive, and the places worth booking before they go.