Kendal Castle
A free 12th-century ruin on a grassy hill above Kendal, open all the time, with walls to circle, arches to charge through and the whole town and fells spread out below. Ten minutes of steep pull to get up, then let them loose.
Days out with the kids in Kendal
8 places in Kendal, Cumbria, 2 of which cost nothing. Everything below is within easy reach if you live locally.
8 in Kendal2 free3 indoor
Kendal holds one entry in this guide, and it is a good one. Lakeland Maze Farm Park is a working farm on the edge of the Lakes with go-karts, trampolines, animal handling and a giant maize maze cut fresh each summer. The maze opens around mid-July, once the corn is above head height, so if the maze is the point of the trip, phone before you commit to the drive.
Beyond the farm, Kendal is the base rather than the destination, and there is no shame in that: it has a river, a ruined castle on a hill and mint cake for the rucksack, and parking costs less than anywhere inside the national park. The real draws sit twenty minutes north - Brockhole on Windermere with Zip World's treetop nets and Minty Land's indoor play, Windermere Lake Cruises, and The World of Beatrix Potter for the under-sixes. Sleep in Kendal, spend the days on the lake.
Places in Kendal
Low Sizergh Barn Farm Trail
Turn up at half three and you can watch the herd being milked through a gallery window in the cafe, drink in hand. It is a working dairy farm outside Kendal and the trail round it is free.
Outside In
A charity-run play centre on the edge of Kendal town centre, with a soft play version of Kendal Castle, a little high street of role-play shops and a walled-in baby area. Weekends and school holidays only, apart from Wednesday mornings, so check before you drive.
KendalWall
Kendal's big climbing centre, out on the business park, with Crazy Climb clip-and-climb walls from age 5, an optional Sky Jump finish and what it calls the UK's only indoor via ferrata for over-11s. The wet-day adrenaline option for South Lakes families.
Lakeland Maze Farm Park
A working family farm near Kendal with a giant maize maze in high summer, plus soft play, indoor and outdoor go-karts, a Cresta Run, tractor rides and animals to meet. The 2026 maze closed on 27 September; October is pumpkin picking.
Lakeland Wildlife Oasis
A small zoo five minutes off M6 junction 35 with over 100 species and, crucially, a lot of it under glass: tropical hall, butterfly house, aquarium and small mammals inside, dik-diks and hornbills out. Compact enough that little legs see everything, open every day from 10am.
Levens Hall & Gardens
The oldest topiary gardens in the world, laid out in the 1690s five miles south of Kendal and still clipped into the same absurd shapes. In child terms, acres of giant green chess pieces to run between.
Sizergh Castle & Garden
A medieval tower house with proper gardens and a wild play trail in the woods just off the car park - climbing wall, rope swing, stepping stones. For National Trust members it is the easiest Lakes stop off the M6; for everyone else the garden ticket is the sensible buy.
What’s on in Kendal
7 dated events coming up, 1 of them this weekend.
Ghostly candlelit house tours at Levens Hall
Levens Hall, Levens · Kendal
until 1 Nov. Four evenings, 29 October to 1 November, tours at 4pm and 5pm
Hour-long candlelit tours of the house over the last four evenings of October half term, alongside a Halloween scavenger hunt in the topiary garden, creative workshops and a costume competition. Not for under-5s, and the tour ticket does not include daytime entry.
Written by us
Toddler Tales (opens on Westmorland and Furness Libraries)
Kendal Library
3 Nov to 26 Dec. Every Tuesday and Saturday, 10.30am and 11am
Free drop in for stories, songs and rhyme.
Listed by Westmorland and Furness Libraries · collected 1 Nov
Community Fireworks at Kendal Rugby Club (opens in a new tab)
Kendal Rugby Club, Shap Road
6 Nov. Friday 6 November: gates 5pm, fireworks 7.30pm
Kendal's community display at the rugby club, with food stalls and a professional show at 7.30pm. There is a VIP upgrade with supper and a balcony if grandparents are coming and would rather be warm.
Written by us
Winter at Sizergh
Sizergh Castle, near Kendal
20 Nov to 24 Dec. Every day, 12pm to 8pm, 20 November to 24 December
A light and sound trail round Sizergh's grounds made by local artists, a Georgian Christmas inside the house and free crafts in the Great Barn. It opens at noon, so you can do it in daylight with small ones and skip the scramble for the dark slots.
Written by us
Kendal Christmas Lights Switch On (opens in a new tab)
Kendal town centre
27 Nov. Friday 27 November
Kendal's Christmas lights switch on, with entertainment, Father Christmas and a late opening farmers' market in the town centre. Times are still to be announced.
Written by us
Family Christmas Crafts: wrapping paper and gift tags (opens in a new tab)
Brewery Arts Centre · Kendal
28 Nov. Saturday 28 November, 2pm to 3.30pm
A family printmaking workshop at Brewery Arts in Kendal, making your own Christmas wrapping paper and gift tags with lino blocks. For ages 5 and up with an adult. Materials included.
Written by us
Also worth the drive
Not in Kendal, but close enough for a day out.
Windermere Lake Cruises
England's biggest lake from the deck of a proper boat, on colour-coded routes from the 45-minute Islands cruise out of Bowness to the Yellow run down to Lakeside. Combo tickets pair it with the aquarium, the steam railway or the motor museum.
Brockhole on Windermere
The old national park visitor centre on the Windermere shore, now run by BeWILDerwood and still mid-makeover. The grounds are free to wander; Minty Land indoor play, Zip World's treetop courses, Wild Bounce and the lake cruises are the paid extras.
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: the Room on the Broom trail, Gruffalo orienteering, the WildPlay trail, 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.